Lock Sticking at 180º

[Sewer21]

I am new to lock picking and new to lock picking 101. When I bought my picks I also purchased a set of 5 pin and tummbler locks. Lock one has only one pin, lock two has two pins, ect. I have no problem with locks 1,2, and 3 but when I get the fourth and fifth locks to turn they only turn 180º instead of the full turn 360º.

Most of the time I can turn them the 180 back to the starting position but occasionally they get stuck at the 180 and I have trouble getting them back to the starting position.

There is a key that works on all 5 locks, turning them all a 360º

Anyone know what I am doing wrong?
Any help would be appreciated.

[TigerDragon]

The bottom of the key is "flush" with the cut at the bottom of the plug. When you pick the lock, you don't have anything filling in this cut. If you rotate 180, you are risking some of the top pins falling into this area of the plug part way.

To reset the plug, take a paper clip or one of your picks or similar and lift the pins up through the bottom of the plug and the plug should then turn freely again.

[Sewer21]

Thanks for the reply but I am still unsure on how to solve this problem.
Anyway you could clarify more?

[TigerDragon]

The plug is the part that turns in the lock when the proper key is used. The bottom of the key fits in the split at the bottom of the plug so that when you turn the plug the top pins don't fall into that split and it can rotate a full 360 without problems.

When the key isn't present in the plug, there isn't anything keeping the top pins from falling into the bottom of the plug when the plug is rotated 180 degrees. One or more top pins falling into the split at the bottom of the plug is why it sticks at that position. If you stick one of your picks into the plug and use the back of the pick to lift up evenly, you should be able to lift the top pins up above the shear line again and continue turning the plug smoothly.

Brute forcing the plug can cause wear on both the plug and the top pins when this happens. Lifting the pins out of the way will not cause so much wear on the lock. Ideally, you shouldn't turn it to a full 180 degrees after picking anyway to prevent this annoyance

I'll try to take some pictures to point out the areas I'm talking about and post them this evening, if you still don't understand.

Sorry if my explanation isn't clear

[Squelchtone]

I made this pic for Schuyler 2 years ago when he messed up his apartment door.





hope this also helps,
Squelchtone

[sparkster]

Just to add, this has happened a few times to me, i use a bump key to rotate the plug, wored everytime so far

[Sewer21]

Thanks guys. Your second explanation did it for me tiger. However this five pin practice lock seems FAR easier then other 5 pin locks.

[Olson Burry]

Yes, a bump key would work for the aforementioned reasons; It will fill the void at the bottom of the key-way (now the top if rotated 180), pushing the top pins back flush with the sheer line as a normal key would when you turn the plug upside down.

Simply putting a pick all the way in and pressing the back of it towards where the top pins are, right so all of it is against the cylinder wall and turning the plug as mentioned before is the easiest way of sorting this out.

[Sewer21]

The fact that the bottom was now the top is what was throwing me off. I now pick that lock in seconds. Anyone know a good place to get more practice cylinders cheap?

[5thcorps]

Go to a local lock shop after hours and scrounge around their trash. or walk in during business hours and ask if they have any they don't need or used ones from replacement jobs. Be friendly and tell them you are studying locks as a hobby. A great touch for me has been to bring in coffee or doughnuts at the same time. Hell I had guys looking on the shelf at new ones to give to me. pastry goes a long way! I was at a hardware store about 5 weeks later when one of the lock shop guys came up to me and told me that ever since i stopped they were saving different things for me. The next day and another dozen doughnuts and i had enough locks to keep me busy till my toddler starts high school

[sparkster]

The fact that the bottom was now the top is what was throwing me off. I now pick that lock in seconds. Anyone know a good place to get more practice cylinders cheap?

You can go to double glazing companies, i have visited a few and i have had no problems getting locks off doors from them, there are quite a few on ebay as well.