Opened my first lock (sort of)

[kharmic]

I was practicing last night/early morning and managed to set all the pins, at least, I imagine that's what happened. Suddendly the plug gave way and I could rotate it with my tension wrench, but for some reason the door still wouldn't open. Is there some safety feature preventing me from opening the door or is it more elementary?

[Wreckmaster]

Perhaps you picked the lock into the lock position, not the unlock position.


It is a bad idea to pratice picking on locks that are not yours, or that you rely on. Picking a lock can damage the lock. You really don't want to break the lock on your front door so the "bad guys" can waltz on in.



(I hope I did the disclamer properly )

[cjames73]

kharmic, get yourself a practice lock and tension in the same direction as you would turn the key.

Wreckmaster, i think your 'disclaimer' was ok

[JackNco]

Perhaps you picked the lock into the lock position, not the unlock position.


It is a bad idea to pratice picking on locks that are not yours, or that you rely on. Picking a lock can damage the lock. You really don't want to break the lock on your front door so the "bad guys" can waltz on in.



(I hope I did the disclamer properly )

Yep sounds about right, but u forgot the embarrassing situation of having to calla locksmith and explain what uve done.

[whiteknight38]

We need more details kharmic. Did the plug just turn a little bit, to the 45 degree position? If so you're turning the plug the wrong way as has been suggested. Start over.
Did the plug turn 180 degrees and freeze up? See the post on hung pins in Pick-fu.
Did the plug turn some degree variation in between?
You may have a friction issue with the bolt and the strike plate on the frame, and the tension wrench may not be strong enough to fully retract the bolt. This is pretty common. Try completing the turn with a small screwdriver, and save wear and tear on your wrenches.

[kharmic]

The plug turned a little past 180 degrees, then froze. I'll do some research and try the screwdriver thing, thanks.

[Eyes_Only]

If the plug has a gap or holes along the bottom of the keyway then the top driver pins might have partially fallen into this gap. This wouldnt happen if you were using a key because the bottom of the key would prevent the top pins from slipping into the plug, I know Kwiksets are very prone to this kind of setback. What you can do is place tension on the plug and using the pick or some other simmilar tool, place it in all the way at the top of the plug (which is actually now the bottom since it turned 180 degrees), lift up to dislodge the top drivers out of the plug and that should allwo you to rotate it the rest of the way to completely unlock the cylinder.

[kharmic]

How can I dislodge the pins if they are already upside down? I tried to lift each one, but they all appear stuck.