Russwin Lock with Deformed Plug

[unbreakable]

Can you see the second to last chamber in the plug? It appears to have been filed down, but I'm not sure why

Its been filed down evenly on both sides, so it hasn't been done to allow one key to simply lock the lock, and not unlock it.......

Any logical reason to do this? I can't figure it out. Not sure if it's relevant, but as you can see in the first picture the lock was master keyed. Was somebody taking a shortcut when master keying the lock?

BTW, the master pin in the second last pin stack simply fell out when I was taking it apart, so I'm not really sure where it came from, but I'm guessing it came from there, based on when it fell out of the lock.

Thanks!
Unbreakable

[Shrub]

Looks like someone has been filing pins to make them fit the key, very naughty, the proper size pins should be used,

You can confirm or deny this by looking at the pin that came out of that chamber,

[unbreakable]

Sorry Shrub, but none of the pins look like they've been filed, in fact they all look in pristine condition, except fo a light 1-2mm line down the rough center of the middle and second to last pin....

I can't seem to get a picture of it, sorry!

Is there any other reason for doing this?

[HeadHunterCEO]

Sorry Shrub, but none of the pins look like they've been filed, in fact they all look in pristine condition, except fo a light 1-2mm line down the rough center of the middle and second to last pin....

I can't seem to get a picture of it, sorry!

Is there any other reason for doing this?

prehaps the pins that are currently in the lock but the set before was most likely filed at that position.

[unbreakable]

Sorry Shrub, but none of the pins look like they've been filed, in fact they all look in pristine condition, except fo a light 1-2mm line down the rough center of the middle and second to last pin....

I can't seem to get a picture of it, sorry!

Is there any other reason for doing this?

prehaps the pins that are currently in the lock but the set before was most likely filed at that position.

Wow, is this all that common?

seems like a real half-a$$ way of doing things to me....

[dosman]

Like many repairs (Lock or non-lock related), there are times for a proper fix and times for a hack. I've had many conversations go like this:

Me: "Well, I don't have any of those on me at the moment. I can make it work without replacing any parts, but you really outta pay to have it fixed properly very soon"
Customer: "Fine, whatever gets it working for now"
Me: "Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you if it fails again"

And then it breaks again a year later and then another call is placed and someone else says, "Gee, no wonder it broke, look at what the last cracker jack did to it".

[zeke79]

Actually I have seen some assa locks that have worn down brass plugs with nickel silver pins. The keys were miscut and that resulted in the plugs being wore down in my best opinion with measuring the keys with calipers.

I am not saying that is what happened here, but that it can happen in certain instances.

[HeadHunterCEO]

Sorry Shrub, but none of the pins look like they've been filed, in fact they all look in pristine condition, except fo a light 1-2mm line down the rough center of the middle and second to last pin....

I can't seem to get a picture of it, sorry!

Is there any other reason for doing this?

prehaps the pins that are currently in the lock but the set before was most likely filed at that position.

Wow, is this all that common?

seems like a real half-a$$ way of doing things to me....

It is but it happens
Kwikset bottom pins also turn up in place of regular drivers also
sometimes if the key is cut too shallow the driver will chew the edge off the plug next to the chamber but that usually results in a very straight and soft groove

[I Pik U]

That was filed on purpose by someone who did not have the proper sized pin/s. Either for a master key or a regular key. Basically, the person had too short a pin in that chamber and did not have a longer pin. They will file the shear line down to the too short pin's height, allowing the lock to work. I have seen many cylinders filed that way, sometimes all the chambers even!
Definitely not someone who had a large pinning kit with all the sizes, be it a .003 or .005 kit.

[Shrub]

Wow, im supprised his horse allowed him to spend that long fileing if thats the case