Union Lock

[bumpin88]

has anyone had any expericence with a Union brand of lock? i have a 40/45 cylinder.
i have been trying to pick it for a few day but no luck. does these locks have any security pins
in them?? i would dissemble it myself but i hear euro lock are a pain to remove the plug, any suggestions, hints?
also the keyway is kinda of tight, about like a schlage, any hints on the size of pick that should be used, (thickness/width)?

[sparkster]

Union locks are common place here in the UK and some can be a bit tricky to open, they do have security pins in them, usually spool type, but the number depends on the type of lock, but most i have come across have 2 spools, you will know if you are getting false set with security pins as the plug will turn a few degrees, using a short hook or small diamond pick usually gets these locks open, also raking can be used, all i can suggest to you is vary the amount of pressure on the tension bar, finding the security pins shouldnt to difficult once you get a false set, light tension and the hook/diamond pick will sort it out.

[bumpin88]

Oh well i tend to use kind of heavy tension, one of those noob habits i need to break. so just
lighten up a bit and use a hook/ diamond. that sounds good. raking didn't really seem
a good way to pick this lock as there is not much room.
also when i try tension from the bottom of the keyway, the pins don't seem to set/false set.
could that be because there is less pressure vs. tensioning via the top of keyway??

[sir lot is here]

Its good to see you guy's over in the states mentioning and picking these locks, very popular in the uk .
Yes they have a few spool pins like already mention'd you get faulse sets,easy to over come with experiance
difficulty 6 and a half 7 out of 10 to pick - try the chubb-lock after that

[bumpin88]

Yeah i thought it would be good to pick a variety of locks. and this one
seems to be nice to gain experience from. chubb-lock, i think that is out of my league
right now. but give me a few years.
but yeah them spools are givin' me alot of trouble. this is really the first lock
i have had with a real difficult pinning and security pins. but being stuburn i will get it opened

[bumpin88]

I finally got it!! This pic may be really huge. sorry

[photo deleted, please use a image program to make it a tad smaller, 640/480 or 800/600 max size please- unlisted]

[SnowyBoy]

I finally got it!! This pic may be really huge. sorry

Yep, and out of focus.

Try setting your camera to macro focus (indicated by the picture of a little flower) then hold the camera 5cm from the lock and use the shutter button properly to get auto focus

Well done on the pick

[exspook]

the MAC (Maximum Acceptable Cut) on UNION locks is rather high EG you can get a deep cut next to a very shallow cut making picking interesting

its when the FALLE deep curved picks come into there own

good drills on getting it open though

Dave

[Northwest1]

Ive often found with Union cylinders that a heavy tension is required...esp on older locks. I had open a load of new ones on New build french doors and these too required a heavy tension. Just a matter of trying different approaches.