Noob Mistake repining first lock

[Darkness1569]

So today I attempted to repin a lock for the first time and I thought what better then to pin one of my practice cylinders to my house key so that I can pick my "house lock" without picking the real one. I had read many, many article about repining so I decided to go for it.

Well I must have made the most noobish mistake you could ever make, for some reason I have it stuck in my head that pin #5 is at the shoulder of the key instead of pin #1. Luckily for me I read a tip that said test the key with the cylinder out to make sure that all the pins are flush with the shear line.
So in hopes of being helpful, I am posting this so when people try to repin their first lock, they will read this and say to themselves, "Man I don’t want to make a noobish mistake like that guy, I will remember that pin #1 starts at the shoulder and not pin #5."

Also feel free to laugh at my mistake like I have. LOL

[lunchb0x]

Another good tip, when you put the plug back in the cylinder have the key in there, some locks have different sized top pins to balance the pin stack, if you have a large bottom pin and large top pin you might not be able to get the key into the lock. But if you already have the key in the lock you wont be able to remove it, at least you can still remove the plug without having to pick or shim it

[Darkness1569]

That is a very good tip, I would have never thought of that.
Thank you

[2octops]

Here's another newby pinning of the day tip.

When pinning up a cylinder insert your cut key before you insert the pins and leave it there during the process. This way you can tell if the pins are actually at the shear line or not when you insert them.

[minifhncc]

some locks have different sized top pins to balance the pin stack, if you have a large bottom pin and large top pin you might not be able to get the key into the lock.

I've always wondered, is this done commonly? Because in Australia, nearly all of the locks that I've seen have the same top pins. The only place where I've seen balanced stacks are in the 001 cylinder...

So, in what applications must one balance a stack?

[Darkness1569]

I came up with 2 scenarios but I might be wrong so someone please let me know if am so the learning process can continue.

1. being if your key has a high cut on lets say pin 5 and your pulling the key out and you have a 9 pin in 2 then the high cut on the key would push the 9 pin up into the bible and if the top pin bottoms out then your key is stuck.

2. this is a complete guess but I'm going to say some master keying might require it.

This is just off of what I've been reading so I have no experience with it.

[sandplum]

So, in what applications must one balance a stack?

As I understand it, there are several reasons for balancing the stack.

One reason is to prevent an overlifting attack. Short drivers allow the short key pins to be lifted all the way out of the plug, so that they no longer prevent the plug from turning. In some cylinders, long drivers paired with long key pins could result in the cover of the pin chambers coming off, releasing springs and pins from the cylinder. Some locks use set screws to prevent this.

Some manufacturers recommend balancing in order to prevent more sophisticated attacks involving analysis of the pin stack, especially the weight.

Also, short drivers paired with very short key pins will sometimes result in both pins sitting completely in the plug, below the shear line. Not only does this not prevent the plug from turning, but it allows the springs to cross the shear line, sometime resulting damaged springs and cylinders, and a nasty jam of the plug. If you are pinning Schlage-type cylinders for picking practice and choose to use zero pins, be sure to use long drivers to prevent this frustrating problem.