Are my Best padlocks combinated correctly?

[htroberts]

I have some Best padlocks that I bought several years ago to to use and play with. I'm getting more serious about IC locks, and decoded the control & operating keys. I haven't dumped any cores yet--I'm waiting to get a capping block so I can put it back together. I'm also not sure I have a pin punch that's small enough and long enough to knock them out.

It looks like my control key is 327626 and the operating key is 321034 (I assumed this was pinned A2).

So, three questions:

- is it normal for the control & operating keys to have same values (on the same barrels/chambers, of course) I suppose this just means there's a '10' top pin that would let the same key line up shear for both the core and the control lug...
- does Best use a minimum adjacent cut? (I've got a 3 next to a 2, a 2 next to a 1, 7 & 6, and 3 & 4, and this is just in one set of KA cores...)
- on that fifth barrel, there's only a '1' difference between the two keys--again, does this follow rules for a Best key design?

Thanks. If there's a guide/topic that talks about rules/guidelines for combinating Best, please feel free to point me to it.

Oh, fourth question: what's your favorite capping/dumping block? I'd want one that's designed to hold the pins in order so they can be read, and am window shopping here: http://iccores.com/products

[demux]

There is no MACS restriction on an SFIC system. The only restriction is you cannot have a number 1 "top" pin (master, control, or driver). It looks like the system you specified meets these rules, so it should be valid. Regarding best practice for control vs. operating keys (i.e. should control be part of the system and excluded, or outside the system), I've seen it both ways, and actually just asked in another thread (http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic ... 54&t=64371) if one is preferred over the other. Both ways should technically work however, and it looks like your system has enough differences that unintended key interchange should not be a problem (assuming those are the only two keys and there's no mastering going on that you're not aware of).

FYI, if you're looking for a good general guide to the SFIC system, there was a very complete writeup in the April 2008 issue of KeyNotes, titled "Decoding an SFIC System". I tried for just a few minutes to find a link, but it's either not there or my Google-fu is failing me. Perhaps someone else on this forum may be able to give you a pointer...