Rattling

[hydruh]

If I hold down all of the important external parts of a lock core, and then shake it and hear rattling, is there a pin stuck? I have three old locks that I can't pick and ALL of them rattle. I am thinking that the binding pin is stuck and the key pin is rattling.

Thoughts?

S

[Safecrackin Sammy]

Depends on what type of lock core you have.

Could be exactly the opposite... Maybe a spring is collapsed and your hearing both upper and lower pin
bouncing around.

[hydruh]

Depends on what type of lock core you have.

Cheap 5 pin - Schlage or something.

Could be exactly the opposite... Maybe a spring is collapsed and your hearing both upper and lower pin
bouncing around.

Good point. Then it technically is pickable. Hmm ... wish I had a key. Thanks for the insight.

S

[freakparade3]

I got all excited thinking this thread would be about snakes............

[hydruh]

I got all excited thinking this thread would be about snakes............

Sorry, man. Boring n00b question instead.

S

[tballard]

First of all: I am glad this thread is not about snakes.

Secondly, I've got a lot of used generic Schlages, and it's not uncommon for them to rattle. Depending on the tolerances, you might be hearing the pins/springs rattling side-to-side in the chambers if the springs are weak. (hopefully that makes sense)

I know two things I would try (and hopefully others have more tricks):

1. Smack or rap the lock a few times against a hard surface. Often this will dislodge a stuck pin. If the rattling changes, that's a good sign.

2. Flood the lock with WD-40. (I know, I know, it's evil, horrible stuff, but it works well for this) This will flush out some of the crud, lubricate things, and having liquid in the lock will change the dynamics a bit as well. I've only had to resort to this twice, but both times I went from a lock I couldn't pick to a lock which opened in seconds.

Once you've got the lock open, take out all the parts and clean them well. My preferred method is rather lame, but works: put the parts in a small tupperware container half full of hot water with a few drops of dish soap added and possibly a teaspoon of Oxyclean, put the lid on, and shake it for a while. Repeat this with just water once or twice to rinse, and things should improve.

[uklockpicka]

The rattling you may be hearing could be anti drill pins at the front of the core. When you manage to pick and gut the lock, have a look at either side of the front of the key way, I no in the Lockwood Ive just picked and gutted, there are 1 or two pins which fell out. But were not part of the driver pins or the key pins. And Im the only use i can think of would be them being anti drill pins : )

[tballard]

The rattling you may be hearing could be anti drill pins at the front of the core. When you manage to pick and gut the lock, have a look at either side of the front of the key way, I no in the Lockwood Ive just picked and gutted, there are 1 or two pins which fell out. But were not part of the driver pins or the key pins. And Im the only use i can think of would be them being anti drill pins : )

Yeah, this is possible, but I think unlikely since he said these were cheap locks. (The only time I've ever gotten significant anti-drill rattle from is the anti-drill crescents in a Medeco biaxial.)

[raimundo]

Holding down all the loose bits on the outside and shaking the lock near my ear, I can hear pins that are loose because the top pins are set. I do it quite a bit when I want to know how many are set.
This means that im used to the sound of pins being deliberatly rattled, so I can probably tell the difference between that tiny sound and the sounds of other loose bits that may be inside.
shaking and listening is a valid technique for getting some info from the lock but experience is the best interpreter of what your hearing.

[parkourer]

This happened to me to with my Master Lock No. 3. Could it be that the pin springs are damaged? Or stuck?

This means that im used to the sound of pins being deliberatly rattled, so I can probably tell the difference between that tiny sound and the sounds of other loose bits that may be inside.
shaking and listening is a valid technique for getting some info from the lock but experience is the best interpreter of what your hearing.

What other loose bits could be inside? Other than pins?

[GWiens2001]

Broken springs would cause that. Used to see a lot of them if people were using snap guns to pick them.

Also, overlifting the pins can over compress the springs, possibly shortening them to the extent that they no longer fully fill the gap between the driver pin and the top of the bible.

The No 3 locks don't use them, but if you get a lock with the BumpStop feature, the key pin below the BumpStop driver pin will rattle loosely, since the driver pin is not able to drop far enough into the plug to maintain contact with the key pin.

Gordon

[parkourer]

Broken springs would cause that. Used to see a lot of them if people were using snap guns to pick them.

Also, overlifting the pins can over compress the springs, possibly shortening them to the extent that they no longer fully fill the gap between the driver pin and the top of the bible.

The No 3 locks don't use them, but if you get a lock with the BumpStop feature, the key pin below the BumpStop driver pin will rattle loosely, since the driver pin is not able to drop far enough into the plug to maintain contact with the key pin.

Gordon

oooh that's a bummer . I can still rake it in 5s perfectly, but still a bummer that it has a broken spring :p. By the way can it be fixed using this method? I'm hesitant to try it in case it breaks another spring

1. Smack or rap the lock a few times against a hard surface. Often this will dislodge a stuck pin. If the rattling changes, that's a good sign.

What do you think?

[Divinorum]

Broken springs would cause that. Used to see a lot of them if people were using snap guns to pick them.

Also, overlifting the pins can over compress the springs, possibly shortening them to the extent that they no longer fully fill the gap between the driver pin and the top of the bible.

The No 3 locks don't use them, but if you get a lock with the BumpStop feature, the key pin below the BumpStop driver pin will rattle loosely, since the driver pin is not able to drop far enough into the plug to maintain contact with the key pin.

Gordon

oooh that's a bummer . I can still rake it in 5s perfectly, but still a bummer that it has a broken spring :p. By the way can it be fixed using this method? I'm hesitant to try it in case it breaks another spring

1. Smack or rap the lock a few times against a hard surface. Often this will dislodge a stuck pin. If the rattling changes, that's a good sign.

What do you think?

If the spring itself is damaged or over compressed In a No 3 there is really nothing you can do. Smacking it will only help if a pin or spring is stuck and not falling into place. No 3s and many cheap laminated padlocks can't be taken apart aside from destructive methods. When/If the lock completely stops working I would just get a new lock.