Just picked my first dimple lock, whoo! Now, some questions

[Solomon]

I got my dimple picks in the mail today (along with a set of Dangerfield lever padlock picks - but that's another story). I sat down with them properly about half an hour ago, and started toying with the lock I picked up off ebay last week. It took me a while to get used to the motion of the pick... as I was rotating it back and forth, at first I was accidentally rotating the plug back with the pick and unsetting pins. That sucked, I have to say.

Anyway, I got over that little hurdle pretty quickly by being extra gentle and paying close attention to the angle of the pick... and before I knew it, pins started setting all over the place and the lock popped open. Only took me a few minutes too!

It's a 7 pinner, and seems quite small compared to dimple locks I've seen in videos before. The plug is the same size as that of a regular euro cylinder. It doesn't have any markings on it, although the keys are branded "Wan & Jia". Here is the lock:



And the key:



And yes, it was as cheap as it looks. I wanted to get something cheap and cheerful as a starter. So, my first question is, what sort of lock could I move on to? Something with spools in it, but nothing too crazy. I'll be leaving the MTL's for a good while yet. I'm considering an R6, but I'd like more options than that as I do most of my lock hunting on ebay.

Now, about the keys. The lock was supplied with A keys and B keys - once the B key is inserted, the A keys will not work anymore. It's a nice way of changing the lock in a pinch without having to actually swap out or repin the cylinder. This is irreversible, however, so I'm wondering how on earth the B key renders the original bitting useless. Can anyone fill me in on how this mechanism works? I'm guessing there is some kind of master pinning in there so both bittings will open the lock, but I have no idea how the A key is rendered useless by the introduction of the B key.

Oh yeah, and last but not least, here it is in all its picked glory:



Did I mention I was excited about picking my first dimple lock? I think I did, but just to be sure... whoo! Ok, I'm done.

[barbarian]

Well done.

Now you need to take the thing apart and have a write up about how those two keys work with pictures. I'm guessing something like construction keying.

Great picture too by the way.

[HallisChalmers]

Well done.

Now you need to take the thing apart and have a write up about how those two keys work with pictures. I'm guessing something like construction keying.

Great picture too by the way.

Barbarian is right - I was thinking the same thing. Construction keying allows the "A" set of keys to be used by the contractors while work is being done. Once construction is completed and the house is ready to be turned over to the owner - the "B" keys render the previous key unusable.

[.45cal]

http://www.lockpickingforensics.com/art ... t_lock.pdf

While the whole article is interesting the answer to your question is on page 25

Hopefully this explains how the mechanism works.



When the "B" key is turned, the ball bearing drops into the plug, and stays there for the life of the lock. When the "A" key is inserted again, the top pins cross the sheerline into the plug, denying operation.

You can easily find the exact pins and how many there are by looking at your keys.
Find the cuts that are the same, and the ones that are different. The "B" keys should have Higher cuts than the "A" key.

Construction keying, like all multiple-sheerline pin cylinders, does make picking a lot easier (depending on how many construction pins they use)

Be careful when you're picking these, if there are multiple construction pins, and you only catch one or two above the sheerline, and some are not, you'll find neither of your keys work.
You'll have to keep picking them until you can set the last few contruction pins.

[Solomon]

Cheers everyone! Makes a lot of sense. I haven't got a circlip tool to take it apart, but next time I get a chance I'll get hold of one. I haven't even got any decent stuff to use as a plug follower... I managed to take one lock apart before and messed up the circlip bigtime. I actually used an ear stretching taper as a plug follower for that one, but it was a 12mm and wouldn't be big enough for this.

Anyway, if I do get it stripped down at some point I'll be sure to post pics.

[rickthepick]

wow just googled these locks and look where i ended up.

how are they to pick?

iv orded a few from ebay to play with