Can an Ace tubular lock be shimmed open?

[Omikron]

I think with some finely made tools, tubulars can be shimmed open. I'm going to work on this and see what I can do.

[CPLP]

Holand lock sport group has the technic of the cap off a ball-point pen. I think you could make a shim for the padlock. Omikron will do it! I believe he's the one that will (it's not the padlock that bends) !

[lockedin]

Aren't tubular locks impossible to shim because they dead-lock (meaning there is no spring)? I have never encountered one where the key did not need to be in place to lock it. U-locks are a good example of this.

[Omikron]

Aren't tubular locks impossible to shim because they dead-lock (meaning there is no spring)? I have never encountered one where the key did not need to be in place to lock it. U-locks are a good example of this.

We're talking about shimming the pin stacks in the cylinder, not shimming the latch mechanism. Yes, you are right in that almost all tubular locks deadlatch.

[Bonuts]

How? without the 7-pin picking tool {tried search function}

One pin at a time but really, you put a tension wrench (i think i've seen special ones for this application) in there and push each pin until they all hit the shear line. The pain is that you have to do it several times to get it to actually unlock the mechanism. However once you have picked it one part-turn you can decode it easily (don't turn it to the next pin and you can use calipers with a depth gauge to get the pin lengths... therefore you can make a key)