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OK, one for you North American guys. I found a pair of ancient Medeco padlocks for sale here in New Zealand, Lord knows where they came from because there isn't a Medeco dealer in the whole country.

1. Are these in fact Series 50, or are they called something else?

2. Approximate age?

3. Literally the only documentation on them that I've been able to find online is this Imgur pic: https://imgur.com/a/U55GN No picking videos, no teardowns, nothing. Does anyone have any other reaources?

4. My locks don't appear to disassemble as per the sheet above. A 1/16 allen key removes the shackle happily enough but as far as I can see the locking balls are captive - I can't see a way to get the first one out (the one that should, in theory, only be held in by the shackle and should fall out when the shackle is removed.) Tried whacking the body. Tried pulling the ball with a magnet. The ball rattles and is free enough, but it really does look like the hole is a smaller diameter than the diameter of the ball. Am I missing soimething? Do they need a special key to rotate the core counterclockwise like the Medeco-cored S&G locks? Were there different versions of these things?

Any help gratefully received. Pics for reference.

Michael.

After you remove the shackle, what happens if you depress the retainer cap and turn the key? Should pop the balls out if they are stuck. The one that should fall out first might be peened in slightly if the top of the lock was hit

Nothing. Turned out that a million years worth of crud was the cause, I got it sorted in the end. Lovely old locks these.