EVVA 3KS Tear Down
What to do with this lock first? Pick it, of course. Took an hour, but I got it!
Then tried disassembly, but it would not come apart! Took out this clip, and no joy!
Thought it a bit, and thought it may require centering the sliders first. Gave it a try...
Yeah! OK, folks. The sliders need to be centered for the lock to be disassembled. In other words, the key can not be used to take the lock apart!
Slide the plug forward. The sliders are not spring loaded, but the sidebars are. Keep the lock held with the sliders horizontal to the ground so they are not pulled out of their centered position during removal, or the plug will be stuck in place until the offending slider(s) is(are) re-centered.
Oldfast, beyond this point, thar be gutshots, matey. So you can stop reading now and move along to another thread with things of more interest to you.
The plug with all parts held in place. The passive 'sidebar' with the key control bitting is at the side closest to you in this picture. At the top (and bottom) are the sidebars which fit into the back side of the sliders.
Inside the empty lock cylinder.
Another view inside the lock cylinder. There are channels for the sidebars at the top an bottom of this picture (because the lock cylinder is held sideways). The channel to the right fits the profile passive sidebar. The other grooves give the sliders a place to move outside the plug. NOTE: The sliders do not, and some will not, be flush with the surface of the plug. Some will hang out with the proper key. This ain't no pin tumbler lock!
The passive profile sidebar in place, tipped to the right.
The passive profile sidebar. The top faces away from the key. At the bottom you can see where the edge of the key must be cut for the sidebar to be able to drop into the plug.
The side of the passive sidebar that fits into the grooves cut into the edge of the key blade.
The sidebars for the sliders. These are what the sliders work with. Yes, there are two ridges, which fit into slots with a high point in the middle of the 'outside' of the sliders.
The side view of the sidebars.
The plug with the slider posts centered in the keyway. Of course, this makes the channels the sidebar fits into not line up. You can see that none of the sliders stick out beyond the plug, so the plug can be removed from the cylinder in this position.
The sliders are now in the correct position for the sidebar. This is how they would look if the key was inserted, if I had one. Remember, this is only one side of the key. Both sides are used by the key - 2 sidebars and 10 sliders + the passive key profile 'sidebar'. NOTE: The sliders stick out above and below the plug, as well as being centered.
The sliders most of the way out of the plug. You can see that there are false gates for the sidebars on each slider. This is the side of the slider that determines the key bitting, not the posts the key touches. That means no decoding from visual inspection of the keyway.
Side view of the sliders. Note that the dual-pin sliders are a little longer than the single-pin sliders. Also, the posts that the key operates are perfectly centered on the sliders. Finally, see that the posts on the single sliders are longer than on the double sliders. This means that the channels for the dual-post sliders are shallower than the channel for the single-post sliders.
All the sliders from one side levelled at the top. Yes, both single and dual post sliders are used on both sides of the lock, not all singles one one side with doubles on the other side as I had previously suspected. Again, this is possible because of the different post heights on single and double post sliders.
And the last picture. Used guitar wire to line up the sliders' gates, showing the bitting needed for the key. There are nine positions for single post sliders, and seven positions for dual post sliders.
Please excuse and correct any incorrect terminology used for parts in this lock. As said before, not a locksmith, just a lock enthusiast, and I have lots to learn. I would appreciate any corrections.
Gordon
P.S. OK, Oldfast, you can come back now.