Terminology for keying depth.

[Rowlock]

Just a quick question, I've had a fairly thorough search around and haven't seen an answer anywhere. If I'm missing something, I apologise and will don my asbestos undergarments as appropriate.

There are a lot of times when it's useful to talk about the positions in which pins are setting; for example, my first lock was a 5 pin Bird rim cylinder, which had a very awkward keying on the back three pins. My question is this:

Do the terms "Deep" and "Shallow" refer to the distance the bottom pin protrudes into the keyway when set, or the distance it has to travel?

To put it another way, does a deep keying mean that you have to push the pin deep into the housing? Or that the key is cut deep, and you don't have to raise the pin very far at all?

It's a simple question, but one that's been confusing me for a while.

[vector40]

I think the most meaningful terminology is to use the numbered depth of the cuts.

Not what you asked, I know, but still

[Chucklz]

I always refer to them as though they were cuts on a key. A deep pin would protrude quite far down the keyway, and need to be pushed up only slightly.

[DrDetroit]

Likewise, apologies for asking a beginner question. Ablutions performed on demand, especially if they're creative ones.

Using another terminology, what is a "high set" and "low set"? I looked in Varjeal's dictionary and glossary as a quick resource but didn't find them. I'm guessing that a low-set pin does not need to be lifted very far and a high-set one does; in other words, the low-set protrudes almost all the way into the keyway, while the high-set protrudes only a little way into the keyway.

[MrB]

I guess it's like Chucklz said really.

When people talk about these things they are usually referring to the shape of the key. So keys could have deep cuts or shallow cuts, high cuts or low cuts. A high cut on the key will lift the pin high, making it a high setting pin.

This is all reversed when talking about euro locks which tend to be installed with the pins below the key. For this reason, it may be less confusing to use the deep and shallow terminology rather than the high and low terminology.

[Rowlock]

Thanks guys, that makes sense.

Curse those upside-down euro cylinders! Not only do they make us learn inverted picking techniques, but also force us to mind our terminology! Tricksy things, they are.