Southord Tubular lockpick wont fit?

[xagent.swissx]

i've been picking for a while now, but i wanted to try something new. so, i thought id give tubular locks a try. recently i bought both the 7 and 8 pin tubular picks- but when i try to use the 8 pin on my 8 pin practice lock, it will not fit. if i press hard enough, it does, but its very hard to pull back out, and its even started to crack in 2 places. am i doing it wrong?

[raimundo]

there are three and more sizes of these ace locks, there is about fifteen thousands of difference in diameter between the various types, originally there was the 137 and the 137L or large, then kryptonite bike locks started putting the cylinder in the side of the tube rather than in the end and these were for a time the most common 137s versions of the ace lock. later kryptonite ace locks were extra small. Do not force your tubular pick onto the stem of a lock it dosent fit on, go back to the website and look for the item you bought, look for a model or size discription of it, forcing it onto a stem will probably weaken or even break the thin metal near the edge of one of the grooves that the sliders move in. You need to find the lock it fits, or get the pick that fits your locks, if you do have the correct pick and it fits stiff, but fits, not forces, then you have the other problem that is common with these, you need to pull the sliders back from the tip about .100" and put some 400 grit sandpaper around the tip, then start twisting the pick in the sandpaper wrap back and forth, the concept here is just to take some of the friction off the outer splines of the grooves, you can also round the ends of the grooves it that occurs in the sanding, but be careful not to round the ends of the sliders, that is why you pulled them back a bit, when this is done, dissassemble the tool and with a toothbrush clear the fine sand from the grooves, then replace the sliders, and test to see if each one of them is slideing with approximately the same force. just check to see if one is real tight or one is real loose, if this is the case, switch the two and see if that clears it up, put a drop of 3in 1 oil on a small piece of paper, touch the tip of the tool to that spot on the paper, then push the sliders forward as far as they go, and pull them back, this will put a small amount of the oil under the sliders, you do it this way to get it even and quite light, if this makes it all go on to the lock stem, you are just getting started, sometimes it takes a day of experimenting to 'tune' up one of these tools.

[Shrub]

If like me you dont bother to read Rays posts as he doesnt know what the return/enter key is then i shall sum up what im sure hes just said,

Tubular locks come in many many differant diameters and the SO picks are for the most common ones so its likely you have a differant sized lock that the pick is made for,

Stop forcing it as you will break the pick but it does sound to me that the cracks have started and bits will soon snap off the end meaning the pick needs remachineing or thrown away,

Be careful forcing things, they arent meant to be forced,

[raimundo]

returnenter? thats just crazy talk

[Shrub]

Only playin'