In a pinch plug follower

[ElbowMacaroni]

I got a Sargent core today, and well, it's 0 bitted... at least I got a couple of key blanks for the nasty nasty (well at least to me) keyway. I guess I need to score some varied length key pins for this bugger, and maybe some sec driver pins. I took it apart to see if it had any sec pins in it, springs and pins going everywhere... yeah, I know shoulda had a plug follower to begin with. I went digging around the garage so I could reassemble, and found a spare mounting bracket I had from a ceiling fan and saw the threaded tube in it looked like it might just be the right size. SO then, I took the tube out of the bracket and it was a perfect fit, just a little smaller that the casing of the core! YAY! Worked like a charm... thinking about it now, I guess I could have just used the plug itself for reassembly but at least this way I didn't re-spill the key pins on accident or anything...

Just thought I'd share my find in case someone might find it useful. This tube is now part of my picking and maintenance kit.

-EM

[Tyler J. Thomas]

What?

[ElbowMacaroni]

When you hang a ceiling fan there is a metal mounting bracket that screws to the breakout box and that the fan attaches to as well. This has a threaded tube in it that you run the wiring through. If you're replacing an existing fan, you tend to wind up with these brackets left over as they are pretty universal. I hang on to things like this as you never know whne they might come in handy... it did as a plug follower.

[Tyler J. Thomas]

I see. I went to an electrical supplier when I first got my own truck to run service calls and bought various diameters of metal conduit scrap to serve as plug followers - even custom cut some for various cylinders. As long as I don't lose them, I can't ever imagine needing to replace them as they're stainless steel.

.495 is the standard for plug followers - Sargent included. I'd bet your tube is was around that diameter.

[ElbowMacaroni]

Good to know. I just thought I'd share just in case it might help anyone in a pinch one day. You never know.

[MacGyver101]

Good to tip to keep in mind: thanks!

I've used a "hot glue" stick in a pinch as well. Actually, as funny as it sounds, it was quite handy in one case: I was cleaning up an old lock and was trying to see to make sure that I'd cleared out the last of the gunk that had accumulated in it over the years... and inserting a glue stick into the shell (in place of the plug) and then holding a flashlight to the end of the stick was a handy way of nicely illuminating the chambers. (I'm sure there's a slightly more professional tool out there, but it was handy.)

[terrain]

Another little trick.
If you should find that your homemade plug follower doesn't perfectly bridge, or with less than perfect diam. to the plug, no worries of the gap, shim first, apply upwards pressure while sliding follower with shim intact into housing.

[cath_3105]

It was good for me to know that. I am so much interested with the universal brackets as mentioned. Isn't it hard to put the metal and the fan too? I believe changing of fan takes patience to do it.

[raimundo]

I have an old solid steel bar follower, and its so heavy you have to make sure gravity dosent' pull it out of the plug if you tip it off level. I dont use it much.

plugs may be .500 or .498 inch diameter

a piece of wooden dowel from the hardware store in the half inch diameter will usually make a very good plug follower and for locksmiths who may be working on a set of numerous cylinders, a foot long follower will hold more cylinders simultaneously and its easy to shape the wooden end for any tricky plug ends though just cutting circular end so that only half of it presents to the plug and the other half is filed down a bit will serve for most plugs.

For improvised followers, some plastic ballpoint pens have a tube of compatible diameter. Look for these when you have a smaller plug too.

One suggestion the I heard first here some years ago, was to just find some flexible plastic sheet, and roll it up and hold it rolled as you use it for a follower, it will spring out inside the cylinder and work very well especially if you are in a situation where you must improvise.

[mhole]

I don't carry any repinning kit on my van, but I do have to do the occasional bit of field repinning or cylinder stripping, and I find the shank of a 12mm or 12.5mm drill bit does the job perfectly.

[Rickthepick]

wooden dowel

[Poff]

I am a huge fan of making your own tools but plastic followers are only like $4 especially the .495-.500 sizes.