Changing the Guts...

[[BAREBONES]]

First thing's first - I've been poking around the forum for quite a while, but this is officially my first post... "hello world" - My cherry is popped

Now, to the intent of the post - given a handful padlock bodies and a handful of cores, how does one know which core will fit in which body?

Since I started into this hobby (obsession), I've grown quite a collection of lock parts and cores - the basics: master, american, abus, medeco, everest, sesamee, etc... I've tried installing some of the cores in some of the bodies - some end up working, and some don't. What I'm wondering: is there a general rule of thumb for pairing bodies with cores, or is it just "if it fits and works - it's good"?

[mseifert]

I am not really aware of any rule of thumb.. So I guess the first it work then go with it .. I am not absolutely sure, but I believe Master and American are interchangeable ... I believe the only standard is SFIC Cores

[ltdbjd]

I'm not aware of any rule of thumb either. Fit is only one issue. The second issue is the ability of the cam to manipulate the actuator. Not all cores are interchangeable even across the same manufacturer. For example, not all Master cores will work in all Master locks because of these variations.

You can narrow it down by looking at the keyway. You can distinguish an American (using an AM3 key) from a Master. You can break down the Masters by keyway as well, for example an M1 from a 6000B.

Another issue you may have to contend with is that many cores (particularly Master) don't hold the cams securely. If you have a bunch of loose cores, you may open a bag of them only to find a handful of loose cams on the bottom. If this happens, you can narrow it down by downloading the service manuals from the manufacturers website.

[Br0keN]

When pairing a lock to a core you may have an actuator with a quarter moon and the back of the lock with a half moon. if this happens the lock is vulnerable to bypassing.

[tjohn]

American & Master use a different angle of actuator built into the back of the plug and are not interchangeable. I believe you can get American padlocks with a number of Master keyways (eww), and possibly vise versa but you cannot take a regular American core and use it in a Master, or vise versa

Also, as notated above, both use special extra cams to use say a 4 pin in a 5 pin style lock, which are also brand specific.