Brinks shrouded

by **hiaxis** » 21 Apr 2007 23:55

Hey all,

I just wanted to thank you for all the info contained in this website. I've been tinkering with various Masterlocks, Kwiksets, Schlages, gun locks, etc. for quite a while now and decided to finally try my hand at security pins. I enjoy a challenge so I bought the lock in the pics below this afternoon at the local WalMart and I have to say, it put me in my place. A search of various tips and tricks on spool pins in the forums and a couple of hours of frustration later, I finally got this headache open. So, thank you!

Brian

by **NIC** » 22 Apr 2007 9:15

Ya i just got that lock a week ago!! Hard at first but when you get the hang of it, it's actually a very easy lock.

by **raimundo** » 22 Apr 2007 10:43

light tension, awarness of the 'reverse' effect of the spool pins, and you should start getting it in a minute or two as you become familiar with this lock. the hook shown looks good for the job, (tell us more about that handle?) you could even use a hook with slightly less height. that may not sound right to you but experience tells me that its true. too much tension will make this a difficult lock, ya don't need more tension than it takes to turn the key.

by **NIC** » 22 Apr 2007 11:05

If you have any wiper inserts? You could bend yourself a short tension tool for the top of the keyway. When i say short, i mean for it not to touch the first pin. That's what i use.

by **hiaxis** » 22 Apr 2007 13:12

You're right raimundo, once I learned to feel for that reversing effect you mentioned, it got much easier. The plug is spring loaded(with a fairly strong spring) so it's difficult for me to find the right tension but I'm sure practice will help with that.

The handle came with my 17 piece Southord kit I bought a while back. That handle was the main reason I bought the kit. It has two allen head set screws to hold the pick in place and I bet it would work for most picks out there.

It's funny you guys mentioned the tension wrench and hook height because those were the two things that gave me problems (besides those darn spools!). That hook in the pic is actually the shortest hook in my current kit. I tried using a half diamond for a while but I had a harder time feeling each pin with it compared to the hook. I think I'm going to shorten one of the taller hooks included in the kit for these tighter locks. I have quite a few tension wrenches so I guess it's time to start modifying!

Excellent idea on the wiper blade inserts too. This place is a wealth of knowledge!

by **LockNewbie21** » 22 Apr 2007 13:59

congrats mate, excellent job, pick up another and keep at it.

by **hiaxis** » 22 Apr 2007 18:48

Thank you. Any suggestions on a new lock to play with? I'm always looking for a new challenge

by **hiaxis** » 23 Apr 2007 19:07

Thanks to your suggestions, I'm finally able to get this lock in less than 2 minutes on a regular basis. raimundo and NIC, thanks for the suggestions....the modified tools work like a charm and make help a lot with this particular lock. All those serrated and spool pins and a spring loaded plug to boot.

Pic of the modified hook and tension wrench is below.

Take care,
Brian

by **NIC** » 24 Apr 2007 6:46

Another happy customer :lol:

By the way i just got my American 1105 yesterday and got it opened really quickly. I had heard that it was harder than the brinks ?? :roll:

by **hiaxis** » 24 Apr 2007 11:52

Man, I really need to proof read my posts :oops:

Congrats on the lock! I need to scare up a couple new locks to tinker with too. Saw a few nice Medeco's on Ebay to drive me to the edge of insanity LOL.

by **Squelchtone** » 24 Apr 2007 23:22

all this talk of the Brinks Shrouded prompted me to pick one up tonight at
Wal-Mart. It false set really quickly, then took another 5 minutes to open.

very smooth mechanism.. feels just like my Master No.532

I'm actually glad it didn't open in 20 seconds.. that would be a waste of $11

nice lock,

Squelchtone

by **hiaxis** » 25 Apr 2007 0:19

I'm just a noob to all this and this was my first experience with a 6 pin lock with serrated bottom pins and spools but I observed the same thing with mine. I apply very light tension while raking until the plug obviously over-rotates when one of the spools false sets. Once it's false set, I just go pin by pin with the short hook and feel for the backwards rotation while setting pins. I can finally get this lock in a minute or so on a pretty regular basis but the learning curve was steep for me on this one (story of my life) LOL.

There's probably a better way to do it but right or wrong, it worked for me. Got a Medeco biaxial on the way so I look forward to the many hours of frustration ahead

by **NIC** » 25 Apr 2007 6:57

hUMMM Medeco. That's a very long jump from the brinks !! You should of landed on something else before!!

(FOR MY INFO!! Why does it take me two screens to read your posts when it normally takes me just about one screen for most of the Posters ??)

by **Squelchtone** » 25 Apr 2007 11:30

NIC wrote:
(FOR MY INFO!! Why does it take me two screens to read your posts when it normally takes me just about one screen for most of the Posters ??)

because his photos were 1600x1200 and it has resized the available text area and forces us to scroll far right to read everything.

I think it took me a while to stop doing that and post thumbs, links, or resize to 800x600.

If he's feeling brave, he should get an American Lock Series 1105, 20, 50, or 5100 padlock. Then do Medeco down the line sometime.

Squelchtone

by **hiaxis** » 25 Apr 2007 12:26

OK, I can take a hint. The pics have been resized on my server. My apologies :oops:

Thanks for the suggestions on what lock to go with next. I have no doubt the Medeco is over my head right now but I'm as stubborn as they come and won't let a lock beat me. I'll see if I can find those American's on Ebay.

Sorry about the pics all.
Brian

Brinks shrouded

Brinks shrouded

light tension

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