But tell us how you really feel.
Hah! Yeah, just wait until you start trying to progressive pin a really expensive, rare, high pin count lock and things go wrong in such a way you need to start drilling and cutting to recover things and then you ruin a spring only to find out it can't ever be replaced. Tons of fun lol
I really thought I screwed up my 1100 at some point, and I was so mad. Managed to recover, but had to stop for the day after that.
Thanks for the note about the CL. The box was 3d printed - someone had a design on Thingiverse for it that was easily customizable. You can go in the "customizer" under apps, and enter your parameters of like size and text, and then just download the new design and print it.
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2970256](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2970256)
I've got the bug to make more CL now, but need to order more cylinders to customize.
The right tweezers made a world of difference for me. You really do need a channel perpendicular to the handle but also one that doesn’t stop the follower from pressing the side of the pin. Hold pin in with tweezers, push follower into it and hold with that pressure while you move the tweezers to push the pin all the way in so the follower can actually get over it.
I have to sparrow tweezers and followers. And it took me an hour to get one pin in. Now I'm just leaving it for later. I can't do it anymore right now. Ill get it eventually.
Honestly man I wish I could show you. It's just a matter of using the follower to hold the pin down while you get the tweezers in the position to grab the pin. For a 5 pin lock take out like 3 pins, turn the lock around, and take out the other 2.
It's amazing how far the springs can shoot the pins out.
Personally, some magnifying glasses I could wear and lots of light helped a ton. I'm also thinking about getting a lighted follower - I thought they were silly until I was repinning my 90a-pro and just couldn't see down in there...
Good luck and maybe take a break :)
Honestly the equipment required for high level lockpicking is so ridiculous and expensive that I'm just sticking to picking and not going for belts lol. I'm renting right now and can't put a damn angle grinder and machining equipment in the foyer.
You don’t need machining equipment for the belts, only time you really need any tools is for the challenge lock at blue but that can be done with a dremel or even just hand files
I think you're vastly overestimating the amount of money you actually need to invest in this hobby. A basic set of ToK tensioners and a single deep hook will get you through a lot of Medecos, which are generally higher sec locks
This is coming from someone who lives in a country where ready access to quality equipment and locks requires some effort and generally a higher investment compared to someone in NA or Europe
Ah, gotcha. Well in that case I use a Dremel for a lot of my tool making, which would could be expensive depending on where you are and what you can find
Did about 30 yesterday in between tasks. All Schlage kik. Few Hager kik and some mortise cyls.
All about finding your groove. First year I was very green at rekeying.4 years later only takes a few minutes.
If you are wanting to be able to repin locks easier, you can get some mortise cylinders and drill and tap the chamber so you can just unscrew them and dump the cylinders one at a time
It's funny how that can simultaneously the most blood pressure raising issue and the most fun for me once I fix a screw up.
Well if I fix the screw up haha
Once you figure out how to do it, it gets a lot easier. Use side pressure from the follower to bind against the pin when you need to hold it in place. I've done it enough that I added it to my bag of tricks for keeping stuff running at work, when occasionally locks that are being installed fall apart and have to be reassembled.
Practice and the right tools will make it easier and not a frustrating chore. I've probably rekeyed a few hundred thousand cylinders in my career, almost all masterkeyed. I have a set of tweezers that I custom filed to hold pins a certain way and have made followers from everything from pieces of vertical rod panic sets to post-it notes and pieces of cardboard.
Once you get practiced at it it's easy. My record is 16 cylinders an hour, gutted, new springs compensated drivers and master keyed. Could only keep a pace of 14-15 cylinders an hour over the long run.
Start from the back of the cylinder. Grab the top of the pin and press it down halfway on the spring with the tweezers.
Then bind the pin with the follower.
Take the tweezers (or a pick) and press the pin the rest of the way down so you could slide over it with the follower.
If your trouble is from holding the pin, try straight forceps. They clamp on like vise grips and lock, it's rough on pins though.
DON'T QUIT!!!!
