Beginners luck

[just looking]

I've only just started picking, and I had a go at my front door. Its a relatively new lock, so its very smooth. After a few seconds of poking about, remarkably, it turned.
Now, what happened has really confused me since. It turned 180 degrees, and stopped, and the pins seemed to lock in again. I was delighted that I had managed to make it turn, but then I was in horror when that happened. Nothing could make them budge again, and it just seemed to go wrong. The key wouldn't go in, and I went around the other way to the door and failed too. I really had no idea what to do, and wanted to sort it out before the other members of my house found out the little screwup. I sat down at the lock again, and just as remarkably as before, the lock seemed to turn when I used the tension wrench to bring it around - I hadn't tried to re-pick it, it just came loose.
I thought later that I might not have had a strong enough tension wrench, but it wasn't the case - the key didn't stop there when I turned it later. Its hard to explain - it just didn't make sense, and I haven't been able to pick it since. I don't know the make of the lock. Any ideas?

[_Ethereal_]

The driver pins loaded into the bottom of the cylinder, therefore causing it to stop at 180 degrees, its a normal thing to happen and is easily fixed by having a key flat cut ( no peaks) to 999999.\


loose? what apart was loose, pins?, cylinder?, housing?

some more info on that part please?

[EvoRed]

Yes, presumably your front door is a UPVC door so you're talking of a euro cylinder. Stick the back of a pick or tension wrench long ways in, and push the driver pins at the bottom down, as the gap in the plug is catching on these pins.

[just looking]

Yeah, its a UPVC one. But what does that mean - did I manage to pick it? It seemed ridiculous, cos it just went round almost as soon as I poked it a bit. When it jammed, I poked it a bit more and it came loose again, and back around another 180 degrees to normal.

[EvoRed]

Yes, by the sounds of it you picked it. When you push the pins down when it stops at 180 degrees, carry on around the way the cylinder was going after you picked it and it will go all the way around, a complete 360 degrees, and the door should have been unlocked.

Some just fall open and others are difficult to pick. You must have the former!

[gee252]

what make of euro was it ? some i play with open in no time and others that you think would be easy are hard work.
iv'e got an evva euro and and it opens in seconds with just setting two pins.