r/lockpicking

Harder to get feedback with this pick but was able to get there

So I bought an Abus 88/40, and bumped my table last night. If anyone has any advice on reassembling a disc detainer after you’ve messed up the stack, that’d be great. Otherwise, I’ve just bought myself a rather annoying red belt flavored jigsaw puzzle.

Edit: puzzle solved!!! Thanks everyone for your help!!! That was definitely an interesting exercise that helped me understand disc detainer cuts way better lol

I've never really thought 90A-PROs were particularly difficult, and I'd like to apologize for underestimating the 90A-PRO.

My wife got me a five pack of cores for the 90A-PROs, and one of them was brutal. I refused to progressive pin pick it because I wanted to get it open with out any intermediary steps.

I feel, in my limited expertise, that this lock had a few spools that interacted in a way that made setting them particularly difficult...getting to a false set was something I could replicate, but once I was counter-rotating, that is where the challenges started.

For anyone out there who is struggling with a 90A-PRO, or any other lock, this was a great reminder that your (or other people's) experiences with a specific lock model do not necessarily carry over to a different core/pin mix for the same lock.

Very glad I finally got this open. It's the pick I'm most proud of in 2026 so far.

Got it at the beginning of the month, was super crunchy (like gravel), so I decided to progressive pin it down to 5 pins (mangling 2 springs in the process, Doh!). Got consistent opens the last couple weeks while visiting family. Was pinning back up to 7 pins today (with replacement AL1100 springs from Mr.Lock) when I made the noob mistake of not putting in key pins 6/7, Doh! Again! After a brief panic thinking I'd totally bricked it, I made a handful of shims out of a soda can and (after a brief fight to get them to work) finally was able to insert the key and turn the core. Finished pinning it up, double-checked that the key worked and finished reassembly. Picked it open in ~10/15 minutes. Honestly more proud of fixing my mistakes with the core than actually picking it (although that feels awesome as well).

Referring to my previous post about the Wilson Bohannan Keyway, I wanted to ask would anyone have a WB MA3 key blank (or similar that will fit) or know where to get one? Ive looked far and wide on the internet, but I had no luck.

Previous attachments from the last post attached.

Cannot get any progress with this Abus/Uhaul lock. I’m to the point where I think the core is messed up because ive been able to pick similar locks just fine. Any tips or advice on this particular model?

American Lock 1106 picked! 😃

I get stuck here and can't get any more turn. Help!!?

Thanks u/lockFumbler for pointing out this trick. I mean I still havent opened it, but I do feel like I’m getting a more positive feedback now I’m tensioning on a normal disk rather than a butterfly disk.

I think I have felt a positive set in at least two disks, being able to set them apart from false sets. But that still leaves quite some disk that need manipulating to the right spot. Not there just yet, but I’m sure -if I keep at it for long enough- it will open. Probably not today, might not even be this week. But I’m going to crack it!

(If not, I’ll be back and going to ask you all for help again)

Hello all, I seem to have goofed and require some assistance.

I have a Sparrows Sidewinder and because I have a smooth brain, I took all the pins out without writing down which ones went where, then I tried putting them back in from memory. Shockingly this didn't work and now the core won't turn at all so I can't even get them back out to start over.

My Sidewinder didn't come with the cap removal tool so I can't get into the guts of it because I'm pretty sure I broke something in there (thankfully Sparrows throws in replacement parts) so I kind of want to dig in and figure it out myself rather than sending it back to them to fix or getting a replacement. Feels like a good learning moment if I don't make it worse lol.

So two things I need help with:

1. What cap removal tool actually fits the Sidewinder? I found one on Amazon but not sure if it will fit for it. This is the link (please mods have mercy on my soul) https://www.amazon.com/Cylinder-Removal-Professional-Locksmith-Rekeying/dp/B0DTNFZQ17/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

2. Are there any video recs for understanding lock internals and repinning? There's obviously a million videos out there and I don't want to just fall down a random hole. Looking for something that actually explains what's going on inside rather than just "put the pins in like this."

Thanks in advance

I have this old luggage lock, but I cannot for the life of me remember the code, nor do I know how to unlock it without one.

I think the small circle on the bottom may have something to do with opening it??

Any help is greatly appreciated! :)

(I apologise if this violates rule 2 but I cant quite tell what category this would be under)

I’ve been doing this for a bit but mainly stuck with padlocks, the few times I tried kik style locks I’d struggled with little success. With that in mind I saw this hyper tough deadbolt at Walmart on sale for $7.50 and was not expecting spools. Even so, I was not expecting it to put up that much of a fight, raking only got it to false set and the spools were difficult to lift and required quite a bit of bullying. I’m assuming at least some of the difficulty is sloppy tolerances but I’m curious, for those who are used to picking larger format pins, is it usually that different from padlocks and do you generally find them more or less difficult to pick than padlocks?

Need help cracking this can't even get a false set! I'm using jacknife pick which is the best I currently have. Pins are very hard it's a brand new lock I treated myself

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