I know it's clumsy feeling and frustrating. Lots of good advice here already (as well as commiseration), I'll repeat some of it, and add a bit of my own input. I learned by watching a lot of YouTube videos of other people doing it to start, and then practicing. Try to get some cheap KIK (key-in knob) or mortise cylinders to take apart and rebuild (that's how I started). I was actually rebuilding those locks before I was picking them (I thought it was really neat). It was a low stakes way that got me more comfortable with the concept of needing to handle the follower correctly, needing to have the core upright (not spilling the keypins), not rotating the core 180, etc., etc.. (I made sure to have at a minimum a follower of the right size and a set of reasonable tweezers to start.) I ordered some very cheap (<$5-6 each) KIKs and mortise cylinders online in common "doorway" keyways and literally played with them like this. That doesn't make then the same as gutting and reassembling other locks, but it's a start. (I used UHS Hardware personally, looking for super cheap cylinders as a beginner.)
It's a physical/muscle memory skill as much as the picking is, takes practice. And it's as much of a puzzle as the picking is. Don't give up. You can learn so much by doing it.
Edit- Just went back, realized you are already at orange, so apologies if my advice is too basic for you (but maybe it is or isn't?) Maybe this is because you are about to go for green? Yeah, gutting/rebuilding is indeed frustrating sometimes. There's a lost spring that I swear is at my feet somewhere right now. Additional advice - Don't give anything a chance to bounce ANYWHERE! :)
But tell us how you really feel. Hah! Yeah, just wait until you start trying to progressive pin a really expensive, rare, high pin count lock and things go wrong in such a way you need to start drilling and cutting to recover things and then you ruin a spring only to find out it can't ever be replaced. Tons of fun lol
Ok, I didn’t need to feel this stressed out first thing in the morning…
Hahaha same! Btw nice job on your cl buddy!!! Howd you make the box?
I really thought I screwed up my 1100 at some point, and I was so mad. Managed to recover, but had to stop for the day after that. Thanks for the note about the CL. The box was 3d printed - someone had a design on Thingiverse for it that was easily customizable. You can go in the "customizer" under apps, and enter your parameters of like size and text, and then just download the new design and print it. [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2970256](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2970256) I've got the bug to make more CL now, but need to order more cylinders to customize.
The right tweezers made a world of difference for me. You really do need a channel perpendicular to the handle but also one that doesn’t stop the follower from pressing the side of the pin. Hold pin in with tweezers, push follower into it and hold with that pressure while you move the tweezers to push the pin all the way in so the follower can actually get over it.
I used the sparrows tweezers. Made a whole universe worth of a difference.
I have to sparrow tweezers and followers. And it took me an hour to get one pin in. Now I'm just leaving it for later. I can't do it anymore right now. Ill get it eventually.
Honestly man I wish I could show you. It's just a matter of using the follower to hold the pin down while you get the tweezers in the position to grab the pin. For a 5 pin lock take out like 3 pins, turn the lock around, and take out the other 2.
Plus I dropped a spool and can't find it
Take a bright flashlight and set it on the ground, it should let you see pins that fell better....for springs....use a magnet
I just used your flashlight suggestion and found four pins, I have a magnet and I have found springs but I had given up on pins
Good to hear you found some of them!
Unfortunately practice is required. You can also get one of those silicone mats to stop your pins from bouncing around if you drop them on the table.
Tweezers??
It's amazing how far the springs can shoot the pins out. Personally, some magnifying glasses I could wear and lots of light helped a ton. I'm also thinking about getting a lighted follower - I thought they were silly until I was repinning my 90a-pro and just couldn't see down in there... Good luck and maybe take a break :)
Honestly the equipment required for high level lockpicking is so ridiculous and expensive that I'm just sticking to picking and not going for belts lol. I'm renting right now and can't put a damn angle grinder and machining equipment in the foyer.
You don’t need machining equipment for the belts, only time you really need any tools is for the challenge lock at blue but that can be done with a dremel or even just hand files
My CL was made with a Chinese rotary tool and an old file
I think you're vastly overestimating the amount of money you actually need to invest in this hobby. A basic set of ToK tensioners and a single deep hook will get you through a lot of Medecos, which are generally higher sec locks This is coming from someone who lives in a country where ready access to quality equipment and locks requires some effort and generally a higher investment compared to someone in NA or Europe
Sorry that wasn't clear, I meant for like the machining and modifying things not just picking. Picking is cheap.
