Pin Placement

[p95ccw]

Hello,

I have been working on digital_blue's guide and going through the stages. I have been changing the order of the pins each stage to make sure I'm not just memorizing the lock. I have been using one of the taller pins in position 1. I have also been switching one of the shorter pins in and out for position 2; I had assumed that this would make it more difficult to pick having a tall pin in position 1 and a short pin in position 2. But the opposite seems to be true. On my lock the the 1st pin is the last to bind and and then 9 times out of 10 just the act of setting the number 2 pin also sets the number 1 pin.

I am using cheap Mountain Security Deadbolt for this exercise, model 3502-105. (In hind sight the cheap lock may have something to do with this situation.)

Sorry for the long post, I will get to my question now!

What are your experiences with pin placements as to the difficulty of the lock being picked?

[JK_the_CJer]

First of all, I'd like to commend you an taking your time to notice such a situation. This sort of thing is pretty common (long key pins being set by mistake). You should not think of this situation as a stumbling block as long as you recognize it. Most newbies are content with "oh, it opened, goody". The fact that you are looking deeper is a very good sign. If you seek to pick a high pin without setting a low pin (this seems to be your goal with your current exercise), try moving the both stacks to rear one place (in chamber 2 and 3 instead of 1 and 2). If you find the same situation, try moving them back another chamber. Also, it should be noted that used locks (due to the action of the key wearing front chambers away more) tend to set from back to front generally.

Keep us updated and keep up the analysis