.:: Keypicking :: Anything And Everything For Locksmiths, Hobbyist Lock Pickers, Locksport, Lock Picking, lockpicks, cutaways and Security. Simply The Best Lockpicking Forum Around!

So I received three Americans yesterday and I already have an issue with one of them. I did not notice this problem when I was gutting them and reducing the pin count, but one of them is very hard to turn. I put some noticeable marks in the top of the keyway just trying to make it false set. There was not a chance of getting counter rotation so I just forced it back and after some trying managed to open it again. I am not certain if I could have opened it at all if it had more pins. It was not jammed. I did not forget a spring in there or anything like that. Outside of the housing the plug works normally.

The problem is the faceplate. Even after I loosened the screw to the point where it was on the verge of falling out the faceplate puts an immense amount of pressure on the face of the plug. It takes some serious force to turn. The other two Americans that I have do not have this problem. Could I be doing something wrong? How can I fix it?

I've had this happen before. And to be honest I don't remember what caused it. Are you sure the plug is in the padlock correctly? Nothing is loose? Everything is properly put together and functions correctly? Did the padlock show this problem out of the box?

Hmmm. I'm at a bit of a loss as to even guess what the problem might be. Could you maybe do some comparing between the 3 locks?
Try the problematic faceplate in another lock? Does the problem persist? Any differences among the cores? Maybe swap those too.

Just another thought... is the plug face on the proper side of the housing?

Well, after combinating all the bits around I learned it was a problem with the plug. The bible has a lip on it and I managed to have it backwards. So I simultaneously learned that it matters in Americans and stumbled on a way that makes a two pin lock really hard to open.

Yep... that'll do it. That's what I meant by having it on the proper side.

Ah, yes. makes sense.

The same problem can also occur on other brands of cylinder, it could be a good practice to use a black marker on the flange of the plug and the side of the cylinder just to mate them when reassembling
There are cylinders where this is less obvious but the pin drillings in the bible are not the same distance from the front of the plug as from the back, so that is could be reassembled in a problematic way spotting this is subtle.
IT takes little time to stripe it with a black marker.
probably worth the effort on unfamiliar brands