by Heliox » 4 Apr 2005 13:27
I've obtained access to a few faultless locks and i've notices some oddnesses while trying to repin them.
1) The entire lock seems to be made of low grade aluminum. Aluminum is extremely reactive with oxygen and cannot hold a low friction polish making these locks operate in an extremely non-smooth manner.
2) the top/bottom pins are totally square. they do not appear to be beveled at all at the shear line and the bottom pins are totally square on both ends and only VERY slightly radiused (likely from wear) where they hit the key.
3) the springs are more tightly wound with a smaller diameter at the ends but expand to fill the hole in the middle. Odd that the springs would have a design that someone actually had to think about but the rest of the locks seem to be total crap. The springs also emerge from their holes more than necessary so that without a follower, repinning is much more trouble than it should be. This also puts more pressure on the pins than most other locks that I've tried.
Combining these issues, the lock has an extremely unpleasant feel as though the mating surfaces are coated with sandpaper. I think it may be the crappiest lock i've ever played with (and there have been many). Does anyone have any additional insight into the operation and construction of these locks?
I haven't spent much time picking it because it's so unpleasant, but I'd be interested to hear if there might actually be legitimate reasons for the design.
