What did you pick today?

[jtucek]

That is five kinds of cool! Where did you get the mystery box of cards?

Gordon

I would guess https://store.theory11.com/products/mysterybox is the source. JJ Abrams does a lot of neat things, but the $$$ to coolness ratio on this isn't quite up to par. Especially since the product site gives away the combination...

[billdeserthills]

That is five kinds of cool! Where did you get the mystery box of cards?

Gordon

I would guess https://store.theory11.com/products/mysterybox is the source. JJ Abrams does a lot of neat things, but the $$$ to coolness ratio on this isn't quite up to par. Especially since the product site gives away the combination...

You'd be surprised what a change in the old income can bring,
I had a client today who was telling me how she got such a deal
on her beautiful Steinway grand piano & it wasn't a baby grand either. It had
a player piano function too. She said it woulda cost $100,000 new.
<
Maybe I shoulda charged her more $$$

[KPick]

I picked my Serrated pin Schlage, pins courtesy of SpandexWarrior.

[critmass235]

just my chateau c 970 for today.might mess with my shlages later(or put my mx back together)

[cuttinedge1]

Master 178 with varying success

[Airmaxx23]

I picked up one of the newer American 5200 locks today, I know they changed to a crimped plug rather than a "C" clip but I didn't realize that they no longer have any security type pins anymore. The plug came right out by just turning it 90 degrees and pulling on it.

[billdeserthills]

I picked up one of the newer American 5200 locks today, I know they changed to a crimped plug rather than a "C" clip but I didn't realize that they no longer have any security type pins anymore. The plug came right out by just turning it 90 degrees and pulling on it.

Pay no attention, it is just Master padlock corp (which owns American Lock)cheapening the once great business that they fairly bought & paid for. Does look like one security top pin there tho what good that could do, I can't guess.
If you took a look at a master padlock cylinder you would see it comes apart the same way. I can explain the missing spool drivers too, let's say that if Master Padlock can
save 5 cents on each lock they produce, well that would become a significant bonus for some poor CEO who only gets paid several million dollars a year now. You can see how badly this CEO would need a raise.

[spandexwarrior]

I've never seen colored pins in an American so it's possible that it was rekeyed but maybe they switched to those as part of the race to the bottom.

-Brian

[spandexwarrior]

I picked up one of the newer American 5200 locks today, I know they changed to a crimped plug rather than a "C" clip but I didn't realize that they no longer have any security type pins anymore. The plug came right out by just turning it 90 degrees and pulling on it.

Pay no attention, it is just Master padlock corp (which owns American Lock)cheapening the once great business that they fairly bought & paid for. Does look like one security top pin there tho what good that could do, I can't guess.
If you took a look at a master padlock cylinder you would see it comes apart the same way. I can explain the missing spool drivers too, let's say that if Master Padlock can
save 5 cents on each lock they produce, well that would become a significant bonus for some poor CEO who only gets paid several million dollars a year now. You can see how badly this CEO would need a raise.

The silver top pin is Master's "Bump Stop" pin. It has a slightly larger diameter than normal so that it doesn't make contact with the bottom pin which in theory prevents that one stack from being bumped.

-Brian

[Airmaxx23]

I've never seen colored pins in an American so it's possible that it was rekeyed but maybe they switched to those as part of the race to the bottom.

-Brian

It's a brand new lock and came with the colored pins.

[billdeserthills]

My guess is we need those colored pins, otherwise the illiterate mexicans who currently assemble the padlocks will be unable to work quickly enough to be worth the $1 per hour they get paid. Thanks NAFTA

[femurat]

Got this nice ALA padlock and had quite a hard time picking it for the first time. I had to find a tight fit tension wrench that didn't slip away. Notice the top of keyway is mirrored and the tok wrench slips away due to the orientation of its angle. I had to force the tension wrench in the bottom of the keyway but I keep it towards the center to avoid it binding against the cylinder wall and preventing it to turn.
The padlock is key retaining and the shackle is pushed out by a strong spring, making tension control much more challenging than usual. Pushing the shackle in to reduce the spring tension didn't work so I had to use heavier tension than usual.
I underestimated this little padlock. All in all it was a fun pick.

Cheers

[KPick]

Is that a bamboo wrapped pick?

[femurat]

Yes KPick, it's my favorite one. You can see it here in the making and finished on next page.

Cheers

[GWiens2001]

Funny... it looks just like my favorite dimple pick!



Gordon