Tubular Lock Picking Anaylsis By Locknewbie21

[LockNewbie21]

Ok i seen alot of people on here asking questions about tubular locks. Well i have the standard 7 pin tubular lock from southord... the new style. I must admit at first i couldnt even pick my bike lock. Now the bike lock was the highest security they had, it was roughly 80$ american. I also aquired an Ace 2 lock just today on my not so friendly visit to the local locksmith. I will also try and get a video of what i am trying to explain here asap.

Lock #1 (80$ bike lock)
This one was my first tubular lock. It took me about 4 days and roughly 6hours of work to pop the first time. Okay the trick with this lockpick is and is always going to be proper tension. You will open any tubular lock as soon as you practice enough to corectly judge tension. So on to the lock. It said on the package that it 4 of 7 seurity pins. So you start out by taking the lock pick and applying the correct tension. In this case it was on the higher side due to the quality of the lock. SImply insert pick exactly straight and push all the way down. Now a good trick is to due a sturdy(not to hard but sturdy) downward and twisting motion counter clockwise to clockwise. Then switch to a side to side motion and go back and for till the lock opens. As long as you keep the pick striaght wilst doing these motions it will open no problem. Rember the hardest part is tension judgement and keeping the pick straight in unison with the correct fluent motion.

Lock # 2 Ace 2(commonly found on vending machines and some safes,ect)

Okay now this one was a trick and a half. But it is possible with a southord, but extremely difficult. I also found on the ace 2's there is harldy any give at all in the shear line. Thus meaning if those pins arent perfect down to the .0010 on an inch its not budging. Okay sound intimindating? well it is at first but as always proper form and practice will prevail. Granted this took me a day, i spent more hours one this in one day then on my bike lock.... yea i have no life. But on to the lock.

First you put a very very high tension on it due to variable spring tension. I will say very clearly, judging the tensions for ace 2's will take forever. This one took me forever. But i noticed for ace 2's you use the same budging force and with my bike lock or a standard tubular, meaning a sufficient force downward and side to side but not killing your pick!!!! Okay so once the hardest part was complete(judging proper tension, which for starters was HIGH!) i moved on to the basic picking movements. You insert pick and go all the way to the bottom like every tubular. Then you begin to slowly move the pick from side to side slowly with moderate pressure and firmly holding it to the bottom of the lock. Then begin moving on to the inward outward side to side unison movement as explained above, and if everything is perfect.. and i mean perfect the lock will pop.

Conclusion
My conclusion on tubular locks from a newbie's perspective is there not as intimidating as they look. And compared to most locks there on the easier side to pick with, now listen closley. #1 Proper tools, the more pricier ones will open the lock faster example (petterson)#2 Much practice on proper holding of tool and specific motions #3 The hardest part of all with these locks and the southord 7 pin pick is deffinatly judging tension properly.

So there you have it, until i can get a video on here this is the best if you have any questions add them here and or PM me. Also this is not a guide to teach you how to crack locks that arent yours. LoL You will be caught before you properly pick it so dont try. There semi easy locks but invovle time. So Stick to your own, also for information on were to purchase anything form standard easy to ace 2's pm me or leve a comment.

Well hope my little study helps you guys out tell me what you think!

happy pickin' Andy

[vector40]

I'd be interested to hear about anyone's experience with the alternate method of using the tubular picks, that of pulling the needles all the way back, inserting the pick, and extending them individually. Seems like it might have more luck with the Ace II and its kin.

[LockNewbie21]

Vector i am unfamiliar with this technique. Could you explain or give the address where this could be found, it would be a good addition to my thread. Thanks for the info man.

Andy

[Shrub]

Well having had to pick 20 ace2's this week at a laundrette i can say they pop with both methods but i found that indeed the single pin picking did work quicker on some of the locks,

Basically, set all feelers higher than the cut on the pick,

Apply tension and slowly push down each feeler, you will either feel the click of the shear line or the feeler will spring back to a certain height, move round the feelers until they are all set and you should then be able to open the lock.

A few tips for your above method,

DO NOT wiggle too much on the south ords, you can easily split the tool at the cuts, why they arent made from stainless i do not know but i broke mine a few times due to that,

The tension thumb turn needs to be quite tight, not as tight as you can get it but firm, this will give you the best results.

[Shrub]

I must add however that my tool may have split due to having the mod done to it that means a 8 pin tool will also do 7 pin locks.

[LockNewbie21]

interesting... yea i was wondering about that mob to turn it to an 8 pin. I have yet to try it other than it splitting, was the mod worth it? and how successful was it with offsets? i havent been able t come across a lock on ebay ect. that was offset so i am still unfamiliar with them. Also i have seen on a vending site a 10 pin.. have oyu ever seen heard or encountered these beasts? quite intimidating to look at, prolly a wimp to pick though any thoughts?

[LockNewbie21]

interesting... yea i was wondering about that mob to turn it to an 8 pin. I have yet to try it other than it splitting, was the mod worth it? and how successful was it with offsets? i havent been able t come across a lock on ebay ect. that was offset so i am still unfamiliar with them. Also i have seen on a vending site a 10 pin.. have oyu ever seen heard or encountered these beasts? quite intimidating to look at, prolly a wimp to pick though any thoughts?

[Shrub]

Yes the mods worth it but a 7 pin cant be made into a 8 pin only the other way round,

Did 5 10 pin ones at the same job, not easy to pick at all and thats if you have a 10 pin tubular pick.

The SO only do normal locks not the offset ones.

