Help puting lock back together

[splister]

Hi i have a master #930 that i took apart, it was dumb i know. I need to know how to put it all back together. Here is a picture of all the parts i have.

When i put the key in the pin housing, nothing happens.

Im screwed right?

[splister]

Sorry for the double post, but you need to click on the picture to make it bigger.

[Wrenchman]

Here is a picture of all the parts i have.

Where's the springs and the key/driver pins?

Im screwed right?

Yes, you're screwed!

J/K, I'm sure someone here can help you put this lock back together!



Wrenchman

[MacGyver101]

Well, it looks like all of the parts are there... so that's a good start!

You say that when you insert the key into the cylinder "nothing happens". Do you mean that the cylinder no longer rotates? If so (and assuming that you haven't done anything abusive to the cylinder) I wonder if you may have lost some of the bottom pins? If you look at the bottom of the lock cylinder, you'll see a number of holes... if you insert the key and rotate the plug 180°, the bottom pins can come out through those holes, for quick rekeying. If you've done this by accident, you may have lost a bottom pin somewhere. (You can check this by inserting a small pick and lifting the pins: look at the bottoms of each pin, and make sure you don't have a "flat" bottom pin somewhere.) If you have lost a bottom pin, you'll need to find the missing pin, pick the lock open, rotate the cylinder 180° and reinsert the bottom pin back into the appropriate chamber. (While picking the lock, you'll likely have to push something slender (e.g., a needle) up through the repinning hole(s) where you've lost the bottom pin, in order to raise that driver above the shear line.) If you're having to replace several bottom pins (and having trouble figuring out which chambers they should go in, even after comparing them with the key), it may be easier to remove the plug... someone here would, I'm sure be happy to provide additional instructions on that.

Beyond that issue, you should just be able to insert (in order) the shackle, the ball bearings, the brass plug for the bearings, the cylinder, the retaining plate, and finally the nut and bolt that holds the retaining plate in place.

[splister]

Here is a picture of the cylinder. There is, indeed a pin missing. I will look for it.

(click on the image to make in bigger)

[MacGyver101]

Ack! Sorry: I should have been clearer. Those plugs are drilled for a maximum of six pins, but they're usually only factory-keyed to five. From the picture, it looks like you're not missing anything -- the lock should re-assemble and work just fine, from the pictures you've posted.

[splister]

Awesome! But why wouldn't the key work? I will try to put it back together in that order.

[splister]

Im having trouble putting the ball bearings in. I put the first one in, then put the other in, then they both fall out. Its driving me nuts.

[MacGyver101]

Ah, okay: I think I just realized what the problem is.

It's not that the lock won't turn once you insert the key... it's that the cylinder is stuck, and you can't turn it back to the "12 o'clock" position. If you've picked the lock and rotated it to 180°, and suddenly found that it's stuck, the driver pins have probably just fallen into the bottom of the keyway. Insert a pick into the bottom of the keyway (which is now rotated up to the top, near the springs) and lift the driver pins back up (i.e., lift the driver pins up towards the springs). This should free the cylinder to rotate -- and, once the cylinder is re-locked, you should be able to re-insert the key.

[MacGyver101]

Im having trouble putting the ball bearings in. I put the first one in, then put the other in, then they both fall out. Its driving me nuts.

I find that a bit of grease (or Vaseline) makes them sticky enough to hold in place until I get everything assembled.

[splister]

I still don't get what you saying.. Here is a picture of the pins, i see there are little tiny spools at the bottom, which were never there before, and pins at the top.

[Wrenchman]

Oh boy, that's not good!

J/K, push the spool pins back in the lock, it's best if you push all at the same time, like with the back of a wrench!

But what do I know, MacGyver we need your knowledge!

Ps. don't forget to turn the plug, after you have pushed the driver pins down.



Wrenchman

[MacGyver101]

No worries.

The lock, as you've photographed it, has the cylinder rotated 180° from its normal "locked" position. If you look at the "6 o'clock" position in the photograph, you'll see some pins protruding into the keyway: these are the "driver" pins, and the key would normally prevent them from falling into the keyway. Because there isn't a key there, they've slipped into the bottom of the keyway and jammed the lock. You can insert a long, flat pick into the lock, and press down on all of those pins at 6 o'clock -- this will release the cylinder and allow it to turn again. You could, for example, turn a half-diamond pick upside down (so the diamond is pointing "up" towards 12 o'clock in your picture), slide it to the very back of the lock, and then push down against all of the bottom pins at once.

Hopefully that helps!

[splister]

Okay, i've got the cylinder in the correct position, and start to assemble the lock, But then the brass plug that holds the bearings in place will not fit. Show on this picture. (click on it to enlarge)



Thus making the cylinder stick out like so.

[splister]

Can anyone help? I am really stuck. I Have the shackle and bearings in, but the brass plug that holds the ball bearings in won't fit. explained in the post above.