KABA Micro Teardown.

[GWiens2001]

If a moderator or admin feels this belongs in advanced, please move it. After taking this lock apart, well, I have my questions on where it belongs. It is a switch lock.

Received a couple of KABA Micro switch locks on a trade. Always wanted to get a couple - partly to try modifying one to work in an American 5200 padlock like LSA did. Partly because it looks like a cool lock.



This is a switch lock. The key can be turned to three positions, and the key can be removed at those three positions.



It picked much easier than expected. It made me wonder, so even though you all know how much I hate taking locks apart and taking pictures, for you guys and gals, I'll take one for the team and just do it.

First, remove this ring...



Then this next plastic ring can be slid back and off, exposing the brass pin that retains the cylinder in the switch.



Since the pin is very slightly friction fit, you can not rap the lock on a table to get the pin out. Trust me - I tried. Used a knife to whittle down the plastic around the brass pin until the pin could be removed.



Put in the key and turn it slightly so you can withdraw the lock cylinder from the switch.



Now we can see the lock cylinder in all its glory.



There are four sides. Three bibles to hold the three sets of driver pins and springs, and a fourth side that is just there. You can remove the ring that spins freely.



Do any of you see what is wrong when you compare the key to the bibles? No? We will come back to it.

Turn the lock around and see the clip that retains the plug.



Turn the key so you can slide the retainer clip out between the raised areas. It will only do this in one position.





OK, one more chance to guess what is wrong comparing the key to the bibles...





See it yet??? Well, disassembly discontinues while you think about it.

Get a plug follower. I used aluminum tubing.



Now, using the plug follower, remove the plug.

Oh, crud!!! The %}+]%}*#[^{*}}# plug only slides in enough to let the <]^*~^]€%{ driver pins (one from each of the three bibles) drop into the groove the retainer clip fit into! Now the #*]^^]*}*#[% plug is stuck... It can't be pulled out of the lock, and it can't be pushed back in!

Used an ultra-thin shim (from a DVD security tag) to get the drivers shimmed back enough to push the plug back in. Only took 10 #^{%{%^{% minutes.

How to get the plug out? Hmmm.

OK, simple solution!!! Use three shims, one for each bible!!! Why didn't I think of that at the beginning?

Why not? Because that idea was a FAIL. That is why. this is a Swiss-manufactured lock. The tolerances are too tight for two shims, let alone three.

OK, next solution. Fill the gap the retainer clip fits into. Measure the thickness of the clip...



Now remember the aluminum tubing we are using for a follower? Cut a slice with a dremel tool. Don't use a saw, or the delicate tube will crush.



Sand it down to the correct thickness...



It will need to be perfectly round to fill the gap, yet not jam. How to you keep it round, yet still get it into the groove? Good thing it is aluminum after all!



Cut it in half. Do not try to bend it to fit. The tolerances are just too close.



Put one half into the groove, use a pick to slide it around to the other side, and put in the other half. Hint: the spacers you just made will go in easiest at the same gap as you removed the retainer clip.



ANNNNNDD... IN YOUR FACE, KABA !!! Who's your daddy now!?!



Apparently it ain't me. there is still a super thin lip at the end of the plug that these ^{*#*#*{%[^{*}*}^{{ driver pins can still catch on.

Well, at least the plug can still be pushed back in.

How to fill that tiny ^}#*}*^ gap? First, measure it...



And cut a strip of cellophane packing tape. Anybody who has received a package from me is familiar with this tape. Used a ruler as a straight edge and a razor to cut accurately.



If you look closely, you can see the tape being wound into the gap.



Let's try this again... A bit more humbly, just in case...

Woo Hoo!!!



OK, folks. Back to the question before. What is wrong with comparing the key to the lock...



Only one row of pins?



Well, how many key pins are in that row?



Wait a minute... Let's compare all the key pins with the key...



Are you kidding? Eight fancy bitting cuts, professionally staggered from each other, and there are only f.o.u.r. key pins?!?

Yep, this is a four key pin lock. Here is how the key lines up...



One caveat... There are 12 driver pins. Four each in three bibles. Remember what happens with some pin tumbler locks when you 180 the lock? Well, that happens every 90 degrees in this lock. Just pop them back out of the keyway like usual. The edges of the key blade typically keep the driver pins in place when the key is used.

Sorry, but did not want to fight with twelve tiny springs and twelve even tinier driver pins inside a very tiny cylinder to reassemble, so no pictures of the driver pins.

So now you know why this lock is pretty simple to pick. (For a KABA).



And finally, thanks to Lockcr4ck3r for the trade!

Note: The lock reassembled easily back into the switch. The black plastic ring even covered all sign of trimmed plastic around the cylinder retaining pin.

Gordon

[femurat]

Hey Gordon, I'm happy you disassembled this lock for us. I guess that the key is meant and cut to operate other locks, so this one has only four pins, but others in that system may have all 16 pins...

Cheers

[ARF-GEF]

Well, it seems it's for the best that lock-goblin-Gordon got those ones
We all won with that write up

[cledry]

OK, aren't the extra bibles for 90 degree key pulls? Also why not use a regular shim to bridge the gap when removing the plug or am I missing something?

[GWiens2001]

Tried using shims to bridge the gap, but there is no space. Can fit in one shim, but not two. That final lip is the exact diameter of the main part of the plug. It just didn't work when I tried it.

And yes, the extra bibles are for the 90 degree key pull. But the driver pins do add a tiny bit more pick resistance.

