easy and cheap plug follower

[baseeight]

I dont know if anyone has used this, i guess you guys will tell me. I was repinning my first lock and was collectiong the tool i would need and got to the point where i was looking for somthing to use for a plug follower. my dad's tools were out and i looked at the rachet set he had and notaced that there ere some long, smaller rechet heads. The 9mm was about the perfect size for the lock i was repining and was almost twice as long as the cylender.
While i was pulling outthe cylender i smehow screwed up and it got jammed with a spring pulled through the gap. Now im off to wal-mart to buy another 7 dollar lock and mabie pick up some padlocks while i am there.

Here are some pics of the rachet head next to the cylinder, sorry about the camra phone quality.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1986/spa0058wx0.jpg

http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/6240/spa0059pe7.jpg

[mfschantz]

You'll find that very many things can serve as a plug follower. I personally use a rolled up piece of paper. For a few more suggestions, try the link below.

http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=18626&highlight=plug+follower

[Eyes_Only]

We should make this a sticky since we have a lot of people asking what they can use as a plug follower so very often.

[lunchb0x]

drill bits are really good, expecially when you get a lock with a differant size diameter

[mercurial]

drill bits are really good, expecially when you get a lock with a differant size diameter

great tip!

This would've saved me making an improvised plug follower the times I have repinned the occasional cylinder that my followers don't fit...nor could I think of something that would fit - but the drill bits were here the whole time lol.

...Mark

[JackNco]

i always use a AAA battery and layer up tape to make it fit nice and snug.

[Shrub]

Theres some more suggestions on my www button,

[unjust]

while fiddlign with the sprung tension wrench as plug spinner last nigth, i decided to open my 2nd pack of american 30's, and discovered that the blister pack plastic makes a wonderful follower.

cut a ~1.5"x4" flat strip out, and roll it tightly about something like a bic pen. wrap it with a rubber bind and leave it for 5 min.

then take the rubber off and cut the first ~.5" off (it'll be curved/bent oddly) and cut a length that will be ~1.5x the length you need to go around the pen.

scrunch it down a bit and it'll follow beautifully, and adjust very well. make sure to keep the edges pointed away from the pin stack (i.e. edges pointed down on most US deadbolts)

[JackNco]

thats not a bad idea at all! ill have to give that a go next time.

[jay----]

i've got a pen cap that I use. It's a bit smaller then the ideal follower but you can actually see all the pins when it's holding them up!! (kinda neat)


also, the cap doesn't have a clip on it like most do.

works fine for me, for now!

[mercurial]

Quick tip when making improvised plug followers - if what you are using is solid(eg a piece of wooden dowel) rather than hollow, you can often make life easier for yourself by putting a small slot along the diameter of one end of it.

The slot can make it very much easier to align the springs and pins as you are putting them back into the chambers. Not my idea, certainly read it here before, and seen commercially made followers with this feature.

Do take care to rotate the follower, so the slot is not lined up with the chambers when re-inserting the plug, otherwise, if the slot is a little large, you could end up with a top pin and spring dropping down into the slot.

...Mark

[JK_the_CJer]

I made mine from 1/2" alumnium rod. Also cut a slot in the end for mortise plugs and a small rounded slot (really helps inserting pins) like the one mentioned above. Funny, I thought it was an orginal idea at the time

Also, thanks for the drillbit idea!

[maintenanceguy]

...you can often make life easier for yourself by putting a small slot along the diameter of one end of it.

The slot can make it very much easier to align the springs and pins as you are putting them back into the chambers...

...Mark

Can you explain that again?

[Shrub]

Explain it again?

Here you are,

...you can often make life easier for yourself by putting a small slot along the diameter of one end of it.

The slot can make it very much easier to align the springs and pins as you are putting them back into the chambers...

If you mean HOW this helps then you simply put the folower and then you now have a slot that the springs and pins can be put in then slid up into the chambers a lot easier,
This means your not chaseing around a cylinder trying to get round pins in a round hole, even tweezers can be a pain at times,

The best follower i can reccomend if you struggle getting top pins and springs in is the hpc once in which you load the pins then insert to the lsock, remove a shim and they spring into the chambers,

[butterboy]

Sounds like your dad needs a better lock on his tool box,o'yea youd just pick it,lol.
Leave his tools alone, when i was a kid me and my brothers knew fullwell pops tool box was totaly off limits.
Is strange, at any given time one of us is doing the same thing.
By that i mean last night i was also looking for a good plug follower and low and behold i was looking for the right size socket,funny yea.
So looking around, I found a drillbit that worked great, I had to grind the end flat though because it was catching on the pins after a little work on the bench grinder it works great.
Great minds do think alike!!
By any chance is anyone else a loner? LOL!!!
By the way that bit was allready worn out.
The socket is a great idea.