Pin Tumbler Lock Diagram

How a pin tumbler lock works.

Pin tumbler lock diagram.

Instead of one row of pins tubular locks have pins positioned all the way around the circumference of the cylinder plug. This type of lock is similar to the pin tumbler lock and works on a similar principle. The design of the basic pin tumbler lock has been in use since 4000 bc. A tubular pin tumbler lock also known as an ace lock circle pin tumbler lock or radial lock is a variety of pin tumbler lock in which six to eight pins are arranged in a circular pattern and the corresponding key is tubular or cylindrical in shape.

Tubular locks offer superior protection to pin tumbler locks and wafer tumbler locks but they are also more expensive. Inventor of the modern pin tumbler lock took a first step in solving this problem by slicing a notch into the driver pins patent us48475. However unlike the pin tumbler lock where each pin consists of two or more pieces each wafer in the lock is a single piece. Wafer locks are found in most filing cabinets lockers and cars as well as in many padlock designs.

Pin and tumbler locks are the most common types of locks in the world. When the correct key is inserted all of the pins are pushed up to the same level flush with the shear line. A wafer tumbler lock is a type of lock that uses a set of flat wafers to prevent the lock from opening unless the correct key is inserted. I show how tubular pin tumbler locks work and how they can be opened using tubular lockpicks.

You don t really need to understand how a basic pin tumbler locks work to successfully pick them but it does help. This simple modification would cause the driver pins to catch at the shear line if the plug was lifted under tension. Of course it s gotten more complex over the millennia. The parts of a pin and tumbler lock key.

If you ve ever wondered how a key works it helps to start with a diagram of a typical pin and tumbler type key. Picking pin and tumbler locks prev next the pins in a pin and tumbler lock when no key is inserted top and when the correct key is inserted bottom. They can be found on virtually every home and commercial property in the industrialized world both inside and out.