Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:48 am
How to pick a Medeco (without the sidebar)
This is the way I learned to do it, and I’m sure it will work for anyone that tries it. Medeco locks without the sidebar are not that hard to pick. I used a Bi-Axial lock because I was interested in using code setting keys. However you could also use a Medeco classic.
To start with take your lock apart fully. I recommend putting it inside a large ziplock plastic bag, so the little springs don’t get lost. The only magnetic parts inside a Medeco lock are those little sidebar springs, the anti drill top pin, and the little half moon anti drill pieces in the front. Good to know when you drop them on a carpet floor.
Clean out any oil or crud. I use acetone and pipe cleaners, then I put the lock together dry. Record where each pin goes and figure out the bitting if you can. Make sure the pins operate smoothly. Start by putting the lock together with only two pin stacks and no sidebar. Try to choose one of the shorter bottom pins and one adjacent to it. Don’t use a mushroom top pin yet.
I found the pick that worked best was a hook with a flat area on it that could remain positioned on the chisel points of the pins, almost like a flat shelf. I don’t think something like a half diamond would work very well. Also a hook with a rounded point may not work very well either. Pick thickness is not a problem with the wide Medeco keyway. I used a tension wrench at the top of the keyway. This worked very well and I would do this even if you had to make a special wrench to fit. If you tension at the bottom of the keyway, you won’t be able to use code setting keys later.
The goal is not to pop open the lock, but rather to learn how the pins feel. When you lift a non binding pin, the spring will help push it back against your pick. When you lift a binding pin the top pin will stay trapped above the plug and the pin will feel different with your pick because there is no spring pressure. Try with no tension on the lock and both pins should have spring pressure. Then put on light tension (counter clockwise) and feel the difference.
As an exercise, put light tension on the lock and feel for the pins, slowly move the pick towards the front and back of the lock, try to feel when the point of the pick first touches a pin and when the flat part of the pick is firmly on the chisel point of the pin. Also try to notice when it just slips off the pin. Then feel the next pin, remember the spacing between the chisel points on the pins will not always be the same on a Bi-Axial. Try to be aware of the exact pin you are working on. Try intentionally lifting the binding pin not quite high enough to set, and then feel the other pin. Go back to the binding pin and continue to lift it until it sets. Now compare the pin you just set with the other one. Get used to the feeling of a set pin. Do this exercise each time you add a pin to the lock.
When I say a pin is binding, remember these pins are very smooth, they don’t really bind so much as have a small bit more drag when you touch them with the pick. Try to be gentle when you do this. Always use counter clockwise tension.
Pick the lock at least 20 or 30 times like this. When a pin sets, there will probably be a small click that you can hear and feel. The three “states” a pin can be in are what you want to learn. “Binding”, “Not Binding” and “Set”.
Now keep just the two pin stacks, but take out the top pin and replace it with a mushroom top pin on one of the stacks. Interesting note, it’s useless to put a mushroom pin on a five or six depth bottom pin because the head of the mushroom won’t be below the shearline. A Medeco depth six pin only sits about .030 of an inch below the shearline. A depth five pin is just about .050 from the shearline. The “head” of a mushroom pin is about .055 thick. Also don’t get the mushroom pin upside down, or it’s really just a regular pin. (If you want to impress someone that doesn’t know about this, put six mushroom pins in a lock, all upside down. When you take the lock apart, they will be impressed to see six mushrooms fall out).
When you pick the lock with a properly installed mushroom pin there will be a false set where the plug turns slightly. This means the regular pins are picked and not causing any problem, but the mushroom pin is keeping the plug from turning any further. Continue to gently lift the mushroom pin up and watch as the plug continues to turn slightly and then stop as the pin binds on the mushroom head. You have now lifted the pin to the smallest diameter of the mushroom pin just before the head. Continue to gently lift the pin and watch while the plug turns itself backwards as the head of the mushroom pin passes the shearline. If it is stuck and you can’t lift it, then you are holding way too much tension. Light tension is very important.
Pick the lock like this with only two pins at least 20 or 30 times until you are very comfortable with the feel of the mushroom pin.
Next step is to put in another pin stack and pick the lock again. Practice at least 20 or 30 times before you add any additional pin.
Pretty soon you will have all the pins in the lock and be able to open it with no problems. If you get all your pins set and there is still a mushroom pin hanging up, don’t worry. Pick the mushroom like you always have, even if the other pins fall down. Keep light tension on the lock and go through the binding order again and the lock will open. Notice in the pictures, I have a key hanging on the tension wrench. That is enough tension.
If at some point you lose your touch and can’t get it open, then back up and take out a couple of pins. You will get the proper feel back very quickly. This happened to me two or three times.
Remember, the goal is not to open the lock. The goal is to develop a feel for the Medeco pins that will help you attack a fully assembled lock with an unknown bitting and sidebar.
