How to disassemble older Best padlock?

[Raymond]

Look more closely at some of the pictures. The plug is held in by lugs that fit in grooves milled into the body. When the plug has turned far enough for the ends of the lugs to be visible on both ends, the plug will be free to come out. Until the lugs are free, forcing it will only damage everything. Heating the lock will permanently damage the springs by annealing them. If the lock has been used for some time and has been bumped repeatedly, it may be deformed and the plug will not turn without some damage. Brass is a very forgiving metal but it will move and deform when pushed. Remember, you told us it is an old lock.

[averagejoe]

I have had to put this project on hold over the holidays. Averagejoe has sent me a lot of great information via PM.

Upon reflection, I am somewhat cool to the idea of turning the "plug" in the Best padlock as suggested in the pictures. Two things bothered me: First, it looked like there was some damage sustained by the plug even though the hammer blows were cushioned by the copper rod; Second, while the plug turned it was not removed. The photos reveal that there are no pins to be drilled out but in the end the plug is still firmly in the lock, just turned a few degrees.

What do you think of this idea? I put the lock (without the core) in the oven and let it bake at 450 for 30 minutes. The heat would cause both the plug and the hole to expand but the hole should expand just slightly more. After 30 minutes, pull the lock out with a pot holder, insert a pipe through the shackle and hold the body steady by standing on the pipe, and pull on the plug with a tool. While 450 is hotter than the normal lock environment, it should not be so hot as to damage the springs for the shackle and locking dog.

Shucks, I could spray everything with non-stick buttery-tasting Pam and bake a batch of cookies at the same time!

Very bad idea man. If you try to pull it out you will permanently damage the lock. Possibly beyond use. The reason that it is only turned a few degrees is because he was showing me that yes, it needs to be turned to come out. He did not fully remove it.

It is possible that you might get a few small dings on the edge of the retainer why removing it but is negligible compared to what would happen if you tried to pull it out. I can try it tomorrow and post the full results of any damage on an older lock.

The cookies on the other hand might be a great idea

[i_b_larry]

OK, after taking another, closer look there may be something to trying to turn that plug clockwise. I noticed that when looking at the plug from the angle of my original photo #3, the right side of the plug appears to have a groove machined into it that is not on the left side. I will give whacking it another try.

When I called this lock "old" I meant that it appears to be one that is no longer in production. I did not mean to imply that it is junk.

[i_b_larry]

In the course of searching for more information, I came upon a patent application from 1989 for what is now the B series of Best padlocks. The patent is for a double-locking-ball system.

From what I read, one of the issues Best had to deal with was that when shipping their padlock bodies without cores installed there was a danger that the innards of the lock would fall out the bottom while in transit. This patent, which looks like the basis for the current series of padlocks, was intended to solve that problem.

The pdf for the patent is at http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4998422.pdf.

[averagejoe]

Interesting on the patent. It must apply to earlier ball system locks and having the cam fall out or something because I dont see how it would be possible for the older style locks have the components fall out.

And I just disassembled a padlock. I did not have brass or copper handy so I used a flat head screwdriver. I turned it to around where that picture shows and was able to use leverage on the little tab that pop out when rotated. Do not over rotate as the shackle is hidden behind this part and it will just lock it up.

It is a really tight fit but it should slowly start coming out so just keep levering on it. Using a copper or brass rod/punch will leave almost no damage to the plug and if you only punch on the inside portion you will never notice it and it will not affect the ability to remove cores.

[averagejoe]

When disassembling, you only have to turn it far enough clockwise for the 2 little nubs to get out. The other side of the plug is smooth and will just slide out. This is why it has to be turned CW. And yes, it is damaged because I used a flat head screwdriver to turn it. I wanted to see how far it would need to go but found that it is stopped by the shackle after a certain point.

Little nubs


Smooth side.


It is a really tight fit so you will need to lever it out.

Here are a ton more pics http://s1143.beta.photobucket.com/user/Riyame/library/Best/Break%20down

[i_b_larry]

Wow! Based on a bunch of Googling over the last few days, I believe that you are the first person in recorded history to have photographed the insides of one of those locks. I found only one other person outside this forum who claimed to have taken one apart and he never bothered to take any pictures.

[averagejoe]

Really? Cool lol.

[i_b_larry]

Really? Cool lol.

I am serious. I could not find a single picture anywhere showing the insides of these locks.

[i_b_larry]

I got my lock completely disassembled!

I put my lock in a "cradle" made by lining my vise with a piece of cardboard. This allowed me to clamp the lock in place without scratching it all up while I turned the plug with a small punch. The punch made a few small nicks in the side of the plug, but no real damage. If I was going to disassemble a whole bunch of these I think I would grind the end of my punch to conform to the diameter of the hole and the angle at which the punch must be held.

Once the plug had turned enough to disengage the locking tabs, I was able to remove the plug by tapping on the open shackle with a block of wood. This pushed the plug straight out the bottom.

The amount of brass shavings inside this lock as a result of drilling out the old core was incredible. I was able to remove a lot with a very fine soft cleaning brush but I plan to spray everything with a chemical such as brake cleaner followed by compressed air.

Pictures will follow at a later date, but its pretty much like what averagejoe posted.

Thanks to all who steered me in the correct direction.

[i_b_larry]

Here is a helpful hint on removing the plug learned from trial and error.

1. Remove the core from the lock with the control key.

2. Insert a flat-bladed screwdriver between the pins of the tailpiece and turn fully clockwise. This will release the shackle along with the spring and the pin in the end of the spring.

3. Wrap the lock body in a layer of cardboard, place the lock body in a vise and, using a hammer and punch, turn the plug clockwise until the locking lugs have cleared the body.

4. Insert a punch through the hole where the shackle is normally held and gently tap the plug out with a hammer.

I will post more later on but I found this works for getting the plug out of the lock body.

[averagejoe]

If your shackle is coming out when you unlock it then something is broken.

[i_b_larry]

If your shackle is coming out when you unlock it then something is broken.

On my lock the only thing that holds the shackle in place is the locking dog above the plug. If you can retract the dog far enough, the shackle will come out. There are no other keepers or retainers. In normal use, most of us do not keep turning the key once the lock is open but it looks like if you turn it far enough the shackle could be removed.

I also played around with shimming the shackle to remove it and that did work but it is hard on the shim stock. Once I found I could remove the shackle by turning the tailpiece to its full extent, there was no reason to continue with shimming.

What holds the shackle in place in your lock?

[i_b_larry]

I have added an exploded view of my lock after clean-up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/ ... dbb2d0.jpg

[averagejoe]

Looking at your picture, the retaining bar should be the other way around. The side with the smaller hole should be next to the shackle. It catches the round part at the bottom of the shackle. This is probably why you are able to take the shackle off.

I just tried taking the shackle out of 25 different locks and only 1 came out. This shackle was damaged and parts of the bottom round part were broken off.