Tubular lock pick

[blaammm]

Looking for a tubular lock pick for a cabinet that I lost my key to. How do i know whether or not to buy a 7 pin or 8 pin tubular lock pick?

Definitely a newbie when it comes to lock picks...

I'm sure it's very simple and that a simple answer should suffice!

THANK YOU ALL!

[MacGyver101]

Please don't take offense... but your question has me wondering, so just to double-check: are you sure your cabinet has a tubular lock on it? (Tubular cabinet locks are rare in my experience, but they may be more common elsewhere and I'm just not aware of it.)

If it's actually a tubular lock, it's not hard to figure out whether you need a 7-pin or an 8-pin pick. If you look at the face of the lock, you should be able to see all of the pins: the number of pins that are there determine which pick you'll need. (i.e., if there are 7 pins, you'll need a 7-pin pick.)

Please keep in mind that not all tubular locks are made the same: an ACE-brand lock is going to be a challenge if it's your first lock, while generic knock-offs are often much easier. Also, it's not a great idea to pick locks that are in use: if you're not sure of what you're doing, you can leave a tubular lock in a state where a regular key would be unable to lock or unlock the lock again.

[maintenanceguy]

I've seen tubular cabinet locks, usually a cheap 4 pin miniature, not the 8 pin or 7 pin.

You can tell by looking in the round groove and counting the pins you see in there.

If you just want to pick one lock and aren't looking for a tool to use again, these pick pretty easily with any tool you can find to turn the post on the inside of the lock, an allen wrench filed to the proper thickness works well if inserted into the slot in this post.

And then a straightened paperclip can be used to press the pins.

I'm sure there's a thread here somewhere that gives the specifics so I won't repeat it but I wouldn't spend $100 to open one lock. If I couldn't pick it, I'd drill it out.

[blaammm]

Ok, so the tubular lock that I'm trying to pick says

ACE II

on it. Now should i be counting the pins? or the spaces between the pins? to figure out what kind of pick i need...?

I was looking at this one...

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/south-kore ... tool-16413

let me know what you think!

[MacGyver101]

Now should i be counting the pins? or the spaces between the pins?

maintenanceguy and I both answered that for you already: have another look at our posts.

That aside, an ACE II lock is going to be much tougher to pick than a generic tubular lock; that's why you'll typically see them used on vending machines. Trying to pick an ACE II with that KLOM pick may be a challenge: I'm not sure how well you can adjust the tension on it.

[chriswingate]

How about a picture of said tubular lock and cabinet?

[bobhdus]

My boss has me open these type of locks when employees are absent and they lock up special tools that are needed by other employees. Due to the nature of their use, never mess with these locks unless you are the owner or authorized by the owner. Most tubular Cabinet locks I have dealt with were 7 pin (Snap-on tool cabinets) or the smaller 4 pins (Sourcepro cabinets). Most are also offset (from the center) meaning there is no pin on one side of the notch. I have a Tubular pick that is universal that picks both 7 pin L & R offsets and 8 pin. It is from HPC. The A1 picks are too tight to let the fingers float so I do not use them that much. If you were to buy one, find one that has adjustable collar for adjusting finger tension. Also the kits will come with a decoder (I usually make a key after decoding and lock them in our Maintenance Dept Lock box). I plan on making one that is manual this weekend. As said before though, if you are not careful the pins may re-engage into a position that will not allow you to use a key. In that case the outer finger on the working key (if you obtain one later would have to be ground down.