Gordon

[phrygianradar]

Wow, I was under the impression that the micro had at least eight pins...Gordon, you must have been able to tell as you picked it that it only had four, right? What I thought was a Kaba micro that I got off eBay turned out to be a Kaba 8 and it has at least 8 pins for sure, although I have not taken it apart. That one is for a cabinet or other piece of funiture and it is not all that hard to pick in one direction, and harder in the other direction, but doable. I have taken another Kaba 8 apart (a mortise cylinder) and it had 12 pins, the top four being huge bar-bell like things! Still haven't been able to pick it. I also have three Gemini's and I can pick two of them. They each have 13 or 14 pins I think, but they are all on the sides and top, none on the bottom. I am going to have to take apart that cabinet lock and compare it to the mortise cylinder because they are both Kaba 8's, but they feel like they have different amounts of pins in them...

Femurat, you mentioned that other Kaba micros may have more pins. Have you ever seen any with more than four? What you said makes sense about having a key that will work in multiple locks, except since the pins are staggered how would it work as a switch? Gordons lock has the bibles in the same position so that it lines up with the one row of pins. If there were others that had more pins how would that work? You wouldn't be able to pull the key out in the diffent positions and the bibles would have to be staggered to match the key, wouldn't it? I have never seen a Kaba Micro up close myself, and am just wondering how many different configurations there may be out there. I haven't ever seen any Kaba's that have pins on the bottom of the keyway. Are there any like that out there? I would be interested to hear about other peoples Kaba Micro's and how many pins they have. I wonder if they all have only four? I wouldn't think so, I just don't know?

[femurat]

Hi phrygianradar, mine was just a guess. I'm not a kaba expert. I guess that the key that came with the switch lock could be part of a system... in this hypothetical system there may be other kaba locks operated by that key with more than 4 pins. Those other locks may be file cabinets, servers, doors... I don't know. That's the only reason for a fully cut key that comes to mind. I don't think kaba made four fake extra cuts on that key just to make it look cool

[l0ckcr4ck3r]

I believe that the keys must be cut first for all the possible applications of the core. It would make no sense in moving 4 cuts to the center of the key, when the cutting machine is set up for 8 cuts. Then a different style core is made, depending on how the switch operates.... how many positions there are and which positions the key can be removed in. I'm glad i wasnt the one tearing this lock down though... it looks worse than the Gemini i did

[GWiens2001]

I disagree on this lock being used with a different lock that has more pins for a few reasons. First, the row of pins used are dead center in the plug. The driver pins/bibles are set up for that position only. They would need additional bibles, and the key pins would be off-plug-center if they were in line with the key cuts. Currently, pins channels for the second row of bits on the key would be on the very edge of the plug. The part of the key pins which would contact the driver pins would need to be cut at a steep angle in order for the plug to turn in the shell. The driver pins would need to be equally cut. Then both would need to be made in such a way as to prevent either pin from rotating, or a lock-up would occur. The only way I can see this key working as cut is with a completely different plug/cylinder setup. The plug would need to be larger, so both rows of pins would not be severely off center. Then the keyway broach could not reach the edge of the plug, because otherwise you would need to drill more holes in the plug and add another bible to keep the driver pins from dropping into the keyway as the key would now, by necessity, be centered in the plug.

Maybe my logic is flawed.

Gordon

[l0ckcr4ck3r]

Gordon or perhaps that should be Spock... as most often, your logic is not flawed! The pins would just not be parallel with each other, on the same side....

Just imagine a switch lock that only had 2 positions, 90 degrees to each other. You would have bibles centered on either side of the cylinder (at 3 & 9 o'clock) which check the bitting on the top row of cuts both sides of the key. If the key needed to be removable in both positions, then 2 more bibles could be added at the 12 & 6 o'clock positions.

The reason for the lower row of cuts.... well they are the same as the upper cuts on the opposite side of the key, just to allow the key to be used whichever way it was inserted.

It never will have 16 pins... 8 maximum. Thats how im seeing it anyways

[GWiens2001]

Gordon or perhaps that should be Spock... as most often, your logic is not flawed! The pins would just not be parallel with each other, on the same side....

It would be illogical to use this key in this lock as it is currently configured.

Spo... Uhh... Gordon

[phrygianradar]

Hi phrygianradar, mine was just a guess. I'm not a kaba expert. I guess that the key that came with the switch lock could be part of a system... in this hypothetical system there may be other kaba locks operated by that key with more than 4 pins. Those other locks may be file cabinets, servers, doors... I don't know. That's the only reason for a fully cut key that comes to mind. I don't think kaba made four fake extra cuts on that key just to make it look cool

I totally agree; why would those cuts be there for no reason? I didn't mean to be condescending; I am no expert either. I took apart my Kaba 8 cabinet lock last night and found that it only had 7 out of it's 10 cuts pinned. It had three out of four on one side and two out of four on the other. The top of the plug had only two holes and they were both pinned. Now I know why it was not too difficult to pick! Unfortunately I totally messed up trying to put the plug back in and now it is in a state of "needs work"... Like you had said, this is probably from a set of locks that are in a system. I think that it came from a dentist's office, so they would need to have different levels of security for their supplies. These are only conjectures though.

Maybe the extra cuts are for a different lock that uses the opposite side? I don't know why that would be, but another guess.

[GWiens2001]

PR, willing to bet the key to your KABA 8 has all the key bitting positions cut, doesn't it? The extra cuts may be there to make the lock look more complex than it really is. Their thinking may be along these lines: "If the key looks wicked, people may not even try picking it."

Gordon

[phrygianradar]

I actually thought about that, too. My key does have all the cuts, like you said. It is like a warded locks key; it looks way more complicated than it really is if you just look at the key. In this case with the Kaba locks it looks even more crazy because there are eight cuts on each side and then some on top.

Mul-T-Lock has keys that are cut differently on top than they are on the bottom so that one key can opperate different locks depending on whether it is inserted upside down or rightside up. Doesn't apply to this particular situation but is still interesting.

[GWiens2001]

Did not know that about the MTL locks. Thanks!

Gordon