Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:54 pm
Brinks Shrouded Tutorial by Safetyoff
Brinks Shrouded Write up:
Disclaimer:
By accessing this article you aknowledge that it is intended for informational/entertainment purposes only. You further aknowledge that the author and website host will not be held responsible for any misuse of the information. Partaking in any activity described in this article is understood to be at your own risk.
Contents:
Introduction
Disassembly
- Normal disassembly
- Destructive disassembly
- Repinning
Picking
- Relation between key pin height and binding order
Introduction:
The Brinks shrouded is great for beginners trying to learn to pick security pins and looking for a challenge. It’s also very available to most people in North America and it’s not too expensive for what you get. That’s why I’m choosing to write about this lock.
Note: Basic lock picking knowledge is assumed. I also if you attempt the procedures you should obtain basic power tool safety/knowledge before beginning.
Disassembling the lock:
I’ve separated this into three sections. The first section contains normal disassembly details, and the second is more destructive disassembly which could be used for either DE or to disassemble a broken lock and the third is notes about repining.
Normal disassembly:
To disassemble the Brinks Shrouded you need:
7/64 inch Drill bit
Drill press
You’ll also need to be able to rotate the plug approximately 1/8 of a turn.
The key to disassembling the brinks shrouded is removing the retaining pin which is located on the right side of the lock below the small drain hole for the shackle.
This might sound easy, but only the top of the retaining pin is easy to drill. I can’t identify the alloy used nor do I know which drill bits will penetrate this section. I’ve tried to drill it with titanium coated HSS bits and it gave me trouble (I was also having trouble with the bit slipping further down into the chuck.) I would try other bits but I didn’t buy the cobalt bit set when it went on sale and I only have one shrouded.
Anyways, once you’ve drill 8 mm (roughly 21/64 in) into the lock the shear line of the cylinder will be cleared and should easily fall out of the body.
To remove the plug you’ll need to remove the brass pin at the back of the cylinder. I haven’t tested this but, with the cylinder removed you should be able to use a pick to push it up when the lock is in the locked position.
This pin is responsible for both limiting the plug to a quarter turn and keeping the plug from being pulled out when the key is inserted. It has a third role that will be discussed in the next section.
Destructive disassembly:
If you don’t turn the plug before drilling, when you reach the part of the pin that is hard to drill you’ll inadvertently push the brass retaining pin into the plug! This will disable the cylinder even to the proper key.
This is the situation I was in because I forgot to turn the plug first. To fix this you have to remove cylinder. If you can’t drill the pin out completely, I’ve found that it is possible to remove the pin by whacking the lock, jiggling the cylinder and using a pin to try to loosen the pin. I also tried heating/cooling the lock to see if it would cause the pin to come out, it didn't seem to have any effect (but it might have helped loosening it.) I haven’t found a non-destructive way to remove the pin that gets wedged into the plug, so I cylinder back into the lock and used the body of the lock to hold the cylinder so that the drill bit accurately drills out the brass pin without causing excess damage to the plug.
Since my pin was drilled out I do not have any pictures of it.
Side note:
My disassembling of the brinks shrouded really started as a test to see if I could take it apart without using my keys. I succeeded. As a DE method, it’s not very effective because it would be difficult to get the retaining pin out on a lock that’s in use (just think, no drill press, not been able to smack the pin out etc.) In addition to the brass pin trapping the plug, I don’t think it’s an effective method of opening this lock, so that’s why I’m posting this info in a public area.
Repining:
Rekeying the brinks shrouded once you’ve disassembled it isn’t too difficult, simply turn the plug 180o and the key pins fall out the holes in the bottom of the shell. Note: If you turn the plug 180 without the key in, the drivers will fall partially into the keyway. Use the flat part of a pick to push them back up and turn the plug if this happens.
I’ll be using the word repining to mean changing the driver pins as well.
Repining this lock is a pain because the part which actions the cam is part of the plug. Which means you can use regular plug follower method. I’ve found two ways to put the springs and drivers back into this lock.
The first method is to insert all the springs then place the plug face down on a flat surface. I hold the shell in one hand and use the tweezers and the pick to position and hold the pin into the chamber. While holding the pin in place I lower the shell onto the plug. A variation of this to have the plug in the 180 position so that you only have to lift the pins to the bottom of the keyway and then use a flat pick to lift the pins and turn the plug.
For the second method, I use a plug follower (a AAA battery is perfect for this lock) and a shim (I don’t have any metal ones so I used a small strip of paper.)
The idea is that you pin the lock with the follower and shim, when you insert the plug you use the shim to bridge the gap between the plug and the follower. Note that you’ll want to have the plug turned at least 1/8 turn counter clockwise when reinserting it so that the pins don’t fall into the holes and groove.
