Better way to remove spring covers?

[ltdbjd]

Anybody have a good way to remove the sliding spring covers off of LFIC's (and other similiar locks). They aren't the caps, and the Corbin-Russwin LFIC can't be punched out.

I've been peeling the covers back, but it takes a while to get it started with a screwdriver. If I use a punch, it frequently ends up in the pin chamber. I think I spend more time removing the covers than I do pinning the cores.

[femurat]

Lie a piece of a broken hacksaw blade along one side of the cover and lightly hammer onto it at an angle. The saw teeth will grab the cover and slide it back.
Once you get it started grab it with pliers and pull back.

Cheers

[cledry]

Ditto for the hacksaw method. I've done it that way for years. Then re-bend a v shape and re-use the cap. I use the side of a mill bastard file and hammer to flatten them back on top of the bible.

[ltdbjd]

Perfect, thanks. That sounds like a great idea; I'll put that to use. Though I just use new a new cover each time.

On a slightly different note, I spent a full frustrating day trying to learn the Corbin-Russwin LFIC master key pinning. Once I finally got it, it was easy. It would have been easier if the directions just said to master key the cylinders as usual, then subtract the deepest cut you have from the control bitting and that gives you your build-up. But no, they had to fill three pages of instructions, which could have been two sentences. Anyway, if you ever do the CR LFIC's, they are easy; even easier than SFIC's.

[cledry]

You could use a new cover if you want. I have done it both ways but the old cover is re-usable many times. Just be sure you use a holder for the cylinder when you tap the cap back on. I fashioned one from an old Russwin LFIC rim cylinder with the top cut off.

If you do Sargent LFIC they recommend not removing the cover and to load the stack from the bottom. There is a trick to that. Try to only do 3 chambers at a time otherwise if you remove all of the pins it makes lining up the holes in the control lug quite interesting. The other tip is to use the special springs in the middle chambers and use regular Lab short springs in the other four chambers.

[ltdbjd]

Ha, it's funny you mentioned using a holder. I addressed that in my last post, but decided to delete it to make the post shorter. Basically, what I had written is that we have an A1 SFIC cap press for some reason (we don't use SFIC). I've pressed the cover back on using the press, however I've pinched fingers and finger nails in it trying to hold the cover in place (sometimes they slide in, sometimes they don't). It's amazing how little pressure it takes to cause a lot of pain. Just setting the press in place alone is enough to cause a nice blood blister under the nail - and that's before you crank on the handle.

Unfortunately, the Corbin-Russwin LFIC's don't have the opening in the bottom to punch the pins out. And you are correct; it can be a hassle not only loading the pins, but also dumping it out when the control lug starts moving around.

[kwoswalt99-]

I've always used a needle punch to lift the cap up, and then they're in nice shape to reuse.

[blue60]

here is a tool I made some time ago for removing spring covers (from a Saw-all blade) use it the same way you would a piece of broken hacksaw blade