Help with Cheap Padlock

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Ok, so I've been picking locks as a hobby for a little over a month now and I've been able to pick several different padlocks including some with security pins, but I can't for the life of me open this piece of crap with any consistency. The plug moves around in the padlock and the tolerances are so loose that its very easy to over set a pin. It may or may not have security pins, but since the spring on the plug doesn't engage for the first few degrees of turning, its very difficult to tell where they might be. Is poor design really actually good design, or can someone help me?

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Ugh. It looks like I exceeded GeoCities' limit by uploading, so I put them on photobucket:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/Ghyrt/Chalet.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/Ghyrt/ChaletBottom.jpg

[freakparade3]

It looks like a master #3 knockoff. Should not have any security pins. Your lack of consistancy is why I recommend not to start out with padlocks. They are to tempermental. Get yourself a deadbolt and practice with that. You will find it's easier to learn.

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It looks like a master #3 knockoff. Should not have any security pins. Your lack of consistancy is why I recommend not to start out with padlocks. They are to tempermental. Get yourself a deadbolt and practice with that. You will find it's easier to learn.

Does this mean you won't give me advice? I can see why it isn't the best thing to practice on, but its what I have right now. Besides, I am learning from the thing: I can tell when I've set pins and I can tell when the lock is about to open; my problem has just been not over setting the pins.

[rontgens]

I think you'll find that lots of people have trouble with cheap padlocks, even experienced lockpickers< although they know that it's not their skill that's at fault, more likely the padlock misbehaving.
I've seen lots of threads talking about being able to pick higher quality padlocks easier than a really cheap made in China tempremental padlock.

I've seen people say bang the padlock on a hard surface to get the pins back in place after a failed attempt at picking and to make sure the padlock is well lubricated.

So I just think it's the sloppy tolerances and although it's still worth practicing on I suggest moving on from this padlock to something else...uphill battle and all that.

Plus are you tensioning okay? Those rivets tend to throw tension wrenches off a bit sometimes?

[freakparade3]

My advice as always to beginners was to get a deadbolt. You have picked the lock before so you know how to do it. Now it won't pick. I have a few padlocks like this. It frustrates me and I know it frustrates beginners, that is why I recommend not using padlocks.

[raimundo]

I see yours is named chalet, I had one once, I think the name was chateau, and it was not so easy, I never destroyed it but there were spools in it and one really deep pin near the front, I even tried to make a bumpkey for it, but I did not have the depth and spacing info, so I tried to use american and abus depths and spacing, it didn't work. I still have it somewhere I think.

Many of these laminated padlocks from china do have some security pins in them. but usually that only takes a bit longer to open them.

Yeasterday I was trying to bump an ACE hardware stores brand knockoff of a master three, easy to pick but I couldn't bump it. Im sure it was another made in china varient.

[amaze1]

Try using light tension and raking it, always works for me on those master #3 knock offs

[thelockpickkid]

A lot of these same exact brands I have ran across have spool pins. I believe these are sold as the cheap master knockoffs, as a few have already said. If I remember right they are sold at such places as Harbor frieght, and some true value, ace hardware type places. They are hard to pick because they are drillled using dull bits that move all over before they take hold and drill.