If you try this with paper you have to be careful that you don’t get too much wedged between plug and the shell because the paper will rip 50% of the time when this happens. So you have to try to pull the paper out as you push the plug in.
If you don’t have any metal shims I would recommend the first method.
Wise words of caution:
If you’re removing the plug, make sure you either:
• Turn the plug 1/8 turns counter clockwise or
• Turn the plug 3/8 turns clockwise.
If you don’t the driver pin in the last chamber will fall into the groove in the plug.
If that pin does fall into the plug, just use a pick to lift it back into its chamber.
You can undo the situations that will arise from the last pin falling into the groove at the end of the plug, but take it from me, it’s better to avoid them.
Picking this lock:
The first step to picking this lock is getting the false set. I personally found this the hardest part when I started trying to pick this lock. Also, top of the key way tension is really the way to go.
This lock contains one pin stack with anti drill pins. So far, I’ve only seen them placed in the second pin stack. If you want to double check you can simply shine a light down the keyway and look for the pin that is gray rather than brass coloured.
The anti drill driver pin is not spoorated (spool/serated hybrid,) so in most case it can be picked first. The lock might now be in a false set, which is when the plug turns slightly, meaning that the only pins blocking the shear are security pins.
If the lock isn’t in a false set after having picked the anti drill pin, there’s a security pin blocking the shear, and it’s most likely to be a pin that doesn’t need to be lifted high. Feel the pins for the ones that feel stuck and pick them until the lock false set's.
Things should be easy from here, what you have to do is apply light tension and lift on the pins one by one until you feel that one pin is causing the plug to turn in the opposite direction of the tension. Repeat this until you’ve opened the lock.
Relation between pin height and binding order:
You might have caught that I said that if the lock isn’t false set after picking the second pin stack, then it’s most likely to be a stack that doesn’t need to be lifted high. First off, the anti drill stack will bind first because of the shape of the driver. Secondly, the order the spoorated pins will bind is related to the height at which they sit in the plug.
Here are my hypothesis’ regarding the binding order related to the height of the key pins:
The spoorated pins that bind first sit high in the plug (deepest and second deepest depth). This is because when the plug begins to rotate they will tip and the bottom of the pin will jam the shear line. The lock won’t appear to have false set because it doesn’t need to turn far before it jams.
Next will be the spoorated pins that sit low in the plug (shallowest depth.) The plug will be allowed to rotate further than the deep cuts before the plug is stopped. The plug should be visually in a false set but it won't be as pronounced as the middle height pins.
The medium depths will allow maximum rotation for the false set.
Disclaimer:
By accessing this article you aknowledge that it is intended for informational/entertainment purposes only. You further aknowledge that the author and website host will not be held responsible for any misuse of the information. Partaking in any activity described in this article is understood to be at your own risk.
Contents:
Introduction
Disassembly
- Normal disassembly
- Destructive disassembly
- Repinning
Picking
- Relation between key pin height and binding order
Introduction:
The Brinks shrouded is great for beginners trying to learn to pick security pins and looking for a challenge. It’s also very available to most people in North America and it’s not too expensive for what you get. That’s why I’m choosing to write about this lock.
Note: Basic lock picking knowledge is assumed. I also if you attempt the procedures you should obtain basic power tool safety/knowledge before beginning.
Disassembling the lock:
I’ve separated this into three sections. The first section contains normal disassembly details, and the second is more destructive disassembly which could be used for either DE or to disassemble a broken lock and the third is notes about repining.
Normal disassembly:
To disassemble the Brinks Shrouded you need:
7/64 inch Drill bit
Drill press
You’ll also need to be able to rotate the plug approximately 1/8 of a turn.
The key to disassembling the brinks shrouded is removing the retaining pin which is located on the right side of the lock below the small drain hole for the shackle.
This might sound easy, but only the top of the retaining pin is easy to drill. I can’t identify the alloy used nor do I know which drill bits will penetrate this section. I’ve tried to drill it with titanium coated HSS bits and it gave me trouble (I was also having trouble with the bit slipping further down into the chuck.) I would try other bits but I didn’t buy the cobalt bit set when it went on sale and I only have one shrouded.
Anyways, once you’ve drill 8 mm (roughly 21/64 in) into the lock the shear line of the cylinder will be cleared and should easily fall out of the body.
To remove the plug you’ll need to remove the brass pin at the back of the cylinder. I haven’t tested this but, with the cylinder removed you should be able to use a pick to push it up when the lock is in the locked position.
This pin is responsible for both limiting the plug to a quarter turn and keeping the plug from being pulled out when the key is inserted. It has a third role that will be discussed in the next section.
Destructive disassembly:
If you don’t turn the plug before drilling, when you reach the part of the pin that is hard to drill you’ll inadvertently push the brass retaining pin into the plug! This will disable the cylinder even to the proper key.
