There is a allen-head inset bolt/screw on the black ring on the shaft. Well... seems when the thing was made/assembled... either the picks were to short or the hole drilled on the shaft (not the black ring) that the inset screw's tip fits into wasnt positioned far enough down the shaft. Either way.... the sliding picks never exactly reached far enough to the tip of the shaft. (from online videos they say that the picks should stick out a tad farther from the shaft ... mine didnt)
So what I did a few minutes ago was I unscrewed the inset bolt/screw & pushed the black ring down farther on the shaft so that the bolt/screw missed the drilled hole it is supposed to fit into on the shaft. Instead... the bolt/screw connects with the surface of the shaft. This made the picks stick out considerably more at the end. And of course... you push them back to make them flush with the end before you use the tool on the lock.
Its surprisingly easy how well it works now on the simple tubular lock I have been playing with.
Note: also... i found the push button spring feature in the handle VERY annoying, loose & kinda unnecessary. So I tightened the black inset bolt/screw on the handle so the button & spring wont work now & everything is solid.