Opening the Dudley Lock

[Vitaluma]

Hello,

I am requesting for an easy, terminology-free explanation on how to open a Dudley lock with ease (The ones used at schools, "H"). My friend's birthday is coming up and I told him that I would give him a pleasant surprise. I thought that a present sitting in his locker would bring great joy and endless conversations of how I got it in there.

Please help!
Thanks,

VitaLuma

[TOWCH]

It's not worth the effort for the reason you gave. You'de be better off just getting the front office or a janitor to open it for you. If you tell them why, they'll probably be willing.

[logosys]

Hello,

I am requesting for an easy, terminology-free explanation on how to open a Dudley lock with ease (The ones used at schools, "H"). My friend's birthday is coming up and I told him that I would give him a pleasant surprise. I thought that a present sitting in his locker would bring great joy and endless conversations of how I got it in there.

Please help!
Thanks,

VitaLuma

"Terminology-free explanation" is a lot like "BS-free political speech" or "Math-free engineering" or "Carb-free bread"

If you want your friends to marvel about how you got in there, you want them to basically respect your skill. If there was an easy way to get past the lock, then it wouldn't take any skill. So what, then, do you want your friends to marvel at? Do you marvel when one of your friends opens a book? No, because it takes no talent or skill. Now, would you marvel if one of your friends dunked a basketball? Sure, because it's much rarer to find someone who can dunk a basketball than it is to find someone who can open a book. I don't mind someone wanting to pull a fun little act like this, but you can't expect us to be able to tell you how to do something "with ease" that requires a developed skill.

If you don't want to take the time to learn the skill of lockpicking, your best bet is to order a pickgun or electric pick from lockpickshop.com and use that. Then you have to ask yourself the question - is it worth shelling out all this cash for a tool I'm going to use once or twice? You could then justify the purchase by saying, "well, I want to learn lockpicking, it seems cool." Then, I wouldn't reccommend the pickgun or electric pick, I'd reccommend getting a real pickset, like a SouthOrd set. Now you're in a pickle though, because you have to train yourself to use those tools, and that may take some time. Let us know what you decide, we (or at least I) would be perfectly willing to help however I can.

[Varjeal]

Well stated.

[Vitaluma]

Hello,

I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding. I might have accidentally wrote it as if I just wanted the lock open - I didn't, I also wanted to learn the masterful art of lockpicking.

What I actually meant by "Terminology-Free" is written so that I could actually understand it. I have been reading on this forum another link concerning on how to open the Dudley lock. However, it made no sense to me and the people there are waiting for a "quick solution" to opening it that never seems to come.

I was wondering if anybody else here has the unique ability to open a Dudley, and be able to teach me how. (I heard that Dudley locks are nearly impossible to open by lockpicking.)

So, in conclusion, I am willing to learn.
Can you help me?

Thanks,
VitaLuma

[logosys]

Hello,

I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding. I might have accidentally wrote it as if I just wanted the lock open - I didn't, I also wanted to learn the masterful art of lockpicking.

What I actually meant by "Terminology-Free" is written so that I could actually understand it. I have been reading on this forum another link concerning on how to open the Dudley lock. However, it made no sense to me and the people there are waiting for a "quick solution" to opening it that never seems to come.

I was wondering if anybody else here has the unique ability to open a Dudley, and be able to teach me how. (I heard that Dudley locks are nearly impossible to open by lockpicking.)

So, in conclusion, I am willing to learn.
Can you help me?

Thanks,
VitaLuma

Alright, now we're getting somewhere. I think you stated it best - there is no "quick solution" on the way, but you'll find the journey to your goal most rewarding.

So, for starters, you're going to need some tools. Now, I would honestly reccommend perusing lockpicks.com or lockpickshop.com for a suitable starter set. Look in the FAQ section, and you can see a lot of reccommendations. Also in the FAQ's you can see a link the MIT Guide. It's probably the single most informative piece of literature around. Once you've got that down, get yourself a practice lock. Not a Dudely, a Kwikset. Get a dual-cylinder (it's more bang for your buck) and start picking away at it. You'll run into some trouble, but we can help you through any questions you'll have. I feel confident in your ability to search as well, seeing as you found a few other threads on the Dudley locks. Let me begin by saying THANK YOU and KEEP IT UP!

Dudely's are not what most would consider "easy" locks, and depending on what you're dealing with, it may not even fall into the "medium" category. Now, if you aren't in a hurry, then you might be able to get what you want done, but it will be tough. Also, a lot of the stuff that Dudley supplies to schools can be tough, and we might not be able to inform you about all the inner workings (by we, I mean 'I' - Romstar can probably write a post that would put some doctoral thesises to shame about those things) but we'll do our best.

Honestly, your best bet is to befriend the principal's secretary and tell her what you want to do, but it's real hush-hush. Tell her that if anything goes bad with the key, you'll take full responsibility, she'll probably cave and let you borrow the key for a few minutes. Anyway, let us know if you have any more questions or if we can be of any more help.

[logosys]

Oh, and another thing, can you tell us what model the lock is, or take a picture, any info you can give to us will be helpful.

[Vitaluma]

Hello,

Thank you for your insightful recommendations. I understand that you are referring to locks with keys... however, the Dudley locker locks have no keys at all! They're merely combinations... I've read a website in which they have been able to open a "Master lock" (Another company), but have found none for a Dudley locker lock.

There have been some speculation on how to open them... from so called "notches" (Intervals of space between two dial numbers) to drilling a 1mm hole in the back of the lock.

Personally, I'm looking for a way to open it without damaging the lock; I'm sure that my friend would not be too happy to see a hole on the back of his school lock!

Any suggestions?

VitaLuma

P.S. I've been to the MIT Guide site days earlier but it seemed to be having some kind of internal error. On your recommendation, I revisited the site today and it is still in the same condition.

[Vitaluma]

By the way, here is a link to the kind of locker lock I am trying to open.

http://www.dudleylock.com/01B-_standard.html

VitaLuma

[TOWCH]

If it's a padlock you might try shimming it.

[Sabin37]

If it's a padlock you might try shimming it.

That's the only thing I can think of without damaging the lock. I didn't have any luck trying to shim my Dudley with a popcan shim, but It's worth a try.

[Vitaluma]

Hello,

I do not want to be bothersome, but "Shimming" is a new term in my vocabulary. In the dictionary, it explains it as using a thin piece of tapered material to adjust something to fit or fill gaps. How does that relate to picking a combination lock?

Can anyone give me an indepth explanation to shimming a lock?
I can guaranteed that once I learn it, I will not ask again.

Thanks,

VitaLuma