Tubular lock Mishaps

[fortyfive4life]

OK so Im a total newb to picking. I own a laundromat and I have a ESD type Tubular lock which I don't have the key so after seeing how "easy" it is on youtube. I went out and bought a 7 pin Pick from LockPickShop.com

Well after getting it I promptly broke the center guide pin off after aparently applying too much tension .

First off, it was not as easy as it looks , I withdrew it after pressing all the way in then "gently" turned it repeatedly to the left which yielded Zero results, So I tried the same only with a turn to the right. I thought I heard some pins moving only it turned out to be the center pin bending. I really didnt think I was turning it with any more force than a regular key but it then broke completely.

I thought for 80 bucks it should hold up a bit better, but clearly my lack of experiencewasn't helping.


My mission in life is to get this lock. Any suggestions? Please have pity on me.

[raimundo]

The tubular pick works like you are impressioning a key,

I dont know why your pick broke, but it will still work without the center pickup, it dosent need that to turn the stem of the lock, the pins when picked will do that.

I think your technique was wrong.

Zero the pick. (all sliders at the front of the barrel)

push the pick in to the bottom of the lock, observe the exposed ends of the sliders are any pushed back a bit. Just pushing the pick in will not necessarily move them so if none move, thats ok. but watch for the one that moves, it probably needs tension adjusted, if it moves because it should not have its friction overcome by the springs pushing on the pins.
Remember, ACE II locks have varied spring force. Test your ESP to see if something like that is happening, the feature is meant to make tensioning your tool difficult.

When you have pushed the pick to the bottom of the lock, (that should go easy, if not, remember, there are different diameters of the stem, don't force it if it dosent fit.

LET THE SPRINGS PUSH THE TOOL BACK, then put a light turning tension on the tool to bind whichever pins are binding, (some will take the pressure, others will not be under binding pressure as it only addresses a random few at a time)

from the position that the pins pushed the tool out to, and with light binding tension, push the tool back to the bottom of the lock, pins that are under pressure will start to set, (watch the exposed ends
as they show the sliders setting.)

LET THE SPRINGS PUSH THE TOOL BACK, then re tension lightly and push in again. the sliders that moved the first time may move further, or some other sliders may start moving. sliders that have reached the shear line will not bind and will remain at the position that they were pushed to.

Continue to repeat this until the lock opens, do not pull the pick out until you are ready to re zero it and start over. Starting over is common, do it as often as necessary.

Do not hold tension when you are allowing the springs to push the tool back. Only use tension when pushing in to the bottom of the lock.

To get the tool to work for the first time, you will have to do some tweaking of the rubber rings that make the sliders drag as they are being pushed under them. This is normal, none of these picks works well until the picker has 'tuned up' the pick.

[zeke79]

Just to add to Rai's comments, when you zero the tool and press it into the lock and let the pins push the pick back out you should only let it withdrawal a few thousandths of an inch at a time before adding tension and pushing it back in. Simply repeat this process until the lock is open.

As Rai mentioned too, the pick will still work as the pins will lock into the pick pin slots on the tool locking it in place. When you zero the pick, you may have to withdrawal the pins a few thousandths so the pins grab the grooves in the pick. Worse case scenerio would be to drill a hole where the old tension nub was and add a small piece of steel round stock or a tight fitting (in the hole you drilled) hollow steel roll pin that fits the groove of the lock fairly snug then silver solder the nub in place and file everything back smooth and round after the soldering. Just be sure to clean the metals well before hand and sand any bluing off of the roll pin. Don't forget to use a proper flux for the heat range of your solder and don't overheat the pick itself as you don't want to get the pick tip out of round. Also, remove the pick sliders as you do not want to remove the temper from those with the heat used to silver solder it and remove any rubber O-rings. If you are not comfortable silver soldering then you could try jb quick weld to see if it will work. Let the JB quick almost fully set up and then start filing it as it will file much easier that way.

Since I believe you said it was a southord pick, they may replace or repair it for free. That is definately worth sending an email or giving them a call and asking about it. This would definately be my starting point before I tried to do any work fixing it. If it were me personally I would use it as is as long as the pin grooves in the pick grip the pins well.

Good luck .

[fortyfive4life]

I did it! Holy Crap. Yep I was using Waaaay too much torque and it needed a bit more tension on the tension knob then I thought.


Thanks so much for your help guys.