If you can't laugh at yourself...

[Gantry]

Just passing on a lesson learned (and the worst part was I knew better but did it any how lol). I bought my self a cross lock to play with (it was only $8 U.S. so not a expensive mess up). I picked it a few times
with no problems ( Yay for me!)



So, I thought to myself "Gantry, why not gut it to see how many pins are REALLY in there". I pulled off the back clip, inserted the key and found out I didn't have a plug follower the right size. So I tried
the old battery trick, AA was to big & AAA was a little to small BUT I wanted to pull that plug out!



I KNEW (repeat KNEW) that if I let any of the top pins (in this case pins on all 4 sides of the bible) I'd be screwed. As a FYI, it has (had) 9 pins (2 sets on 3 sides & 1 set of 3) and a ball bearing. Well I guess by now you know where this is going...



There was just enough room for the "top pins" to pop out (there the one's at the top in the picture, still missing one & the spring) So, here's the lesson... I did laugh at myself at the same time I called myself an idiot
because I knew better, and just shook me head and smiled. Weather you know better OR not to do something (if you can) just smile, shake you're head and move on...

[Raymond]

OH NO!!! That was planned exploration. You now know much more than you did before. Putting it back together is just a minor next step which you can plan for and execute when it suits you. Carry on.

[jwrm22]

There are a few ways to learn: (not the complete list)
1) Get a book and study.
2) Ask/read.
3) Try.

Don't feel bad on this. You've learned something today!
Thank you for sharing I was expecting these pins to look bad but they are a lot worse than I expected.

I always feel bad for breaking things even if it's cheap.
This often prevents me from learning a new skill.

[femurat]

Everyone of us have done the same, maybe more than once.

The lock is not broken, it is just not easy to reassemble, but you can doi it!

Cheers

[demux]

If there are removable chamber caps on the outside of the cylinder, you may be able to more easily reinstall your top pins and springs that way. Of course, that might not produce sufficient pain to remember not to do it again.