Security pins in Western Australia

[heydonms]

Hi,

I'm chasing small quantities (i.e. not a $200 kit) of security pins (spool, mushroom, etc)?

I am in Perth, Western Australia. I have called around to over a dozen locksmiths and locksmith supply companies. So far every one has answered with "We don't use them", "We don't know what they are", "We won't sell them to you" or "Its illegal for you to have them". In several cases I was told "Sure, come on down" only to get one of the other answers when I got there. Needless to say I'm getting a bit put off :/

One fellow told me that they are called reel (real?) pins, I haven't been able to find any reference to them. Are they the same as spool pins?

Does anyone know of any locksport friendly locksmiths or suppliers around Perth? or any internet suppliers who sell in smallish quantities (100's are ok, 1000's are a bit much).

[globallockytoo]

You should try Locksmith Supply Company. They have an office in Perth. they might not sell it to you but they could give you an idea of where to go.

I know a bloke who could help you out...I think he is in Subiaco. Ex US lockie....but I cant find his number, sorry.

[keysman]

[quote="heydonms"]

"Its illegal for you to have them". [/quote]



Wow! Like you can go to prison for having spool pins?


What size (diameter) are you looking for?

Here is a list of the "contraband" in standard size. you can also get them for American/ Master Padloc, Medeco , Small format IC and probably a few others ... you should be able to order these from any locksmith supply.. I am sure any of the large cities in Australia have a locksmith supply house.




LAB Spool Pin .155 (100 Vial) (J155) 084015016911
LAB Spool Pin .165 (100 Vial) (J165) 084015016928
LAB Spool Pin .170 (100 Vial) (J170) 084015016935
LAB Spool Pin .172 (100 Vial) (J172) 084015016942
LAB Spool Pin .187 (100 Vial) (J187) 084015016959
LAB Spool Pin .190 (100 Vial) (J190) 084015016966
LAB Spool Pin .200 (100 Vial) (J200) 084015016973
LAB Spool Pin .207 (100 Vial) (J207) 084015016980
LAB Spool Pin .220 (100 Vial) (J220) 084015016997
LAB Spool Pin .235 (100 Vial) (J235) 084015017000
LAB Spool Pin .240 (100 Vial) (J240) 084015017017
LAB Spool Pin .273 (100 Vial) (J273) 084015017024
LAB Spool Pin .320 (100 Vial) (J320) 084015017031



Picture and description of the kit:
http://www.labpins.com/htm/universal_kits.html#lmdsec

[heydonms]

There seems to be one diameter that is used by 99% of household locks round here. Lockwood, gainsborough, doric are apparently all the same.

I did call the local distributor for locksmith supply company (I think they are called Security Supplies). They told me that "any locksmith" should be able to supply them, but they don't deal with the public themselves.

There was one other locksmith supplier that I found (I don't remember the name of the place, I spoke to them a few weeks ago) but I didn't have any luck with them either.

I just found a link to a security pin kit at lockpicks.com in another thread, its a bit more than I wanted to spend but I guess it will do if I can't find some locally.

[lunchb0x]

the only locksmith supply companys i know of in australia are "Locksmith Supply Company (LSC) or "Lock and KEY and im pritty sure both will only sell to locksmiths so your best bet is to try and find a local locksmith that will buy them for you.

you can always try order them yourself and tell them that you have your own company that does maintenance work and sometimes you rekey locks and then get them sent to a friends buisness or something.

As for pin diameter the lab ones are all you need

[globallockytoo]

the only locksmith supply companys i know of in australia are "Locksmith Supply Company (LSC) or "Lock and KEY and im pritty sure both will only sell to locksmiths so your best bet is to try and find a local locksmith that will buy them for you.

you can always try order them yourself and tell them that you have your own company that does maintenance work and sometimes you rekey locks and then get them sent to a friends buisness or something.

As for pin diameter the lab ones are all you need

They are the two most well known ones, LSC & L&K. But there a few more, mostly selling to the government.

Some hardware distributors can get access to that kind of equipment, but whether they will purchase just one kit of pins is debateable. There might be a minimum order quantity.

You might try contacting TIC (Taiwan Import Company). I think their head office is is Melbourne. They are a supplier of cheaper locksmith products. They are the original importer of XPT padlocks (LSC, sell a knock off called Baton) and these use mushroom pins (spools) in their chambers. The XPT range of padlocks are very difficult to pick and relatively cheap to buy....good practise but very hard usually and quite frustrating.

The pin diameters are just slightly thinner than LW or Doric. Gainsborough are another thing altogether. Gainsborough are usually wider in circumference. They are not true spools either (although there could be some spools in some of their products). Usually Gainsborough pins are distinguishable from a small line like a cut near the top (flat end) of the bottom pin (tumbler). This was originally an attempt to disguise a false gate (false shearline tactic) but when they decided to use plastic cylinder bodies, it defeated the purpose.

(sorry for waivering off topic)

[greyman]

Have you tried actually walking into the trade counter of LSC and asking them up front to sell you a spool pin kit? It might pay you to get their catalogue first so you know the part number and price, etc. They will ask if you have an account - just say no and say you want a cash sale. It doesn't hurt to tell them why you want it. They may be worried that you might be up to no good or something. There is nothing restricted about these pins - they are in every Yale lock in Australia.

There was a post a whlie back on DIY spool pins made with a hand drill and a file.

[heydonms]

I think I have one of those XPT padlocks. Thats actually why I want the individual pins, I can't get the thing open so I want to practice with one pin first and work my way up.

I haven't tried going in to LSC (I work full time).

There is a locksmith down the road from my work who seemed happy to sell me stuff, but they didn't understand what I was after so I'm going to go down there during my lunch break with some printouts from the LAB website.

Otherwise, I'll try and get a mate to go drop in on LSC.

Thanks all for your suggestions

Also, any idea what the real/reel pins are?

[globallockytoo]

Usually XPT padlocks in locksmith form....come with a plastic bag with the pins separated in them. There are often enough spare pins to pin up the particular padlock.

Perhaps the reason the locksmith didnt know what you meant is due to the use of terms.

"Spools" is not commonly used in Australia. "Mushroom pins" is the generally understood term there.

To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not familiar with the term "real/reel pins".

Unless there might be the assumption that a "real pin" might just be a regular pin. (bottom pin or top pin)

[Jaakko]

To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not familiar with the term "real/reel pins".

I think he means something like spool = reel. Think cable reel or film reel

[helix]

Medina Hardware (Kwinana) used to have pins about two years ago.
Don't see why he wouldn't now.
Try calling him.