Rekeying an old Viro padlock

[femurat]

I have 3 Viro locks and chains that I use to secure my mountain bike at work. I've already modified one to open two of these with the same key. Now I've modified the second one to KA all three locks. To pull out the core I had to drill a rivet in the padlock body.





Once extracted, I also had to drill two brass pins on the sides of the drill protection to completely disassemble it. And another long brass pin in the sixth chamber to remove the lock plug.



Then I rekeyed the lock to match the other two. I had to swap a couple of pins and to put in two longer ones from another lock. I also had to file down some of them to make the lock work smooth. Then I had to find a brass rod to replace the long retaining pin, and since I had nothing useful around I got a M4 brass bolt, put it in the drill chuck and filed down while it was spinning.







I got a perfect replacement. Well, it looked perfect, now that I see the big picture, it's just ok



Then I put it in place, gently tapped with a hammer and cut and filed the excess







To replace the two brass pins that holds the drill protection I used bottom pins from a yale lock, they were the right size. You can see one of them on the left in the pictures above.

Now I just need to find something to replace the big rod that keeps the lock inside the padlock. It's quite big, 5.8 mm diameter. The old one was steel, because a magnet attracts it. I'm not sure if using a bolt is a good idea because it could rust. I'm not sure if using stainless steel because the old one was not stainless.
I've contacted the company but the lock is no longer produced and they said they no longer have have spare parts.
I'm open to suggestions...

Cheers

[coldrake]

First off, great work rekeying what most would look at and assume is an impenetrable lock (at least me, lol) I really liked the photos of the process as well. The old rod in question is from the first two photos, correct? As for a replacement bolt/retaining pin, I would suggest tapping the hole and using a 6mm stainless steel metal screw or bolt screwed in place, cut, and filed to make it smooth. That's kinda labor intensive, so you could also look for a replacement rivet from a source that isn't the lock manufacturer, perhaps a couple hardware stores or similar venues.

[femurat]

Hi coldrake, thanks for the compliments. Actually every lock can be disassembled. Reassembling it may be the problem

Yep the rivet is the one in the first two pictures. About tapping the hole, the lock body is hardened and tempered to resist cutting, so threading it is not an option for me. I think I may get a stainless steel rod and a hammer, and try to smash it into place in a way that doesn't allow it to fell off easily.
I'd like to find a replacement rivet but I'm having a hard time finding the right one online. I find many that are hollow and threaded but I need a solid one. I may have to go to a hardware store and ask there.

Cheers

[femurat]

When I have something that I no longer need or it's broken I always wonder if it can be useful for something else than its original purpose. I was trying to reorganize some random pieces I put in a little bag in a drawer and found a stripped screwdriver bit insert. Its body was round and just a tiny bit larger than the hole in this padlock and slightly tapered. Lucky me!

I removed the tip and shank with a cutoff wheel on my dremel and cut it to length. I got a very hard rivet for my padlock so I tried to push it in with the help of my vice. I was almost halfway when it was not possible to push it further. I was going to try and hammer it in but remembered it's very dangerous to hit hardened metal with a hammer, because some little piece can break and fly...

I removed some dust from the table press and put a piece of wood in it, then the lock, then a hammer just over the pin and then another piece of wood. Just a few moments to center the "sandwich" and then I pushed the rivet to its final position with precision and no effort. Now I have removed another key from my keyring.

Cheers

[jones]

Hi coldrake, thanks for the compliments. Actually every lock can be disassembled. Reassembling it may be the problem

Yep the rivet is the one in the first two pictures. About tapping the hole, the lock body is hardened and tempered to resist cutting, so threading it is not an option for me. I think I may get a stainless steel rod and a hammer, and try to smash it into place in a way that doesn't allow it to fell off easily.
I'd like to find a replacement rivet but I'm having a hard time finding the right one online. I find many that are hollow and threaded but I need a solid one. I may have to go to a hardware store and ask there.

Cheers

Sounds like a "dowel pin" also mebbe a "taper pin"

[GWiens2001]

Quite a nice job, Femurat.

Was going to suggest that if you had no real intent of rekeying that lock again, you could use the pin that was slightly too small, and roll it in JB Weld epoxy before inserting it into the hole. Once it set, you could sand it and nobody would know the difference.

Gordon

[femurat]

Thanks jones, now I know its name. If I had known it earlier I may have been able to buy one. Never mind I had fun making one.

Gordon, this dowel pin prevents the lock to be pulled out when locked. Repairing it with jb weld would be a security risk. Keep in mind that it's securing my mountain bike right now. Well this is one of the two I use and the bike is in the company yard, but a bike is never over-locked

Cheers