Happy picking.
>>Edit.. fixed the pictures. <<
To start with take your lock apart fully. I recommend putting it inside a large ziplock plastic bag, so the little springs don’t get lost. The only magnetic parts inside a Medeco lock are those little sidebar springs, the anti drill top pin, and the little half moon anti drill pieces in the front. Good to know when you drop them on a carpet floor.
Clean out any oil or crud. I use acetone and pipe cleaners, then I put the lock together dry. Record where each pin goes and figure out the bitting if you can. Make sure the pins operate smoothly. Start by putting the lock together with only two pin stacks and no sidebar. Try to choose one of the shorter bottom pins and one adjacent to it. Don’t use a mushroom top pin yet.
I found the pick that worked best was a hook with a flat area on it that could remain positioned on the chisel points of the pins, almost like a flat shelf. I don’t think something like a half diamond would work very well. Also a hook with a rounded point may not work very well either. Pick thickness is not a problem with the wide Medeco keyway. I used a tension wrench at the top of the keyway. This worked very well and I would do this even if you had to make a special wrench to fit. If you tension at the bottom of the keyway, you won’t be able to use code setting keys later.
The goal is not to pop open the lock, but rather to learn how the pins feel. When you lift a non binding pin, the spring will help push it back against your pick. When you lift a binding pin the top pin will stay trapped above the plug and the pin will feel different with your pick because there is no spring pressure. Try with no tension on the lock and both pins should have spring pressure. Then put on light tension (counter clockwise) and feel the difference.
As an exercise, put light tension on the lock and feel for the pins, slowly move the pick towards the front and back of the lock, try to feel when the point of the pick first touches a pin and when the flat part of the pick is firmly on the chisel point of the pin. Also try to notice when it just slips off the pin. Then feel the next pin, remember the spacing between the chisel points on the pins will not always be the same on a Bi-Axial. Try to be aware of the exact pin you are working on. Try intentionally lifting the binding pin not quite high enough to set, and then feel the other pin. Go back to the binding pin and continue to lift it until it sets. Now compare the pin you just set with the other one. Get used to the feeling of a set pin. Do this exercise each time you add a pin to the lock.
When I say a pin is binding, remember these pins are very smooth, they don’t really bind so much as have a small bit more drag when you touch them with the pick. Try to be gentle when you do this. Always use counter clockwise tension.
Pick the lock at least 20 or 30 times like this. When a pin sets, there will probably be a small click that you can hear and feel. The three “states” a pin can be in are what you want to learn. “Binding”, “Not Binding” and “Set”.
Now keep just the two pin stacks, but take out the top pin and replace it with a mushroom top pin on one of the stacks. Interesting note, it’s useless to put a mushroom pin on a five or six depth bottom pin because the head of the mushroom won’t be below the shearline. A Medeco depth six pin only sits about .030 of an inch below the shearline. A depth five pin is just about .050 from the shearline. The “head” of a mushroom pin is about .055 thick. Also don’t get the mushroom pin upside down, or it’s really just a regular pin. (If you want to impress someone that doesn’t know about this, put six mushroom pins in a lock, all upside down. When you take the lock apart, they will be impressed to see six mushrooms fall out).
When you pick the lock with a properly installed mushroom pin there will be a false set where the plug turns slightly. This means the regular pins are picked and not causing any problem, but the mushroom pin is keeping the plug from turning any further. Continue to gently lift the mushroom pin up and watch as the plug continues to turn slightly and then stop as the pin binds on the mushroom head. You have now lifted the pin to the smallest diameter of the mushroom pin just before the head. Continue to gently lift the pin and watch while the plug turns itself backwards as the head of the mushroom pin passes the shearline. If it is stuck and you can’t lift it, then you are holding way too much tension. Light tension is very important.
Pick the lock like this with only two pins at least 20 or 30 times until you are very comfortable with the feel of the mushroom pin.
Next step is to put in another pin stack and pick the lock again. Practice at least 20 or 30 times before you add any additional pin.
Pretty soon you will have all the pins in the lock and be able to open it with no problems. If you get all your pins set and there is still a mushroom pin hanging up, don’t worry. Pick the mushroom like you always have, even if the other pins fall down. Keep light tension on the lock and go through the binding order again and the lock will open. Notice in the pictures, I have a key hanging on the tension wrench. That is enough tension.
If at some point you lose your touch and can’t get it open, then back up and take out a couple of pins. You will get the proper feel back very quickly. This happened to me two or three times.
Remember, the goal is not to open the lock. The goal is to develop a feel for the Medeco pins that will help you attack a fully assembled lock with an unknown bitting and sidebar.
Happy picking.
>>Edit.. fixed the pictures. <<
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Last edited by barbarian on Sat Apr 24, 2010 7:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
