why won't the pins fall out?

[possamai]

Hi,

I've been reading quite a lot about lockpicking lately and just received my first pickset.. I'm a true newbie..
But I can't seem to understand some thing..

For example.. what I understand of all the guides I've read so far (MIT guide and more) there's 2 sets of pins in a key. the driver-pins, and the key-pin, and offcourse the spring to push the stuff down (or up).. now lets say I look inside a padlock so the pins are hanging from the top.
like this (bottom pic):


Why won't the pins fall down? I never ever saw something about a little bar to keep'm from falling or anything in all those guides and I never ever read anything else about it.. Though if there IS something there it could probably give quite some pain while picking it...

Maybe I just missed it because english is nog my native language but I seriously dout that to be honest..
So why won't they fall down? what keeps them in place?

[CitySpider]

Very good question.

There usually is a small ward that keeps them from falling down. If not (ie: if it's a VERY cheap lock), there's the bottom of the keyway.

[Chucklz]

Generally, one of the wards for the keyway is used, not a special additional one. This is one of the reasons why keyways are warded.

[possamai]

okay...
but I have a padlock here that just shows the full naked not-ending-on-a-ward pins..
how are they kept from falling?

[CitySpider]

If you can see the full pins, well, they're not kept from falling. That's why you can see the full pins.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your question?

[joecool2727]

What i want to know is what keeps the pins from sliding out of the lock. I know the wards keep them from falling down but what keeps the bottom pin from sliding out? Ive been told that the chamber keeps it from sliding out and this made sense but ive seen locks where you can see the breaking point between the top and bottom pin, meaning that the bottom pin is not actually in the chamber. So what keeps them in?

[Chucklz]

The chamber hole goes into the wards/keyway.

[joecool2727]

But one this one lock i have i can see the part where the top and bottom pin sepperate from eachother, meaning there isnt a chamber around it. I dont see how its staying in.

[Chucklz]

Im telling you, The holes drilled into the plug extend in such a manner, that thers isnt enough room for the pins to "tip over" Take a few locks apart. Cut a plug in half down through the keyway. Seeing is beleiving.

[marso]

Btw this was also discussed a few weeks back at the following thread:
viewtopic.php?t=1631

[Mad Mick]

Try to think of it this way:

Look at a revolving door.
Look at the gap which enables you to walk into the 'chamber' housing the door.
This gap is quite a bit smaller than the door itself, so the door could not be pushed or pulled through it.
You could cut the door horizontally, and would still not be able to push or pull the door through the gap.
This cut, where the top and bottom doors separate, is equivalent to the gap you can see between the top and bottom pins in your lock. The pins are actually wider in diameter than the keyway, and can only travel up or down.

Hope this helps, I prefer to compare descriptions of how things work, to everyday items, as they are easier for some people to relate to.