You may hear a faint "click." This is because you've pushed the cut (between the bottom and the top pin) up to exactly the shear line. Now the top pin is above the shear line and the bottom pin is below it. Now the plug is being prevented from moving by the next most misaligned pin (which, in this case, is the other pin, since there are only two). Now re-apply torque and set the first binding pin. Try each of your torque tools in the lock. Spend a lot of time playing with the three pin lock so that you can recognize the pin states easily and naturally. Set/not-binding. The pin stack was already picked. Now, while continuing to apply torque, insert your pick and find and slowly lift the pin stack. Note that while many locks pick predominantly back to front or front to back, there are exceptions, and you may find that the binding pin stack "jumps around" from the back to the front to the middle and so on. Lift each of the pins from front to back.

For this exercise, you'll use your torque tool and pick on the two pin lock to put the pins in each of these states to learn what they feel like with your pick. You may want to use one of the smaller torque tools as well, or put your torque tool in the bottom part of the keyway instead of the (curvy) top. The pick must be strong enough to resist bending or breaking while lifting pins, yet the shaft must be small and thin enough to maneuver freely around the keyway without disturbing other pins. Note that the pick should be held mostly by the shaft of the tang, not the "handle." This allows better control and feedback. Additionally, practicing basic shots and learning the fundamentals of ball control will set a strong foundation for your billiards journey. A few basic tools are sufficient to pick the majority of commonly used locks. Most of the esoteric pick designs in the huge, overpriced sets you see on the web and from locksmith suppliers are useless, and eventually end up being discarded in favor of the basic hooks.

If pushed up, it eventually sets and the plug turns slightly (and the pin stack's state changes to set/not-binding). I usually find that the very top of the plug, directly in front of the pins, to be a good place to apply torque, but you have to be careful that the tool doesn't touch the front-most pin. The pins toward the back may feel a bit different from the pins in the front. In general, the torque tool should be as thick as possible while still fitting in the keyway, what is billiards and of a width sufficient to provide good control but without interfering with the picking tool's access to the pins. A variety of picking tools are available through most locksmith supply distributors. And, of course, electronic locks have at their root software whose size and complexity grows as they become more sophisticated (and as they are networked into centralized control systems). It feels "squishy," with more resistance than from just the spring. Most cues range from 18-21 ounces, so experiment with different weights to find what feels best for your playing style.

While a fairly wide range of torque will sometimes pick these locks, try find the lightest torque that works. More than anything else success in picking depends on experience and practice with a range of locks. However, your efforts un-pinning and re-pinning locks will be time well spent -- you will progress much faster than you would if you tried to start out picking fully pinned cylinders. I made the torque tools out of Peterson's .025 inch spring steel of different widths. It's binding because it's the one most out of alignment in the direction you're turning, and so its top pin is being pinched (gently) between the plug and the shell. The goal is the strike one ball and bounce it off the sides, hitting the other two on the rebound. For this exercise, you'll be using the two pin AR1 lock. These locks are no more or less inherently secure than standard pin tumbler locks, although the external exposure of their pins makes picking them (and designing sophisticated picking tools for them) somewhat simpler.