spp schlage trouble

[OderusUrungus]

hey all very useful tutorials on this website. im trying my hand at single pin picking for the first time and all i have to work with
are the schlage deadbolts around my house. right now im use homemade feeler-esque pick and a tension wrench and i have yet to be able to open one of these locks and i was hoping i could find some help...
basically whats happening is im going in to the back of the lock with no tension, applying minimal tension and working my way forward, i can get every pin to set except for the first pin which for some reason keeps springing back down, regardless of how slowly i lever it up and down =[

[LocksmithArmy]

sounds like you have overset one... somewhere down the line one is being overset and only messing with the last pin... which would seem to be whichever pin you set right before the pin that wont set... but that may not be the case. it could be any pin and you just got lucky getting the others to set properly after it(or they are overset too)

overset means raising it too high so the keypin is binding in the shearline (not trying to insult... just clerifying)

[OderusUrungus]

thanks for the tip and no need to worry about insulting im a complete newbie... but so i went back and gave it about 20 more attempts. i figured being very gentle in setting the pins and not levering my pick too far upward would prevent "oversetting?" but so far it has come back to that final front pin which refuses to set. all the others give me that beautiful click sound. so i keep brushing my pick over the pins to feel that all are set and they appear to be except for this front pin which is really getting on my nerves

[Solomon]

If it's not an overset pin, it could be that the pin second to last in the binding order isn't set quite high enough. If you're sure that they're all set properly apart from that last pin though, I'd say you have security pins... when you get to this last pin, is there a noticeable rotation in the plug? Feel the other pins to see if any of them make your tensioner want to go back in the opposite direction - that'll be the pin causing the false set.

Get your pick right on that pin and push on it while decreasing tension gently, slowly, smoooooothly... it'll set once it clears the shear line properly. Be very careful with the tensioner though, if you let off too much you run the risk of unsetting other pins and you'll need to go back to them again.

[OderusUrungus]

If it's not an overset pin, it could be that the pin second to last in the binding order isn't set quite high enough. If you're sure that they're all set properly apart from that last pin though, I'd say you have security pins... when you get to this last pin, is there a noticeable rotation in the plug? Feel the other pins to see if any of them make your tensioner want to go back in the opposite direction - that'll be the pin causing the false set.

Get your pick right on that pin and push on it while decreasing tension gently, slowly, smoooooothly... it'll set once it clears the shear line properly. Be very careful with the tensioner though, if you let off too much you run the risk of unsetting other pins and you'll need to go back to them again.

there is VERY noticable rotation in the plug by the time im down to the last pin, in fact, i feel like there has to be something false setting because of the extreme easy with which i get the back four pins to "set." unfortunately i cant find one that makes my tension wrench want to reverse direction, maybe as a beginner im just not well attuned to the tension wrench or something. i was hoping anyone with knowledge of schlage might be able to give me concrete advice... i encounter this exact scenario on all 3 other schlage deadbolts in my home, all of which appear to be the same... hopefully in the near future ill be able to make a trip to home depot to pick up something easier to learn with but until then ><

[Solomon]

If it rotates so much you can visibly see it then there are definately spools in there. It doesn't matter how many pins you set, it'll only rotate by very tiny amounts and whereas you'll feel the clicks, you won't be able to see it. If it suddenly rotates more than you're expecting it to, and the plug doesn't rotate fully, it is a false set... no doubt about it.

Not all false sets are obvious, but the way you describe it, you should feel a pretty strong counter rotation by gently pushing on the right pin. I have no experience with schlage, but from you've described I'm 100% positive it has spools. I'm sure one of our US members will chime in and confirm this for you, but you could always take one apart and see for yourself.

[pjzstones]

schlage commonly have 2 spool pins is what i've heard. i haven't really picked many of them though.

[Phylter]

I took down my old Schlage deadbolt on New Year's Eve, I've never been able to get it open. By old, I mean new, but replaced with an electronic/mechanical Schlage just recently.

Much to my surprise and relief, I found not one or two but four spools in it, positions 1-4, with 5 being a normal driver! Sad to know I won't be opening it just yet, but happy that it's not my noobishness that's causing me fail. Well, technically it is, but that isn't my fault yet.

So yeah. Probably a few spools in there messing with you, if it's anything like mine.

[CaptHook]

Depending on what you have (age/model of the lock etc) there could be spools as mentioned before. Another thing to consider, from my experience Schlage tends to pick easier counter clockwise. Im not sure if this is an intentional action in their manufacturing process or not (ie most applications will have the plug turn clockwise to retract the bolt, so they keep the slop going in the other direction). But anyways, try turning counter clockwise on the plug and see if it feels better for you.
Chuck

[mhole]

im trying my hand at single pin picking for the first time and all i have to work with
are the schlage deadbolts around my house.

Sigh.... how many responces without anyone mentioning this?

Never pick locks which you don't own, or which are in use. I don't know if this is your house, or your parents, or a rental, but even if these are your own locks in your own house, picking them when they are in use can damage them, and potentially result in an expensive visit from the locksmith to replace them or open them.

Go buy a cheap lock at the hardware store to play with, and leave ones which are in service alone.

[loki-aka]

Hello and welcome.

If you haven't already, take a look at the FAQ and General Questions forum.

Feel free to ask questions.

[loki-aka]

oops ! the last post should have read "...General Information forum" . sorry.

[Oldfast]

The last Sclage deadbolt I purchased several months ago also had 4 spools/1 standard, just like Phylter has mentioned.
It sounds like your most likely dealing with multiple spool pins. Try not to get too frustrated or down on yourself as this is not a great lock to get started on. Not only because of the security pins, but also because the keyway is a bit more restrictive. The keyways in brands like Kwikset, Faultless, or Weiser will offer much more access (room for your pick) to manipulate the pins. This way, the wards won't impede the movements of your pick, allowing you to freely move about the lock and learn more.
As I've heard other members say, you must learn to crawl before you can walk. I'd suggest getting one of the locks I mentioned above and try digital blue's "Beginners Exercise" (1st page in the Pick Fu forum). I think you'll find learning much less frustrating and much more enjoyable this way.
I see you've only 3 posts in over a year. Hope you haven't given up! Either way, hope this helps the next guy like me, browsing through the older pages of this forum.

[Conmigr]

I wondering did you ever figure this out. I recently bought a schlage lock and finding it more difficult. I've done many 6 pin locks and several master locks. I even bought a few training sets including a 4 set advanced training set with security pins and those were easy. The information in this post has given me some new ideas realizing I may have hit a spool pin or multiple spool pins. This lock as a side/check pin and I'm able to deal with that easily with a hairpin tool my friend made. However, in my situation I find it easy to set 3 pins, but then no matter what I do I can't get the 4th pin to set and the spring tension feels the same on the remaining 3 pins.

Any suggestions?

[Conquer]

This is the exact same trouble I have on my schlage, but its not a dead bolt. I can set all the pins but the first pin keeps on falling down.

My question is... I was able to rake it open (in the wrong direction unfortnately) but I did get it open, does that mean It does NOT have security pins?