a couple of times questions relating to the locks have come up recently. Last week I had a chance to get some spare locks from a SII car that I inspected and cleaned last night. Here are some of the pics I took.
The parts of the lock. The spring circlip holds the rear part of the lock in place. If you remove it, you can pull off the rear part and pull the lock cylinder out of the housing.
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This is the yale system, David - spring loaded steels pins of different length intrude between the barrel and body prevent the barrel from turning. With the correct key fitted, the pins align - allowing the barrel to turn…
The trick is to match the pin lengths with the key shape - you need a lot of pins of different lengths. A pro has all the knowledge to ‘see’ what works, and fit the proper pins. And of course to ‘read’ the pins to make the right key.
For an amateur it is a more laborious trial and error - and extremely fiddly…
I was seriously considering to rekey the barrel while I was at it, but then I’m lucky to have functioning locks with keys and who knows whether I’ll ever need a spare lock to replace one of mine. In addition my lock cylinders function wonderfully.
In principle you only need needle nose pliers to pull the locking “tabs” out of the barrel. There are tiny coil springs underneath with a tendency to stick to the locking tab first and - once having lost resistancy - jump away to never be found again. To put them back in place good pincers are helpful. Once removed there is only trial, error and patience between you and success. In theory - and with a good theory also in practice - there should be no filing necessary, as the locking tabs always come in identical sizes; it is only the sequence of the different tabs that keys the lock.
