American 700 round body padlock

[CaptHook]

After several years of getting frustrated with this lock, I finally took it apart the other night for the first time. I knew it had serrated bottom pins, but what I found kinda suprised me.
6 pin cylinder keyed for 5
4 of the 5 bottom pins serrated
All 5 of the top pins serrated
Heres where I was suprised.... the 3rd pin was a serrated spool. It had 2 serrations on each end.
I put it back together laughing.....Like 3-4 years Ive been working on this lock, and I have never even discovered the spool, couldnt make it past the serrations. I packed it up and put it back in its hiding place for another day.
Chuck

[HeadHunterCEO]

After several years of getting frustrated with this lock, I finally took it apart the other night for the first time. I knew it had serrated bottom pins, but what I found kinda suprised me.
6 pin cylinder keyed for 5
4 of the 5 bottom pins serrated
All 5 of the top pins serrated
Heres where I was suprised.... the 3rd pin was a serrated spool. It had 2 serrations on each end.
I put it back together laughing.....Like 3-4 years Ive been working on this lock, and I have never even discovered the spool, couldnt make it past the serrations. I packed it up and put it back in its hiding place for another day.
Chuck

should of asked
i key those things up constantly

could of provided you with some g2.

gotta use wd40 heavily before you attempt to pick


allows you to slide over of those serations

[Pheniox]

After several years of getting frustrated with this lock, I finally took it apart the other night for the first time. I knew it had serrated bottom pins, but what I found kinda suprised me.
6 pin cylinder keyed for 5
4 of the 5 bottom pins serrated
All 5 of the top pins serrated
Heres where I was suprised.... the 3rd pin was a serrated spool. It had 2 serrations on each end.
I put it back together laughing.....Like 3-4 years Ive been working on this lock, and I have never even discovered the spool, couldnt make it past the serrations. I packed it up and put it back in its hiding place for another day.
Chuck

should of asked
i key those things up constantly

could of provided you with some g2.

gotta use wd40 heavily before you attempt to pick


allows you to slide over of those serations

NEVER USE WD40
use some other type of lube

[HeadHunterCEO]

After several years of getting frustrated with this lock, I finally took it apart the other night for the first time. I knew it had serrated bottom pins, but what I found kinda suprised me.
6 pin cylinder keyed for 5
4 of the 5 bottom pins serrated
All 5 of the top pins serrated
Heres where I was suprised.... the 3rd pin was a serrated spool. It had 2 serrations on each end.
I put it back together laughing.....Like 3-4 years Ive been working on this lock, and I have never even discovered the spool, couldnt make it past the serrations. I packed it up and put it back in its hiding place for another day.
Chuck

should of asked
i key those things up constantly

could of provided you with some g2.

gotta use wd40 heavily before you attempt to pick


allows you to slide over of those serations

NEVER USE WD40
use some other type of lube

think so

tell me why

[CitySpider]

Actually, in this case, you'd want to use WD40. You're not lubricating, you're filling in the serrations.

Slick idea, if it works.

[Pheniox]

Actually, in this case, you'd want to use WD40. You're not lubricating, you're filling in the serrations.

Slick idea, if it works.

true. if i am online ever again while not having much sleep in me (kinda like rigth now) please take my computer from me :S

[HeadHunterCEO]

Actually, in this case, you'd want to use WD40. You're not lubricating, you're filling in the serrations.

Slick idea, if it works.

it works and works well

neccessity is the mother of invention and this came to be attreibuted to many keying up woes when dealing with these locks.

ever try to shim one of these things?

the serrations chew up the front of the shim

[CaptHook]

I filled it with WD40, and by golly if it didnt work the first time. Thanks alot for that tip. HeadhunterCEO, the spinner will be on its way tomorrow(Ive been ill the past few days).
Thanks again
Chuck

[HeadHunterCEO]

I filled it with WD40, and by golly if it didnt work the first time. Thanks alot for that tip. HeadhunterCEO, the spinner will be on its way tomorrow(Ive been ill the past few days).
Thanks again
Chuck

cool

[LB]

Hi,

I'm not sure of whether this is the right place to post: I searched the forum, and this is where it said I should post. My apologies if I did it wrong.

I recently bought the American 700 series, and was looking for a second opinion. Having picked locks for several years, I was looking for a challange when I decided to buy the American lock.

I've spent several hours on it, and I'm a little stumped. I'm comfortable with picking the Brinks locks, and I quickly realised that the American pins are all serrated.

I've found it almost a waste to scrub, but the pins aren't setting in a particular order. That is, pin 5 usually sets first, followed by pin 1. For the most part, I can recognise the false sets, so I'm pretty sure that's not a problem. It gets really wierd once pins 1,2,4, and 5 are set. The plug gives a little, but pin 3 acts bizzare. It feels like a spool, but it doesn't set like a spool. Ordinarily, I would try to set pin 3, which usually means letting the other pins go, and then picking them once I finish with pin 3, but that doesn't work. Once I set pin 3 (which usually involves easing up the torque, untill I feel it set), the other pins drop (which I expect). What I don't expect is the challange I am having trying to get them back up. Once pin 3 is set (of which I am unsure as it feels funny as I am setting it, but 'feels' right once it's set), the other pins don't bind.

I tried changing the order, trying to set pin 3 first, second, or third, but it's the same thing. Once pin 3 is in, the others don't seem to want to bind.

On a slightly different note, when feeling the lock, it almost seems that there is a 6th pin or something. There are only five pins, but it seems like there are 6. I'm not sure if it's a pin, but when I drag a rake across the top of the lock plug, it falls in before coming to the 5th pin.

I'm using a smooth snake, small rake, and big half diamond to pick it. I've been able to scrub two pins quickly with a full circle head, but even after I set the rest with the rake, I still have problems.

Suggestions?

Regards,

LB

(Despite the problems, I am really enjoying this lock).

[LB]

Sorry. . . I didn't read the title post on this subject. That would explain the third pin, but I would still appreciate suggestions on how to attack this.

Best regards,

Altrus

[zeke79]

It is possible that you are over setting the third pin with the shaft of your pick while you are picking one of the other pins? is the 3rd cut on your key a deep cut?

[CaptHook]

Take HeadHunterCEOs advice, flood the sucker with wd40. Kinda "fills in" the serrations, helps tremendously!
Chuck

[LB]

zeke79 Posted:
It is possible that you are over setting the third pin with the shaft of your pick while you are picking one of the other pins? is the 3rd cut on your key a deep cut?

When I'm picking the last three pins, I'm usually using a rake. If pin 5 sets last, it's a deep rake, so as to minimize that.

I find that my torque wrench does interfere somewhat in regards to the manuverability of my pick. I am thinking of making a circular tension tool, but I'm not sure whether it would help in this particular spot.

[zeke79]

I have a tension tool I made that is similar to the falle tension wrenches that works outstanding on the am4 keyway. It does allow a substantial amount of control and feel. I can put a picture on my ftp site if anyone is interested in downloading it or if someone can host it I will email it to them.