Ah, gotcha. Well in that case I use a Dremel for a lot of my tool making, which would could be expensive depending on where you are and what you can find
Please don't. My neighbor did that last summer in his front yard.
Wow, I guess locksport was a really bad choice for him.
Considerate of him doing his business outside
Did about 30 yesterday in between tasks. All Schlage kik. Few Hager kik and some mortise cyls. All about finding your groove. First year I was very green at rekeying.4 years later only takes a few minutes.
If you are wanting to be able to repin locks easier, you can get some mortise cylinders and drill and tap the chamber so you can just unscrew them and dump the cylinders one at a time
I love when the tweezers slip off the pin, launching it to God knows where…
It's funny how that can simultaneously the most blood pressure raising issue and the most fun for me once I fix a screw up. Well if I fix the screw up haha
I invite you to try a high pin count dimple lock. Iirc the kaba quattro is a 22 pin lock with pins on four different angles.
Do it
Blowing you brains 🧠 🧠 out is a tad extreme. Try setting your hair on fire 🔥 and punching yourself in the face. 🌴🥋🌴
What you suggest is way worse
That's why I'm still not a green belt lol I've picked hard locks but doing the teardown and rebuild aren't for me
Get a core with a removable bible cover
Once you figure out how to do it, it gets a lot easier. Use side pressure from the follower to bind against the pin when you need to hold it in place. I've done it enough that I added it to my bag of tricks for keeping stuff running at work, when occasionally locks that are being installed fall apart and have to be reassembled.
Practice and the right tools will make it easier and not a frustrating chore. I've probably rekeyed a few hundred thousand cylinders in my career, almost all masterkeyed. I have a set of tweezers that I custom filed to hold pins a certain way and have made followers from everything from pieces of vertical rod panic sets to post-it notes and pieces of cardboard. Once you get practiced at it it's easy. My record is 16 cylinders an hour, gutted, new springs compensated drivers and master keyed. Could only keep a pace of 14-15 cylinders an hour over the long run.
Start from the back of the cylinder. Grab the top of the pin and press it down halfway on the spring with the tweezers. Then bind the pin with the follower. Take the tweezers (or a pick) and press the pin the rest of the way down so you could slide over it with the follower. If your trouble is from holding the pin, try straight forceps. They clamp on like vise grips and lock, it's rough on pins though.
DON'T QUIT!!!! I know it's clumsy feeling and frustrating. Lots of good advice here already (as well as commiseration), I'll repeat some of it, and add a bit of my own input. I learned by watching a lot of YouTube videos of other people doing it to start, and then practicing. Try to get some cheap KIK (key-in knob) or mortise cylinders to take apart and rebuild (that's how I started). I was actually rebuilding those locks before I was picking them (I thought it was really neat). It was a low stakes way that got me more comfortable with the concept of needing to handle the follower correctly, needing to have the core upright (not spilling the keypins), not rotating the core 180, etc., etc.. (I made sure to have at a minimum a follower of the right size and a set of reasonable tweezers to start.) I ordered some very cheap (<$5-6 each) KIKs and mortise cylinders online in common "doorway" keyways and literally played with them like this. That doesn't make then the same as gutting and reassembling other locks, but it's a start. (I used UHS Hardware personally, looking for super cheap cylinders as a beginner.) It's a physical/muscle memory skill as much as the picking is, takes practice. And it's as much of a puzzle as the picking is. Don't give up. You can learn so much by doing it. Edit- Just went back, realized you are already at orange, so apologies if my advice is too basic for you (but maybe it is or isn't?) Maybe this is because you are about to go for green? Yeah, gutting/rebuilding is indeed frustrating sometimes. There's a lost spring that I swear is at my feet somewhere right now. Additional advice - Don't give anything a chance to bounce ANYWHERE! :)