This is the situation I was in because I forgot to turn the plug first. To fix this you have to remove cylinder. If you can’t drill the pin out completely, I’ve found that it is possible to remove the pin by whacking the lock, jiggling the cylinder and using a pin to try to loosen the pin. I also tried heating/cooling the lock to see if it would cause the pin to come out, it didn't seem to have any effect (but it might have helped loosening it.) I haven’t found a non-destructive way to remove the pin that gets wedged into the plug, so I cylinder back into the lock and used the body of the lock to hold the cylinder so that the drill bit accurately drills out the brass pin without causing excess damage to the plug.
Since my pin was drilled out I do not have any pictures of it.
Side note:
My disassembling of the brinks shrouded really started as a test to see if I could take it apart without using my keys. I succeeded. As a DE method, it’s not very effective because it would be difficult to get the retaining pin out on a lock that’s in use (just think, no drill press, not been able to smack the pin out etc.) In addition to the brass pin trapping the plug, I don’t think it’s an effective method of opening this lock, so that’s why I’m posting this info in a public area.
Repining:
Rekeying the brinks shrouded once you’ve disassembled it isn’t too difficult, simply turn the plug 180o and the key pins fall out the holes in the bottom of the shell. Note: If you turn the plug 180 without the key in, the drivers will fall partially into the keyway. Use the flat part of a pick to push them back up and turn the plug if this happens.
I’ll be using the word repining to mean changing the driver pins as well.
Repining this lock is a pain because the part which actions the cam is part of the plug. Which means you can use regular plug follower method. I’ve found two ways to put the springs and drivers back into this lock.
The first method is to insert all the springs then place the plug face down on a flat surface. I hold the shell in one hand and use the tweezers and the pick to position and hold the pin into the chamber. While holding the pin in place I lower the shell onto the plug. A variation of this to have the plug in the 180 position so that you only have to lift the pins to the bottom of the keyway and then use a flat pick to lift the pins and turn the plug.
For the second method, I use a plug follower (a AAA battery is perfect for this lock) and a shim (I don’t have any metal ones so I used a small strip of paper.)
The idea is that you pin the lock with the follower and shim, when you insert the plug you use the shim to bridge the gap between the plug and the follower. Note that you’ll want to have the plug turned at least 1/8 turn counter clockwise when reinserting it so that the pins don’t fall into the holes and groove.
If you try this with paper you have to be careful that you don’t get too much wedged between plug and the shell because the paper will rip 50% of the time when this happens. So you have to try to pull the paper out as you push the plug in.
If you don’t have any metal shims I would recommend the first method.
Wise words of caution:
If you’re removing the plug, make sure you either:
• Turn the plug 1/8 turns counter clockwise or
• Turn the plug 3/8 turns clockwise.
If you don’t the driver pin in the last chamber will fall into the groove in the plug.
If that pin does fall into the plug, just use a pick to lift it back into its chamber.
You can undo the situations that will arise from the last pin falling into the groove at the end of the plug, but take it from me, it’s better to avoid them.
Picking this lock:
The first step to picking this lock is getting the false set. I personally found this the hardest part when I started trying to pick this lock. Also, top of the key way tension is really the way to go.
This lock contains one pin stack with anti drill pins. So far, I’ve only seen them placed in the second pin stack. If you want to double check you can simply shine a light down the keyway and look for the pin that is gray rather than brass coloured.
The anti drill driver pin is not spoorated (spool/serated hybrid,) so in most case it can be picked first. The lock might now be in a false set, which is when the plug turns slightly, meaning that the only pins blocking the shear are security pins.
If the lock isn’t in a false set after having picked the anti drill pin, there’s a security pin blocking the shear, and it’s most likely to be a pin that doesn’t need to be lifted high. Feel the pins for the ones that feel stuck and pick them until the lock false set's.
Things should be easy from here, what you have to do is apply light tension and lift on the pins one by one until you feel that one pin is causing the plug to turn in the opposite direction of the tension. Repeat this until you’ve opened the lock.
Relation between pin height and binding order:
You might have caught that I said that if the lock isn’t false set after picking the second pin stack, then it’s most likely to be a stack that doesn’t need to be lifted high. First off, the anti drill stack will bind first because of the shape of the driver. Secondly, the order the spoorated pins will bind is related to the height at which they sit in the plug.
Here are my hypothesis’ regarding the binding order related to the height of the key pins:
The spoorated pins that bind first sit high in the plug (deepest and second deepest depth). This is because when the plug begins to rotate they will tip and the bottom of the pin will jam the shear line. The lock won’t appear to have false set because it doesn’t need to turn far before it jams.
Next will be the spoorated pins that sit low in the plug (shallowest depth.) The plug will be allowed to rotate further than the deep cuts before the plug is stopped. The plug should be visually in a false set but it won't be as pronounced as the middle height pins.
The medium depths will allow maximum rotation for the false set.
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