by raimundo » 11 May 2011 10:45
certain keyways that are out of patent protection such as the yale #1 varients, appear on different locks, but this does not mean that the plug its cut into is the same diameter as the other yale #1 types you may see, so a bump key can be cut too low for a lock that does not drill to the same depth as another lock. One brand may have eight depths for pins and another might have a 9th depth, all on a similiar keyway in different brands of locks.
that said, bump keys do not fit the locks they are used on, they also don't have too. this applies to the pin spacing as well as the pin depth,
a bump key that is off spacing but right on the depth, could easily work on many locks, only where the deepest pins are interfered with and prevented from setting by a tooth on the bump key is it a problem,
most locks do not have that many really deep pins,
as always, bumping is not just a minor skill, it also requires a bit of luck and there is no reason that being off the spacing won't work most of the time.
Wake up and smell the Kafka!!!