question about a wafer lock (and where to post it)

[landeroth]

ok, i have a five pin wafer lock i have disassembled up to the point of not taking out the wafers themselves. reassembly is not a problem and i'm having some issues picking it. i'm willing to upload some pics showing its mechanics and details on the pins themselves (they're kinda rounded, no true corner to catch and set). i'm looking for advice on picking it, and if a moderator ok's it being posted here, i'll post pics of the lock, assembled and disassembled, also detailing the issues i'm having with it. not sure if the information is allowed on the areas i have access to, as i can find no information that seems to explain what i'm dealing with. i did disassemble its twin to get a better look at the wafers, unfortunately i was only able to do that by destroying the wafers and pics wouldn't really help anyone, just helped me get a better understanding of how it works. i've seen pics of the wafers from a similar lock, the brand of this one is unknown (seems to be one that can have a master key cut on one side, then a user key on the other). came out of a desk in an office, no one knows where the key went. no further info on this lock is available from me, and i won't get into the details of exactly how this works without approval. aka, i'm waiting on a moderator to ok this one.

[squelchtone]

ok, i have a five pin wafer lock i have disassembled up to the point of not taking out the wafers themselves. reassembly is not a problem and i'm having some issues picking it. i'm willing to upload some pics showing its mechanics and details on the pins themselves (they're kinda rounded, no true corner to catch and set). i'm looking for advice on picking it, and if a moderator ok's it being posted here, i'll post pics of the lock, assembled and disassembled, also detailing the issues i'm having with it. not sure if the information is allowed on the areas i have access to, as i can find no information that seems to explain what i'm dealing with. i did disassemble its twin to get a better look at the wafers, unfortunately i was only able to do that by destroying the wafers and pics wouldn't really help anyone, just helped me get a better understanding of how it works. i've seen pics of the wafers from a similar lock, the brand of this one is unknown (seems to be one that can have a master key cut on one side, then a user key on the other). came out of a desk in an office, no one knows where the key went. no further info on this lock is available from me, and i won't get into the details of exactly how this works without approval. aka, i'm waiting on a moderator to ok this one.

Thanks for being cautious, but no need as long as the wafer lock is not from an automobile. Go nuts posting all the break down photos you wish, the server is full, so please use PhotoBucket and link to the pics from your post using the [URL] or the [IMG] tags. Keep images reasonable, no huge 10 megapixel 1600x1900 pics please unless you use the URL tags to link to them.

What pick are you using to pick a wafer lock? Most people will agree that either a double ball snowman or a half diamond will do the job every time, unless your wafer lock has some exotic features I'm not year aware of.

Squelchtone

[landeroth]

no, it's a really cheap desk lock and has a tiny opening, vertically, but fairly wide horizontally. i managed to pick it a few times with a half diamond since my last post, it just has a couple of ball bearings with a spring in them providing pressure and resistance, meaning i have to use heavier tension than i expected. once i completely disassembled it (minus taking out the wafers) and placed just the plug back in and leaving out the extra mechanism, it was fairly simple. just those little ball bearings and indentions killing me on it. off to photobucket for me

[landeroth]

oh, btw, i initially tried a full ball pick, but it was almost too large to put in the lock, to large to insert after a tension wrench, the pics help give an idea of how tiny this little guy i'm playing with is.

[EmCee]

I think you've found the answer. Most times when discussing picking the emphasis is on light tension - with those locks the tension force has to be a lot more to overcome the strong resistance of the spring.

When I open them I use the tension tool/pick until I've picked the wafers, but then I use a small screwdriver to actually turn the barrel to open the lock - as sometimes the force needed is more than I want to risk with the tension wrench in case it breaks or distorts the wrench.

Cheers...