newbie needs help, please! (with 4 pin padlock)

[Reverse]

two things are obvious from my title: i'm a newbie to lockpicking, and i need some help. Thank you in advance to anyone who helps or attempts to help me.

this is probably a really easy fix, but i cant seem to get the hang of it. i'm practicing on a generic, no name, four pin padlock. i know all the basics of why picking works and how it works and, in theory, how to do it. the problem is that i keep oversetting my pins and for some reason cant stop. would anyone be able to help me out on how to keep from doing this?

again thank you in advance
--Reverse

[Squelchtone]

How do you know you're over setting them?

One common thing we see a lot is new pickers who just lift all the pins up and think that the lock should open because they lifted all the pins up. I have a feeling you know better than that, but remember, if you look at a key the maximum distance you'll ever move a pin is 1/4 inch and that's being generous, usually its like 1/32 to 1/8 inch motion. And just as the key to your padlock is peaks and valleys that are deeper and shallower, you have to only lift the pins in the lock high enough to make a shear line.

What brand and model of padlock is it? do you have a photo? (paste a link from your photobucket or flickr) Do you have the original key? Another thing we see a lot of is very heavy force used on the tension wrench. If you are bending the wrench into an arc or your fingers are turning white, then it is too much pressure.

Anther question is, are you turning the lock plug the correct direction, and where do you have the wrench, top of keyway or bottom of keyway, and what kind of lock pick are you using? purchased on internet? home made? hook pick? s rake? half diamond?

More details will help up give you better advice.

Squelchtone

[Reverse]

How do you know you're over setting them?

One common thing we see a lot is new pickers who just lift all the pins up and think that the lock should open because they lifted all the pins up. I have a feeling you know better than that, but remember, if you look at a key the maximum distance you'll ever move a pin is 1/4 inch and that's being generous, usually its like 1/32 to 1/8 inch motion. And just as the key to your padlock is peaks and valleys that are deeper and shallower, you have to only lift the pins in the lock high enough to make a shear line.

What brand and model of padlock is it? do you have a photo? (paste a link from your photobucket or flickr) Do you have the original key? Another thing we see a lot of is very heavy force used on the tension wrench. If you are bending the wrench into an arc or your fingers are turning white, then it is too much pressure.

Anther question is, are you turning the lock plug the correct direction, and where do you have the wrench, top of keyway or bottom of keyway, and what kind of lock pick are you using? purchased on internet? home made? hook pick? s rake? half diamond?

More details will help up give you better advice.

Squelchtone

im pretty sure im oversetting them because the key pin is staying up instead of coming back down after the pin is set like it should. so i know i'm over shooting the shear line by at least a little. half of the time the pin being overset is not even the pin that i'm trying to set; its usually the first one that gets stuck when i try to set the first binding pin (which i think is the third pin in).

the padlock is a no name generic i picked up from walmart the other day for some practice, the picks im using i got from budk.com found here http://budk.com/Self-Defense/Secure-Pro-Credit-Card-Lock-Pick-Set . i dont have a flicr or photobucket right now but i can make one soon, and i do have the key to the lock.

im not sure exactly whats is heavy and light with respect to pressure on a tension wrench, but i know i'm not putting so much into it that it bends. the lock operates clockwise and that's the direction i apply the tension at the bottom of the keyway and i switch between a rake (which im not very fond of) and a half diamond.

thanks again
-- reverse

[Squelchtone]

If there's any way you can use epoxy or something to glue popsicle stick handles to the pick handles to make them longer, you'll get such better feel for what's going on in the lock..

The other thing, and this is very ironic, is that the generic 40mm Made in China padlocks sold at Wal Mart usually have mushroom shaped security anti-pick pins in them and are harder to pick than a typical Master Lock No. 3 laminated padlock. Some of them may be Brinks, some may be Mountain Security which is owned by one company. Brinks are fun to pick, they usually have some spool shaped anti picking pins in them (spool pins)

bounce or wobble your tension wrench while picking.. kind of like tapping out morse code on an old timey morse code key. basically apply medium tension, and then let us push against your finger until its almost fully released, then apply the same tension, and keep doing that to the wrench while picking with your other hand.

good luck and keep trying. If you want a better starter lock, the Walmart Brinks deadbolt for $12 is a great start. you can easily take it apart, learn the insides, and then instead of starting out fully pinned up with all 5 pin stacks, you can remove 2 or 3 stacks and start easy and build up your skill.

Squelchtone

[chaos4zap]

Also, since you are manipulating pis that you are not trying to, you are obviously dealing with some key way space issues. Try different locations for your tension or top of the key way (TOK). With small locks with restricted space, I often find that going to TOK tension will give you the best chance at freeing space up and only hitting the pins you are trying to. If you don't have a TOK tool, you can usually find something laying around that can be used for this purpose. I make my own TOK tools from the thinner windshield wiper blade inserts and they seem to work well if, for some reason, the Petterson pry-bar isn't working. It's hard to get specific without knowing exactly what you have, but play around with way's to buy your pick more space in that key way. The slimline picks are especially useful in these situations, where the standard...larger picks take up allot of real estate in the key way.