[LockNewbie21]

Interesting to say the least, yea i came across those locks on a vending website in my attempts to find a reputable dealer of a quality tublar lock, they didnt look to easy. And wow they have a ten pin tubular lock out there? i never seen one, where can you find them, my thoughts for them was i once heard the peterson pro1 had diffrent size head to put one for 7 and offsets and 8 pin also smaller 5 pin tubulars. I never knew there were so many well i am sticking to 7 pin standards and ace 2 standards and my trusty SO till i have my feet planted. thanks for the info man


Andy

[vector40]

Good description Shrub, thanks.

[Victoria]

Hello fellow lock enthusiasts, I have recently joined the site and actually became interested in locks and picking, when a local locksmith asked me to do some work on his tubular pick. You see, I’m an excellent machinist/welder and fabricator, having done tool and die work and just about every other sort of metal fabrication you can think of.
I met this locksmith when I wandered into his shop to see about purchasing a combination lock for a large gun safe I fabricated. I didn’t like the cheap sheet metal ones sold in stores so I made my own. Unfortunately, it still sits in my shop because it’s too heavy to lift without a forklift. But that’s OK, because whatever is in it is safe from dishonest hands whether it’s in my shop or home. Anyway, the locksmith came to my shop to see the safe and was rather impressed with the machinery I have and the capabilities of what can be produced on them by a qualified operator. I can basically produce every part of every mechanical lock on earth. So I ended up making allot of hard to get parts for older locks and making fixtures for his use in business, which helped him assembling certain locks and this type of thing.
Anyway, the reason I mention all of this is because I have repaired several of this locksmith’s tubular picks and have also made a number of my own tubular picks. I have probably disassembled, analyzed and picked more barrel type key locks, than anyone you’ll ever meet. I have also recorded the codes for each and every one of the locks I’ve ever picked, both round key, straight key, Abloy and KD type vending machine locks as well. But I’ll stick with the round key and tubular locks for this post.

The lock manufacturers have made many changes to their original design in order to make their locks more pick resistant. Some of them don’t look much different to the untrained eye, but you’ll play hell trying to get one of the later model, pick resistant ones to pop. I can pick open the standard 7 pin ace lock (original design) in less than a minute about 99 % of the time. Many will open in thirty seconds or less depending on conditions.
When I spend five or ten minutes picking a lock and I keep getting different numbers coming up on my pick, I know I’m dealing with a lock which was manufactured with some degree of pick resistance incorporated in the design.

I’m pressed for time right now, but what I’ll do is write up some of the tricks I’ve learned in studying and picking these locks and post them here in the next several days. I’ll also give you some tips on repairing and modifying your pick, so it will work better for you in most situations. One thing you can try to master in the meantime, is knowing the code of a key by simply looking at it. This was actually easy for me because I’m eyeballing the depth of cuts made on the mill and lathe all the time, so I was able to easily differentiate between a 1 and a 2 cut by simply looking at it. If you have a tubular pick manufactured by one of the common companies producing them, then you should have a decoder block of some type. So gather up as many tube keys as you can and try to decipher the code of each one by eye. Write it down and then check yourself with the block to see how well you do and of course see which cuts you have trouble identifying. Sometimes the 4 cut can look like a 5 and the 6 can look like a 5 or 7. But with a little practice, you can get quite accurate at knowing the cut code, simply by sight.

The depth of the cuts are made in “16 thousands” increments. So a 1 cut is .016, the 2 is .032 and so on. Here’s the chart of cut depth.

Cut Depth (in Thousands)
1 = .016
2 = .032
3 = .048
4 = .064
5 = .080
6 = .096
7 = .112

The code is read by holding the key with the open end up and the key-way facing towards you. Then, starting at the first cut to the left of the key-way (Looking at the key itself, not the lock) you read each cut going clockwise around the key with the 7th and final cut being just to the right of the key-way (when it is facing you).

Real quick, there was a question regarding the 10 pin lock, so I thought I’d provide this,,,,
The 10 pin barrel key locks I have seen on vending machines are actually 10 pins on a 12 hole circle, or 30 degrees from one pin to the next. This is similar to the seven pin ace having 7 pins of an 8 pin circle, with the position the 8th pin should be, is usually centered with the key-way slot (if it had an 8th pin and was not an offset design) The pins in that pick are 45 degrees from one pin center to the next. Now this probably doesn’t matter to most of you, however, being a machinist I use this information when I fabricate my own picks.
So if I wanted to make one for the 10 pin lock, I would machine 10 slots w/30 degrees from one pin center to the next. This would leave an area on the circumference of the pick, where three more slots could go. Then, I would press an indent into the pick, where the center, of these three missing pins would be. This indent would then become the key-way that fits into the slot which would function to turn the lock when all pins are at sheer.

Hope this information helps. If I’m being too long winded or posting information which is elementary to all of you or something you don’t give a rat’s butt about, let me know and I’ll shut up!

[Shrub]

Are you male or female?

At last someone who may be able to understand all my machineing talk, i to can make anything i want and have done.

I look forward to more of your posts.

[Victoria]

Are you male or female?

I stand up whenever I pee and have for as long as I can remember.

I leave the toilet seat "up" when I'm done.

I don't require three rolls of toilet paper each day.

I don't use a map and never need or ask for directions either!

[LockNewbie21]

Excellent discrpition. I am very impressed with your though break down, as far as these homemade picks are concerned would you mind showing pictures, for what i read you certainly know your stuff and it would be enlightening to see what oyu capable of, becuase i amused to seeing either the standard SO pick or the peterson, Lets see the pics buddy!

This forum has some pretty good stuff in it so far, very nice, i hope they see this whne i inquire later on to go into the advanced forums, lol i need all the help i can get to try and score and apprenticeship


Andy