I need help with "pin by pin"....

[Classified00]

Hello all,

I'm (obviously) new here and I'm amazed at the wealth of information available here.

Anyway ...
I'm trying to work through the beginners excersice from the page-o-stickies but I'm stuck. I'm currently using a cheap deadbolt as my subject. It has 5 pins. The upper pins consist of 3 longer "full" pins and 2 shorter "I" shaped pins (in the 2nd and 4th positions). These "I" pins are causing me great grief. It seems as if they either don't bind at all or they bind and can't be lifted.

For example:
* If I inert pins 4 and 5, or pins 3, 4, and 5 then pin 4 seems to not bind at all and lock turns when I lift 3 and 5.
* If I insert pins 2,3,4, and 5 then pins 2 and 4 never seem to bind but can never be lifted and the lock never turns.

I'm baffeled

Am I inadvertently lifting the short ones along with the longer ones? Something else?

Also, is there a really good illustrated book or CD-Rom that shows hand positions, technique, etc...

Thanks!!

[What]

sounds like spools...

you might want to start off with an easier lock as your first....

ie. one w/o security pins.

[chopitup]

The "I" shaped pins are spool pins.

This thread has some good advice within.

viewtopic.php?t=9151&highlight=spool+pins

[digital_blue]

I would strongly urge you to not start learning to pick spool pins until you have completed the exercise without them. If this means getting another lock without spools, so be it. If you have another lock that you can strip some regular top pins from, that would suffice as well.

You won't get as much from the exercise if you try and jump to security pins too soon. Crawl before you walk, walk before you run.

Cheers!

db

[sams choice]

Spools were a problem for me too at the start. I purchased the brinks house key padlock that is rekeyable, and it uses spools. I quickly realized that i was not able to open it so i went for the kwikset deadbolt at the door. After i got the feel for that i went back tot he padlock. I soon realized that the pick i was using was to much for the spools so i used a slimmer pick. I do not go pin by pin basis. I usally do two at a time starting from the back then going in to the front for the kill. I have a video, and the key size of the particular lock that might help you better understand.

Sammie boy

[RajunCajun]

I also agree with the previous posts by members.

I found that the Kwikset line of Regular Security deadbolts worked quite well in learning proper pin by pin picking.