WHAT IF...

[antithief]

i'm a noob

the basics behind lock picking is to take advatage of the faulty. In this case-baisc- tension the plug to create a little edge to set the pins on.

theoreticaly, what if the lock is well made and there is no play in plug.. what now?

.....r there any locks out there with teh super secure plug that just can't be budget a bit with out the key.

[hzatorsk]

"faulty"... no... the basics is to take advantage of the necessary tolerances.

If the pins inside the pin wells and the plug inside the cylinder were of such precision that there was no play at all... then they would not move freely.

Remember too, that metals have a tendency to shrink and expand with temperature changes. Manufacturers need to compensate for expansion coefficients when they select the materials for lock making.

Some locks are made to much better precision... some argue that they give better feedback when being picked as pins feel 'smoother' and therefore set cleanly.

[mcm757207]

If the plug had 'no play' you wouldn't be able to insert the correct key.

[CaptHook]

What he is asking is not about the tolerances. Picking relies on the manufacturing imperfections such as pin chambers drilled off line, different diameters etc.
In a perfect lock, where all the chambers are drilled perfectly, all the same size (with enough room for free movement of the pins), all the pins perfectly sized etc..... there would be no 'shelf' for the pins to set on. You would have to rely on jiggler type picks to raise the pins to the shearline.
Chuck

[vector40]

Such a lock would be, in practice, impossible to build.

The fact that the highest-end production cylinders available still pick fine with our methods (assuming you can bypass whatever other security features are in place) should prove that.

[Exodus5000]

Such a lock would be, in practice, impossible to build.

The fact that the highest-end production cylinders available still pick fine with our methods (assuming you can bypass whatever other security features are in place) should prove that.

He's right. Machine tolerances even on the highest models still allow for picking, although they feel a bit more "gummy" because there isn't as clearly defined of a "click" when a pin has been set.

[hzatorsk]

What he is asking is not about the tolerances. Picking relies on the manufacturing imperfections such as pin chambers drilled off line, different diameters etc.

Chuck

Manufacturing imperfections, varying diameters, coefficients of expansion, etc are measured against an acceptable range. We call that range 'tolerance'... it is all the same thing from the picks perspective.

Perhaps too much focus is on tight plugs and pins... but antithief's question had to do with 'play in the plug' which took us down that path.