Short springs on American Lock 1100

[Shigley]

I recently got 5 used American Lock 1100s. I noticed that some of them are really easy to over set and give very little feedback. There is one in particular that is really nasty to pick, so I gutted it and found nothing out of the usual concerning the pins; it has 3 serrated and 2 serrated spools. What I noticed was that the springs are really short so the driver pins only stickout at most about 1 mm. In the other locks I noticed this also and I have shake some of the locks before picking because the pins can be stuck in the overset position. Today I was picking the padlocks and when I got to the last I knew it was the really nasty one; to my surprise I set pins 1 and 2 and it opened. My guess is that because of the serrations and the weak springs the other pins where already stuck at the shear line. Has anyone also encountered short springs on American 1100s to cause strange things while picking?

[billdeserthills]

You'll find that springs in locks tend to fade with use, even more under demanding picking--
if no one is watching, you can give them a little stretching, but I wouldn't let the boss catch ya doing it, if you know what I mean

Failing that, you can likely find replacement springs for American or Master padlock, either will fit your needs