Plugs

[Madhatter67]

I got a brinks 40mm brass padlock
And I'm having issues with the plug moving and its stopping my torque wrench from being effective idk how to work around it any ideas or advice?

[Comrade627]

Have you tried using your wrench at the top of the keyway/ right in front of pin 1? Often times with bottom of the keyway tension the wrench will snag the lock body from one of a couple of different places, resulting in the wrench not moving, which causes the plug to not move.

[Madhatter67]

Yeah but I have a hard time getting the pick in using a half diamond

[Comrade627]

You shouldn't have a hard time getting a pick in if you're using top of keyway tension. At most you would just have to angle it. Do you have pictures of the keyway?

[Madhatter67]

Not sure how to post it...
But I'll give it a shot thank you

[Squelchtone]

Not sure how to post it...
But I'll give it a shot thank you

You can upload to imgur.com or tinypic.com and Copy/Paste in your reply here.

[Madhatter67]

http://imgur.com/3O13YE9

[Squelchtone]

http://imgur.com/3O13YE9

What kind of wrench are you using, home made or from a lock picking kit? looking at the orientation of your photo, the wrench goes into the bottom flat area \_/-- like in this photo: http://s24.photobucket.com/user/puotta/ ... 1.jpg.html

can you post a photo of your wrench inserted into the lock with your finger tensioning it?

Thanks
Squelchtone

[Comrade627]

I find that especially brass padlocks like to get hung up. Try tensioning like this.

[Madhatter67]

How does that not get in the way of the first pin??

[Squelchtone]

How does that not get in the way of the first pin??

you're going under the first pin to lift it, you're not hittin it head on.

[Comrade627]

How does that not get in the way of the first pin??

you're going under the first pin to lift it, you're not hittin it head on.

This, and just make sure that the wrench isn't touching the first pin or it can throw off your reading of the binding order. I won't speak for the entire community, but I do kbow thats a very popular way to use the wrench.

[Squelchtone]

watch this slide deck, I think it will help you understand the interaction of picks and wrenches on a plug and pins: http://toool.us/resources.html

also, along the lines of what Comrade was saying, top of keyway wrenches are cut short so they do not touch the first pin, you wouldn't want to use your regular wrench in the top of the keyway, you need to take a spare wrench and cut some off or file or grind it down shorter.

[deolslyfox]

Top of keyway takes a bit of practice but if you are gonna move into paracentric keyways and smaller locks it is worth learning.

TIP: Make some dedicated top of keyway wrenches. Keep them apart from your bottom of keyway wrenches. That way you can grab the right type the first time. While you are making them adjust the height so that the handle just rides on the lock body when inserted. Helps stabilize the wrench.