I need a hint with this padlock

[Tythagoras]

I have this padlock that just isn't budging (though it opens with the key). I'm a complete newbie at this, I picked my first lock last night (what a rush!). The lock I opened is a simple wafer lock to secure a firearm. (I own it and it wasn't being used for anything) It was dead simple. So much so that I picked it accidentally while just feeling around the mechanism with my home made hook, and improvised tension tool.

Now I went to the local Ace Hardware store and picked up a padlock to practice with. I got the cheapest one that had a keyway big enough for my hook and tensioner. Its a model 54535, it has 4 pins and on the back of the packaging it says that it has spool pins. I've read the FAQs, so spool pins don't scare me too much. The problem is that none of the pins will set. They won’t even false-set! I lift each pin, and each one pushes back down. If I increase the tension a little bit, pin 3 (second from back) and pin 1 (front pin) can be lifted until they don't spring back down, but it appears that they are binding above the shear line. They don't fall back down with gravity. These two pins are the ones in the bitting that should set high. The others should set low, just looking at the key.

If I let off on the tension just a little until the key pins fall free, then they are under spring pressure again, definitely not set. What am I missing here? Despite the words "High Security" being printed on the packaging, I should be able to set at least one pin on a lock that costs less than US$5, shouldn't I?

Is there a way to disassemble a laminated lock like this one and perhaps re-pin it for training purposes? I'm handy with a Dremel, and fairly patient with small fiddly parts, but is it a lost cause?

Honest opinions please, even flames. I can take it. Keep in mind I did search and read the FAQs, but this particular problem doesn’t seem to come up often.

[SFGOON]

Weird, very weird. Try giving it a light lube with some powdered graphite and see if that improves things. Also, you shoud experement with the tension - this plug may be spring loaded, especially seeing that this is a padlock, and that can make tension tricky to acertain.

[Chrispy]

At the risk of going through a cutting wheel or two, grind off the side of the padlock and check out the pin combination/re-pin it/practice with 1 then 2 then 3 pins/etc. and buy another padlock. It's only $5, so why not?

[zekeo]

even though spool pins dont intimidate you, you should start with a lock without them. Even if you understand the concept intellectually, you need to develop a feel which can only happen with practice.

[quickpicks]

Start maybe with a master lock and nothing "fancy" for the time being. Yard sales and flea markets are the best place for cheap locks. Sometimes the local locksmith may even give you a few decent locks to practice on for a reasonable price or for free if you explain your situation.

[cracksman]

Congrats on your first pick

Your lock is definetly pickable, but as others have said,
you may want to start with something simpler. As you
have probably read, a cheap deadbolt, such as a Kwikset
is easy to repin and good for practice.

If you really want to pick your lock now, try a little heavier
tension, and very slowly lift up the 1 pin. You may get lucky
and set it while catching the spools in their middles, then
you just have to learn to pick the spools, took me about a
month to get decent at them.

good luck

[Mad Mick]

Since you're in the US, a Master #3 (the most often suggested beginner lock) shouldn't be hard to find. It's a four pin (no security pins) laminated steel padlock, with rather sloppy plug/shell/pin tolerances. Have a look here:
http://www.masterlock.com/cgi-bin/prod_ ... t_number=3

I'd save the lock you already have for later, and concentrate on something such as the #3. Once you become familiar with the pin states (unset, unset/binding, partially set/binding, and set) of the normal pins, you can progress to the security pins with a little more confidence and understanding of how security pins are designed to make you think the pin is set. Also, the #3 will give you pretty good feedback upon the tension wrench, which is another important lesson in determining the position of security pins in other locks.

[pretender]

I second the Master #3 suggestion. Getting a feel for spool pins will take a good bit of practice.

[cha0s]

Master #3 was the second lock ever picked. I still pull it out too

[Tythagoras]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I went out and bought a Kwikset deadbolt, and will look for a Master no. 3 next time I am out. I was able to make and temper a proper tension tool, so that should make things much easier also.

I think I will put the Ace on the shelf until I get a bit more skilled with the Kwikset and Master. I may cut it apart anyway just to see how it's put together. I get curious like that, and my new Dremel is begging to be used.

The funny thing about the gunlock is that I still have the packaging for it, and it lists as one of it's key features as being "Pick Tested". They didn't say what the results of the test is, but a rank amateur picked it almost accidentally (in less than 2 minutes), so I can't imagine it passing.

SFGOON, I think you might be right about the spring tension. I noticed that I have to defeat the spring before I can even start binding the pins, the gunlock doesn't have a spring loaded cylinder.

While I was writing this, I took a few breaks to play with my new Kwikset. I picked it already, but I learned a lot in these few minutes. in this lock pin 1 set first so I could see what the pin felt like and I could verify with my flashlight that it really was set, hanging free with nothing above it. Great suggestion on the lock. I'll have to get that Master lock soon!

This is great fun, I should have started this 10 years ago.

[cracksman]

Congrats, now your hooked

I have a feeling your Ace has a week
or two before you "pop" her, just be
gentle

p.s. welcome to the site, most questions
have been asked so search, but keep us
informed about any locks you crack or any
questions you can't find answers to. We
love to converse as long as people have
done the perfunctory research

[Tythagoras]

Thanks cracksman, until now I had wondered if there was room to ask questions without asking one that hadn't been asked before. :)

I may just visit a local locksmith next week to see if I can get a spool pin to put in my Kwikset to play with it in a controlled environment. One of the local locksmiths was the test administrator for the local amateur radio club, seemed like a nice guy.

[clayton1123]

i would try a lot harder tension and then play with the pins, see if any set, then go lighter from there!

[Bahrg]

I am thinking if you want to bypass normal picking and just pop it open try raking it. Not as much fun as pin by pin, but may take the frustration off till you get it the other way

[linty]

my first pin tumbler i attempted was a cheap padlock with spool pins, near gave up picking until i got a kwikset and realized i wasn't hopeless after all. that padlock is near impossible even now although i have no difficulty with schlage style spool pins in regular locks.
spool pins aren't that scary but they we must learn to walk before we can run.