First re-pinning

[Edgaro55]

Well, I've been picking for about a year now, on and off that is. Today something struck me and I just couldnt get locks off my
mind. Anyway, I took apart my very first lock right now, my schlage, and only two words came to mind - holy .... I have to say,
taking this lock apart definitely struck my fascination. I have yet to read the MIT guide completely and have never read a
repinning article ( which im going to finish right after I finish this post). I have a few questions to throw out, if some will be kind
enough to answer, as the search didn't work out to well.




first off, here is a pic of the plug
You can see where the chambers are for the pins, but what in the world are those other 5 small holes next to them??




and also in this picture, what would those little balls be under the abus pins?
they jumped out of no where.. heh... also im guessing on the left those are spacers to adjust the pins for a master key?


Thanks a lot, I think im going to finish reading the rest of the faq's around here.

[Edgaro55]

Sorry, not 5 but 4 small holes next to the chambers

[dsdayl]

This has already been covered here...

viewtopic.php?t=11904&start=0

Nice piks though.

DoubleShot Dayl

[Chucklz]

The small pins are indeed master key spacers. For information about the ball bearings and extra holes, check out my post here.
viewtopic.php?t=11904&start=0

[Edgaro55]

The other set of holes in the plug is for something called construction keying. In between the top and bottom pins, a ball bearing is placed. This is used in place (or in conjucntion with master pins). The ball bearings create a shear line for the key construction workers are given. The construction key is cut so that all the ball bearings are in the plug when this key is used. When construction is finished, the owner is given his/her key. When the owner uses the key, the balls are raised into the plug at the shear line. Turning the key, causes the balls to fall into those holes making the construction key inoperable.

Lets use a single pin lock example.

Your lock as a #3 bottom pin, and a ball bearing that is the equivalent of 2 stops. The construction key is cut to 5. The 5 key will open the lock.

Owner inserts key with 3 cut. The ball bearing is raised into the plug at the shear line. Turning the key allows the ball bearing to be captured in the hole in the plug. This removes the ball bearing from the pin stack. The construction key, ie the key cut to 5 is no longer operational. Only the owners key functions.

Thanks a lot, that makes perfect sense... now all I have to do is find my other lost bearing.. Son of a... must of fell in my carpet.