by Knowthebird » 8 Jun 2007 23:07
Yah, its in the stickies (I assume :-).
The lock does not really decide the order. The order the pins bind in is determined by how the holes holding the pins are alligned. This is determined by how the holes where drilled into the lock.
The binding pin is the pin in the hole that is farthest to the left or right (depending on which direction tension is applied to the inner cylander). The pin farthest to the left or right is is going to hit the outer shell before any other pins can and bind/get stuck between the inner cylander and the outer cylander.
When the pin is stuck between these two cylanders it becomes more difficult to lift versus the pins not in contact with the outer cylander. This is because there is much more friction on the pin when it is slammed between two cylanders. This also means the more tension you place on the lock the greater the binding pin will press against the two cylanders, friction will increase, and it will be more noticeable that it is the pin that is most difficult to lift.
That tension and friction is enough to hold the binding pin in place as you raise it so lift it above the shear line. When the pin is above the shear line the inner cylander turns some. When it turns the edge of the hole for the first pin prevents it from falling back down. Also, the next pin farthes to the left or right hits the outer cylander and becomes the new binding pin.