taking padlocks apart

[Mad Mick]

LOL, it's cool.

[mcm757207]

The locksmith I'm apprentising the other day gave me a Master Lock to open, so I promply drilled off the rivets and took out the plug. Upon further inspection- I found out why he wanted to show me it; it was one of the UP (Universal Pins) locks...

When you open one of the UP locks from the package, the plug is out of the lock one position. Inside each of the positions there is ONE long pin, which is serrerted in such a way that if you apply a bunch of pressure to it it will break. Soo... you insert any key (that fits into the keyway) into the lock, and with the key in there you smash the plug back in, and it breaks all of the pins, so it's not a fully operational padlock with a working key AND serrated top/bottom pins. I was quite impressed...

[WhiteHat]

The locksmith I'm apprentising the other day gave me a Master Lock to open, so I promply drilled off the rivets and took out the plug. Upon further inspection- I found out why he wanted to show me it; it was one of the UP (Universal Pins) locks...

When you open one of the UP locks from the package, the plug is out of the lock one position. Inside each of the positions there is ONE long pin, which is serrerted in such a way that if you apply a bunch of pressure to it it will break. Soo... you insert any key (that fits into the keyway) into the lock, and with the key in there you smash the plug back in, and it breaks all of the pins, so it's not a fully operational padlock with a working key AND serrated top/bottom pins. I was quite impressed...

just a thought - if the pinst break that easily - can't you just insert any other key and do the same thing again? having said that, can't you just use a tough wrench and turn the plug without using a key?

[Chucklz]

When you "key" it, you move the plug up one full position, so once keyed, theres no allowance to do this again. This lock is interesting to pick though, have fun!.

[mcm757207]

The locksmith I'm apprentising the other day gave me a Master Lock to open, so I promply drilled off the rivets and took out the plug. Upon further inspection- I found out why he wanted to show me it; it was one of the UP (Universal Pins) locks...

When you open one of the UP locks from the package, the plug is out of the lock one position. Inside each of the positions there is ONE long pin, which is serrerted in such a way that if you apply a bunch of pressure to it it will break. Soo... you insert any key (that fits into the keyway) into the lock, and with the key in there you smash the plug back in, and it breaks all of the pins, so it's not a fully operational padlock with a working key AND serrated top/bottom pins. I was quite impressed...

just a thought - if the pinst break that easily - can't you just insert any other key and do the same thing again? having said that, can't you just use a tough wrench and turn the plug without using a key?

It takes a *lot* of pressure to break the pins, the tool that you use look like a plug follower with the notch in the end; the key fits into the notch, then you use a hammer and hit it really hard to break the pins. AND the key has to be cut PERFECTLY because if the depths don't like up just right with the serrations, it won't break.