Rekeying a wafer lock.

[skaterpunk240]

Hey this is my first post here. Im sooo glad that there is a site like this. Ive been reading the mit guide for about a week waiting for my 14 pc pick set to get here. The only problem is i am impatient so i made a pick and a tension wrench outta some old allen wrenches. Well i did it i picked my first lock. It was a 5 pin tumbler. I began by taking all but two pins out, picked it and then moved up till all the pins were in. GOD it feels good when that lock finally opens and the tension wrench twists. Im addicticted.

[Picker_Level-0]

Can i ask and this may be a dumb question but how did you take all the pins out!??? (except 2)

[oniony]

If its a typical front door tumbler lock, there should be a round metal clip holding the plug (bit that turns) into the hub on the back of the lock. It looks a bit like the spring clips you often get on cars, computers, etc. Anyhow, if you remove the clip, you will be able to remove the plug.

The plug wont fall out immediately when the clip is removed as it will be held in by the lock pins. You will either need to pick the lock and rotate it a little or, far easier, use the key to line up the pins with the shear line. The plug should then slide out and, as it does, the driver pins and springs will likely fall out. You can stop the key pins falling out by careful use of gravity. Don't worry if they do fall out though, you can tell where they were by re-inserting them into the plug when the key is in: they should all sit level with the edge of the plug when in the right places.

Once you have the plug out, you can re-insert spring and driver pins for as many pins as you like. A pair of needle-nose pliers came in handy for this. I started with just the back pin but I've read it makes more sense to start with the front pins so you can see what you are doing.

I found that when you insert the spring, and slide the plug in (using gravity to stop the key pin and the spring from falling out) you can then insert the driver pin onto the spring and bind it a little way in by applying insertion pressure on the plug. This make it a lot easier as you can then push gently down on the driver pin to get the plug over that pin without it flinging itself across the room.

One more thing: always put the key pins back in the right places otherwise you won't be able to use your key to open the lock to change the number of pins later. This is especially true if you get over enthusiastic and decide to jump from two pins to five and then regret it!

Hope this helps.

[Picker_Level-0]

Yes this does help!! so basicaly you can only take out the pins from locks that are designed to allow you to change the cylinder. I have a waffer lock here and wanna take the waffers out of this, is there any way to do this? There is no clip and the lock is easy to pick its just from a desk!

[oniony]

Yes this does help!! so basicaly you can only take out the pins from locks that are designed to allow you to change the cylinder. I have a waffer lock here and wanna take the waffers out of this, is there any way to do this? There is no clip and the lock is easy to pick its just from a desk!

I've zero experience with these types of locks so perhaps Varjeal or one of the others may be able to help you out.

[Varjeal]

Without knowing the exact type of lock that's in there, here's the general break down.

You'll need to first open the drawer. If it is a simple cam lock with a "cam" that's used for locking, and there's a screw of some type holding it onto the lock, this is hnow it works.

1. Remove the clip that holds the lock to the drawer, and remove the lock.

2. Remove the cam from the back of the lock.

3. Push the plug out the front of the lock. If necessary, pick it an 1/8th turn first.

4. The individual wafers can then be removed with a small flat screwdriver.

Hope that helps.