Learn something new everyday

[Fackifiknow]

Beeing the lock pick noob that i am, this morning i started with the usual padlocks i rifle through in a few seconds each. Then experimented on them with different picks ect ect ect.... just getting a better feel for the whole thing. Then i toot my own horn all the way to the front door."if i can pick these padlocks then why not my front door?" i say So i rake both knob and deadbolt with relative quickness (ended up playing with the deadbolt for a while) both locks are old, beat up and dirty. then out of nowhere i cant turn the keyway of the deadbolt anymore .... uhh ohh i try to put the key in it ... ohhh sh*t the key wont go in all the way or turn. Its funny because the very first thing to run through my head was the big bold letters on the FAQ + noob threads that say DONT pick locks you rely on or are in use, and then i understood why it is people say that I decided to get the deadbolt out of the door and get it under some light and take a peek and what i did to it. I couldnt see much with all the dirt and crap in there but i could see that the pin farthest back was stuck down. After fiddling with it for a bit i just dove right in and took the cap that covered the springs and pins, never having done that before and not really thinking it out (just imagine someone crawling around the floor looking for springs) So i get 4 springs and 4 top pins out. The spring for the 5th wont come out i pulled on it lightly but no cigar, i notice that the bottom pins wont come out either and i can see the plug isnt lined up with the housing. For a good 20 minutes i try every pick i have to maybe move the stuck pin but noting it wouldnt budge at all Then i got sick of looking at this broken lock, grabbed some pliers and riped that spring right out. With the bulk of the spring out of the way i can see that somehow the bottom of the spring slid out into the keyway and is jammed along the side of the pin and shaft it sits in.Just my luck the spring snapped in the hole its self and now i couldnt get a hold of it to pull anymore(my noobness just keeps kicking me in the ass this morning) Then i get a tiny allen wrench and tap down on the pins in an attempt to loosen them enough to wiggle out the spring leftovers. Finally that did seem to do the trick and i was able to turn the key so that the bottom of the keyway was facing up and i could see straight down through the pin shaft into the keyway. I managed to use the hook shaped pick the yank out the remnants of the spring. got the last pins out, lined them up on the key and put the lock back together with only 4 pins. This will have to do for now until i can get out and get the proper pieces to put the last pinset it, but it works and no one will ever know the difference.

and that was my morning... a whole lot of headache, but a great learning experience. feel free to correct any wrong terminology or just say i told ya so

[freakparade3]

Although it is posted here hundreds of times, I doube their are many here that did not try to pick the lock on the front door very soon after their picks arrived. You just happened to be one of the unlucky ones the warning is aimed at. Good luck and oh yeah, Don't pick locks you rely on.

[bonez]

he he

just like that sign that says DO NOT WALK ON THE GRASS.

somebody always does

nice one

[cjames73]

you learnt the hard way but at least you sort of fixed the lock.

these warnings are given for good reason as you found out

[Wrenchman]

Good one! The first lock I disassembled got me crawling on the floor in despair, with a 60W bulb, for hours! (Imagine a cracy person really really close to the floor )



Wrenchman

Ps. I have NEVER picked a lock I relied on!
I mean broken, hehe

[RodVT]

Good story, and lesson. Thanks for taking the time to share it, also, it makes for a way better warning then the regular admonitions posted here....

[nekret]

A trick I always use if I lose a part on my floor is to get a small flashlight (the maglight that takes AAAs works well) turn off the overhead lights and lay the flashlight on the floor. Adjusting the beam to as narrow as it can get and rotate it slowly on the floor. Anything that sticks up from the floor (usually stray pins/springs) will be illuminated but the floor itself remains relatively dark. This trick probably won't work if you have carpet but on most ~clean hard surfaces it works great.

[Mr. Glass]

A trick I always use if I lose a part on my floor is to get a small flashlight (the maglight that takes AAAs works well) turn off the overhead lights and lay the flashlight on the floor. Adjusting the beam to as narrow as it can get and rotate it slowly on the floor. Anything that sticks up from the floor (usually stray pins/springs) will be illuminated but the floor itself remains relatively dark. This trick probably won't work if you have carpet but on most ~clean hard surfaces it works great.

Just wanted to say great advice! A friend of mine lost the back to an earing a couple of hours ago and I had happened to see your post this morning and tried your technique. It worked like a charm. Thanks!

[Locks2Pick]

lol my lock picks arrived today, i couldn't find any padlocks and was tempted to pick my front door, but then realised that would be a stupid idea just incase something like that happened.. Glad I didn't now =P