Padlocks and keymaking
Hi,
I have some questions about where the key rests on some padlocks. Some Master lock keys have a flat back (such as the M1 blank locks, the No. 3 and No. 5) but others, such as the plastic LOTO locks have a curved contact area on the blade that appears to rest on the cylinder wall. Some cylinders, notably SFIC best, have curved contact areas which rest on the cylinder wall when the key is inserted.
Is it common that the key is designed to rest on the warding in the core? I was looking at a Wilson Bohannan lock with an original key, and it appears as though there's a small gap between the key and the cylinder wall.
The Herculock 980 appears to use the same depth increment as the WB locks. My WB lock (an "AR" version) appears to have space between the blade and the cylinder wall - I can turn the WB lock with a 15 thou reach inserted in the back between the blade and the cylinder wall, so that suggests that the key is resting on the warding.
If I used the 1071M Ilco blank in the Herculock, the depth on the lowest cut is a "9" which is one deeper than the official depth for WB locks. Blanks which are filed so that the back rests on the cylinder wall can be cut one depth shallower, so the range of cuts is within the valid WB range. So I am left with some options:
1) the 1071M blank is correct, but Herculock permits a cut that is 1 deeper.
2) The Herculock blank rests on the bottom of the cylinder (or almost rests) but uses shallower cuts.
If anyone has a herculock and can give me a definitive answer of what the cut depth of a "0" cut is, it would be greatly appreciated.
Also, has anyone ordered from Herculock before? Although the locks can be both picked and bypassed, they seem to be good in that they don't rust and jam after being out in the weather for a while. The American stainless steel locks are good, but they're expensive little devils.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
I have some questions about where the key rests on some padlocks. Some Master lock keys have a flat back (such as the M1 blank locks, the No. 3 and No. 5) but others, such as the plastic LOTO locks have a curved contact area on the blade that appears to rest on the cylinder wall. Some cylinders, notably SFIC best, have curved contact areas which rest on the cylinder wall when the key is inserted.
Is it common that the key is designed to rest on the warding in the core? I was looking at a Wilson Bohannan lock with an original key, and it appears as though there's a small gap between the key and the cylinder wall.
The Herculock 980 appears to use the same depth increment as the WB locks. My WB lock (an "AR" version) appears to have space between the blade and the cylinder wall - I can turn the WB lock with a 15 thou reach inserted in the back between the blade and the cylinder wall, so that suggests that the key is resting on the warding.
If I used the 1071M Ilco blank in the Herculock, the depth on the lowest cut is a "9" which is one deeper than the official depth for WB locks. Blanks which are filed so that the back rests on the cylinder wall can be cut one depth shallower, so the range of cuts is within the valid WB range. So I am left with some options:
1) the 1071M blank is correct, but Herculock permits a cut that is 1 deeper.
2) The Herculock blank rests on the bottom of the cylinder (or almost rests) but uses shallower cuts.
If anyone has a herculock and can give me a definitive answer of what the cut depth of a "0" cut is, it would be greatly appreciated.
Also, has anyone ordered from Herculock before? Although the locks can be both picked and bypassed, they seem to be good in that they don't rust and jam after being out in the weather for a while. The American stainless steel locks are good, but they're expensive little devils.
Thanks for any help you can provide.