Pin Tumbler Lock Diagram

This simple modification would cause the driver pins to catch at the shear line if the plug was lifted under tension.

Pin tumbler lock diagram.

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. The pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key pin tumblers are most commonly employed in cylinder locks but may also be found in tubular pin tumbler locks also known as radial locks or ace locks. Tubular locks offer superior protection to pin tumbler locks and wafer tumbler locks but they are also more expensive. Wafer locks are found in most filing cabinets lockers and cars as well as in many padlock designs.

However unlike the pin tumbler lock where each pin consists of two or more pieces each wafer in the lock is a single piece. This type of lock is similar to the pin tumbler lock and works on a similar principle. Let s look at a simple example of this in action. Instead of one row of pins tubular locks have pins positioned all the way around the circumference of the cylinder plug.

When the correct key is inserted all of the pins are pushed up to the same level flush with the shear line. In 1865 linus yale jr. 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. The design of the basic pin tumbler lock has been in use since 4000 bc.

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. The parts of a pin and tumbler lock key. Of course it s gotten more complex over the millennia. I show how tubular pin tumbler locks work and how they can be opened using tubular lockpicks.

Pin and tumbler locks are the most common types of locks in the world. How a pin tumbler lock works. If you ve ever wondered how a key works it helps to start with a diagram of a typical pin and tumbler type key.