I've had springs fall past the shear line before . I had taken all the bottom pins out of a quick-loading Interchangeable Core lock and turned the plug without thinking. I tried pushing the mess back up but just didn't have an instrument to push them all up at once, or high enough--it would've been easier if the lock was just 180'd. I ended up taking off the retainer in the back and pushing the plug forward out of the lock. This kept the springs from wrapping around the lock and binding it all up, I was able to wrestle the plug loose (ended up getting three of the five driver pins above shear) and I still practice with that lock today! Pushing the lock out of the plug, rather than just turning, was the trick. If it happens in the future, comb picks would work great, as long as the lock isn't turned and the spring isn't wedged between plug and housing.
I just bought one of these locks as well. I picked it once, and after turning it, I could no longer turn it anymore. (I had removed 5 of the pins).
I then noticed there were springs coiled around the plug itself (which in gods name I cannot figure out how to remove).
I presume that I should have also removed the top pins and springs from the pins I removed?
It feels kinda saddening that I turned a $9 deadbolt into a paperweight in <1 hour.
Slow down on the picking until you get some more theory and how locks work knowledge under your belt, otherwise you're gonna leave a trail of destruction behind. Whatever you do, don't practice on your actual home locks at this point, that can end in a lock not wanting to lock or a lock stuck in the locked position.
So let me confirm what you just said, you bought lock, used a plug follower to push out the plug and dump out 5 of the 6 key pins and you were hoping to start picking it 1 pin, then add 2 pins, then 3 and so on, is that correct or did I mis read what you meant?
Whenever you do this, you have to remove the entire pin stack, meaning key pin, driver pin, and spring, otherwise, the second you put the plug back into the lock housing and turn it to line up the holes, pin stack 1 will be fine because there is a key pin there and the driven pin and spring do their normal job, but in stacks 2 through 6 the driven pins suddenly have a lot more room to travel up and down in the empty stacks because you have removed the key pins. So now the springs push the driver pins down all the way where the key pins were and the springs themselves are now in the plug and bible and the second you turn the plug, you will shear them or elongate them and they will wrap around the plug.
At least this was only a $9 dollar lesson for you, and as far as the bible cover strip to repin with new springs, some of them come off some do not, some come off and get bent and you have to hammer them flat or install a new one, and if they do not come off easily, you can always repin the springs and driver pins by using a plug follower and tweezers and loading them in from the tunnel where the plug normally lives. Hold the lock cylinder with the bible facing down, get some tweezers and drop a spring into the furthest away pin stack, then insert the plug follower from the back near that furthest away from you pinstack, put a driver pin over that spring and press it down with your tweezers and cover the hole by pushing the plug follower into the cylinder, this keeps the spring from popping out that driver pin. Next put a spring into the next hole furthest away from you, put a driver pin over it, press it into the hole and advance the plug follower to cover it.
This nice animation is great to get a firm understanding of what is going on inside and how the parts work together:
This video will show you how to repin your cylinder without taking off the bible cover strip:
He also has a set of 24 free lessons that I think you will get a lot of good info out of: (This is lesson 1, you can find the others on youtube)
C. You can measure one of the working springs and I could send you however many you need. GWiens2001 recently did me a true solid, and I'm looking to pay it forward, anyway. Might want to make sure you have a good understanding of what to do before starting up again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKgiBiF6Oqw. You can make a plug follower by cutting 1/2" dowel rod or buying any 1/2" tubing (credit to Cledry for the tip). This will generally suit your needs. I can also send you a couple security pins if you think you're ready for one or two.
C. You can measure one of the working springs and I could send you however many you need. GWiens2001 recently did me a true solid, and I'm looking to pay it forward, anyway. Might want to make sure you have a good understanding of what to do before starting up again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKgiBiF6Oqw. You can make a plug follower by cutting 1/2" dowel rod or buying any 1/2" tubing (credit to Cledry for the tip). This will generally suit your needs. I can also send you a couple security pins if you think you're ready for one or two.
I should be sure to remove the springs from now on.
I think the reason I did not was when I turned the pins, and it dropped out, the springs/top pins did not, so it slipped my mind.
I don't think I need a follower anyway, I pushed on it with a metal tuning fork I have, and it slipped out fine. The long part happened to be attached to the plug.
And thank for the spring site! Too bad they sell so many - I need just 5.
@C-clip, you bet. Did the other one get busted up? A safe way to remove them is to line the top center of the c-clip up with the bottom of the keyway; this allows you to use a small pick or screwdriver to push the clip off. I can send you one if you need it.
I think I have a similar lock to what I saw you had, so I checked that the springs I selected to send you would work. I'm also including a security pin, so you can get a feel for how those work. I also included an wiper insert so you can make your own tensioner. I think the lock you have is ideal for beginners. If you are having trouble with using a tensioner, you can turn the extended plug with your other hand and pick the lock that way! I used this method a lot when I picked up picking again. If you need any more c-clips, I saw they were only 16 cents on the CLK website, so good deal. PM me a good mailing address and I'll have it in the mail before the end of the week. Best of luck! http://s1317.photobucket.com/user/youluckyfox/media/2013-06-30180658_zpsf0d1ccd3.jpg.html This is a fun hobby, hope you enjoy it!
. I had taken all the bottom pins out of a quick-loading Interchangeable Core lock and turned the plug without thinking. I tried pushing the mess back up but just didn't have an instrument to push them all up at once, or high enough--it would've been easier if the lock was just 180'd. I ended up taking off the retainer in the back and pushing the plug forward out of the lock. This kept the springs from wrapping around the lock and binding it all up, I was able to wrestle the plug loose (ended up getting three of the five driver pins above shear) and I still practice with that lock today! Pushing the lock out of the plug, rather than just turning, was the trick. If it happens in the future, comb picks would work great, as long as the lock isn't turned and the spring isn't wedged between plug and housing.
