Desk lock question...

[wizard]

I have an early sixties steel desk, with a simple locking drawer. When I bought the desk, it had no key. The lock was in the unlocked position.

I took the steel rib from an old wiper blade, and ground some notches into the end of it. I cut it to about four inches, and bent it to a 90 degree angle. I made another which I could use for a leverage, or an alternate pick (differnt pattern in the jags).

I finally picked the lock, and it is currently in the half locked, half unlocked position. What I want to do is remove the cylinder so that I can make a key to use with this desk.

At the outer edge of the cylinder, there is a small hole just big enough to slide a paper clip wire into. I figured that this must have something to do with removing the cylinder. I pushed in a paper clip wire, but I can't get the cylinder to pull out.

Any ideas?

By the way, the wiper blade ribs make great "pickers."

Dan

[wizard]

Update...

I figured it out. The lock cylinder had to be rotated 90 degrees (right between locked and unlocked).

Then, in order to depress the retainer clip that holds the cylinder in, I was using the wrong tool (paper clip wire).

I stuck a small jewler's screwdriver into the afformentioned hole, and rotated the screwdriver until I felt its blade go under the retainer clip. The lock cylinder then pulled out.

Now I gotta make a key!

Dan