There's nothing like sorting pins [img]

[Raccoon]

If you're looking for the same gauge, you can find them on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ames+thickness+25

[Safecrackin Sammy]

You are not really a Locksmith....

Until you dump your first pin kit and sort all the pins back into the right spots!

( I have never done that)

[billdeserthills]

25 years ago my Dad dumped his--of course it became my job to sort it out
Someone used to make an aluminum gauge that made the sorting easier

[Raccoon]

I have, due to a customer's dog. Never again am I using open-tray pinning kits out in the public. I'm strictly a pill-peddling locksmith from now on!
Top (small) tray is master and top pins and springs, Bottom (large) tray is bottom pins and a junk slot. You can probably fit 300 to 500 pins per slot, but I only load them with 150.
I need to find something like these with 10 or 20 slots for Schlage, Sargent, Yale, etc.

[billdeserthills]

I use a big universal kit, that lab emerald wedge kit--I don't have room for a bunch of little kits in my van
I actually got it new at a garage sale for $20

[tpark]

I use a big universal kit, that lab emerald wedge kit--I don't have room for a bunch of little kits in my van
I actually got it new at a garage sale for $20

is it 003 increment or 005? I have both, but not being a locksmith I tend to use the specific kits because I have lots of space and I'm lazy. I'm sure that you have to optimize what you carry if you have to jam it all in the van! I'm curious about what universal kits work best, since I don't have any field experience with this.

Thanks,

--Ted.

[billdeserthills]

I use a big universal kit, that lab emerald wedge kit--I don't have room for a bunch of little kits in my van
I actually got it new at a garage sale for $20

is it 003 increment or 005? I have both, but not being a locksmith I tend to use the specific kits because I have lots of space and I'm lazy. I'm sure that you have to optimize what you carry if you have to jam it all in the van! I'm curious about what universal kits work best, since I don't have any field experience with this.

Thanks,

--Ted.

I have an 005 kit in one van & an 003 in the other, both have had kwikset bottom pins included as well
it doesn't really matters to me which kit I use

[Safecrackin Sammy]

I have a .005 Woody which I use once in a blue moon. Mainly for Corbin/Rushwin and Yale.

I have a home made wooden kit for Sargent which is 80% of what I do and another one for Schlage.
Its nice to have the small kits to throw in a tool bag when you have only a few rekeys and the walk is long.
Plus not having to look at the chart on the big kit for what pin size you need is nice. Speeds things up.

[billdeserthills]

I have a .005 Woody which I use once in a blue moon. Mainly for Corbin/Rushwin and Yale.

I have a home made wooden kit for Sargent which is 80% of what I do and another one for Schlage.
Its nice to have the small kits to throw in a tool bag when you have only a few rekeys and the walk is long.
Plus not having to look at the chart on the big kit for what pin size you need is nice. Speeds things up.

Once I started rekeying lots of locks I memorized the charts for schlage & kwikset, that's mostly what I use

[Raccoon]

For one thing, pay close attention to your .003 and .005 kits. The pins are literally a different shape, one with a greater taper (slop) at the sheer line, and one without. Also note that your brands like Sargent, Schlage, Master, some Yale... all have pins ending in .xx0 and .xx5 so you'd be better off using a .005 increment kit versus a .003 kit for those brands. Though I try to buy brand spec pins, even if they are made by LAB. eg, You can buy flat Kwikset pins that match spec, and really do seem to operate smoother and longer in Kwikset locks. Less forward/back rocking and easier to insert and remove the key.

And another thing. You get just one customer who wants you to rekey all their locks, keyed alike, and they give you the key they want them keyed to. 3-2-6-3-3. They have 3 doors, 2 security gates, each has a knob and deadbolt, you're talking 10 cylinders and you need thirty(30) .218 #3 pins. Hope you have enough in your kit! Probably find you only have 20!

But no. I will not carry a universal kit with me. The pill containers are smaller, easier to pack and unpack, fewer mistakes, always enough pins, and never a devastating spill!

Even if I did spill all 150 pins from the 6 different slots (900 pins), they'll take but a minute to reorganize by eyeball, no gauge.

(I'm not above buying universal kit refill bundles for $120 (.005) and $150 (.003), in case I need one very specific pin, but they're not going in a tray. Just as easy to pull the bag(s) I need.)

[Safecrackin Sammy]

For one thing, pay close attention to your .003 and .005 kits. The pins are literally a different shape, one with a greater taper (slop) at the sheer line, and one without.

Thats interesting... I'll have to check the pins in the shop... I have always used .005 kits but we do have a few .003 universal kits.

[Raccoon]

If anyone has a sack of old dirty, or new, unsorted pins they want to get rid of... I'd like to clean, sort and put them back into circulation.

If I get enough pins, I'll start giving them away to anyone on here who asks for 10 or 20.

[cledry]

I just toss them if I spill them. It isn't really worth my time. I guess I will toss them in a bucket and send them to whoever wants them.

[Raccoon]

Maybe someone out there who does dozens of rekeys a day has a healthy obsession to bucket all the old pins they remove

[tpark]

I have an 005 kit in one van & an 003 in the other, both have had kwikset bottom pins included as well
it doesn't really matters to me which kit I use

Good to know it doesn't make a difference. Thanks for the info!