Travel sentry certified luggage lock

A tubular pin tumbler lock, also known as Ace lock or “axial pin tumbler lock” or “radial lock”, is a variety of pin tumbler lock in which 6-8 pins are arranged in a circular pattern, and the corresponding key is tubular or cylindrical in shape.

J.A. Blake is credited with patenting the first tubular lock in 1833. Walter R. Schlage continued the development of the tubular lock. He was awarded 11 patents, and his improvements made the tubular lock what it is today.

Tubular locks are commonly seen on bicycle locks, computer locks, and a variety of coin-operated devices such as vending machines and coin-operated washing machines.

Security

Tubular pin tumbler locks are generally considered to be safer and more resistant to picking than standard locks, though there are several ways to open them without a key. Even though the pins are exposed, making them superficially easier to pick, they are designed such that after all pins are manipulated to their shear line, once the plug is rotated 1/6 to 1/8 around, the pins will fall into the next pin’s hole, requiring re-picking to continue. As such, picking the lock without using a device to hold its pins in place once they reach their shear line requires over a dozen complete picks to unlock and relock.

Such locks can be picked by a special tubular lock pick with a minimum of effort in very little time; it is also possible to defeat them by drilling with a special “hole saw” drill bit. Standard tubular lock drill bit sizes are .375″ (9.53 mm) diameter and .394″ (10 mm) diameter.[1] To prevent drilling, many tubular locks have a middle pin made of hardened steel, or contain a ball bearing in the middle pin.

In 2004, videos circulating on the Internet demonstrated that some tubular pin tumbler locks could be easily opened with the shaft of an inexpensive ballpoint pen (e.g. BIC brand) of matching diameter. Trade website BikeBiz.com revealed that the weaknesses of the tubular pin tumbler mechanism had first been described in 1992 by UK journalist John Stuart Clark (see Kryptonite lock).

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A warded lock (also called a ward lock) is a type of lock that uses a set of obstructions, or wards, to prevent the lock from opening unless the correct key is inserted. The correct key has notches or slots corresponding to the obstructions in the lock, allowing it to rotate freely inside the lock. Warded locks are commonly used in inexpensive padlocks, cabinet locks, and other low-security applications, since they are among the most easily circumvented by lock picking. A well-designed skeleton key can successfully open a wide variety of warded locks.

History

The warded lock is one of the most ancient lock designs still in modern use. It is thought to have been developed in ancient Rome.

Design

In the most basic warded lock, a set of obstructions, often consisting of concentric plates protruding outwards, blocks the rotation of a key not designed for that lock. Warded locks may have one simple ward, or many intricate wards with bends and complex protrusions; the principle remains the same. Unless the notches or slots in the key correspond to the wards in the lock, the key will strike an obstruction and will not turn.

A cylindrical post is typically located in the center of the lock. Its purpose is to provide a point of leverage for rotating the key, and to help correctly align the key with the wards. The key has a corresponding hole which fits over the post.

When the correct key is inserted, it will clear the wards and rotate about the center post. The key may then strike a lever, activating a latch or sliding bolt, or it may itself push against the latch or bolt. In a double action lever lock, the key may additionally push against a spring-loaded lever which holds the sliding bolt in place.

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Cookham Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire. It is owned and managed by the Environment Agency. The lock is set in a lock cut which creates Formosa Island and it is surrounded by woods.

Access to the lock

There is a road from Cookham to Formosa Island and the lock.

Reach above the lock

The river is picturesque and described as Wind in the Willows country. Kenneth Graham based much of his book on this part of the Thames.

Literature and the Media

Cookham was home to the artist Stanley Spencer’s whose works include Swan Upping at Cookham.

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Camden Lock is a double manually-operated lock on the Regent’s Canal in Camden Town, London, England. The difference in water level is exceptionally large for a canal lock.

Camden Town Lock is located in Camden Town, northwest London and is in the London Borough of Camden. The Lock itself is sandwiched between the junction of Chalk Farm Road and Camden High Street, before the turning of James Town Road.

It has over the years become something of a tourist attraction, mainly due to its association with the Camden Street Market/Stables Markets and the various live music venues surrounding it. Though in recent years the Lock/bridge have become something of a drug peddler’s paradise.

Camden Lock is one of many landmarks in this area of London to have a corresponding structure underground in the novel The Horn of Mortal Danger (1980).

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This article discusses the charitable organization. For the custom of using locks as tokens of love, see love padlocks

Locks of Love is a non-profit charity based in the United States. The organization accepts donations of human hair and money, with the stated intention of making wigs for needy children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition.

Requirements for recipients

To be eligible to receive a hairpiece, a child must:

• Be 18 years or younger.
• Have long-term hair loss from alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease), scalp burns, or a similar medical condition. Children whose hair loss is due to chemotherapy may be excluded from consideration, as their condition is considered temporary.
• Provide proof of financial need.
• Submit two letters of recommendation, a photo, and an essay.

Locks of Love does not provide all hairpieces free of charge. According to its website, prices for human-hair wigs are set on a sliding scale based on the recipient’s family income.

Requirements for donors

Locks of Love accepts donations from people of all ages, races, and nationalities. However, they do have some specific requirements for hair donations they accept.

• Donated hair must be ten inches or longer. http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html
• Hair may not be bleached or chemically damaged, or overprocessed.
• Hair that is determined to be too short, gray, or “unsuitable for children” is separated from the donations and sold at fair market value.

Tax Deductions

As the hair is considered to be a body part and is analagous to blood, any hair donations are not Tax Deductible according to IRS guidelines but financial donations are deductible.[1]

Accountability standards

The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance report, valid through April 2008, states that Locks of Love meets all twenty of its “Standards for Charity Accountability.”[2]

According to the latest report available on the Charity Navigator site (Fiscal Year Ended 11/04), Locks of Love scored an overall rating of 68.11 out of 70 (“four stars”).

The Better Business Bureau reports that Locks of Love made $352,401 from “unusable material sales.”

• Wigs for Kids accepts hair donations to create custom made, human hair replacements for children who have temporary or long term hair loss due to burns, chemotherapy, radiation, alopecia, or other medical circumstances. http://www.wigsforkids.org

• Little Princesses is a UK charity that provides wigs to children who suffer from cancer-related hairloss.

References

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County Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in Reading town centre in the English county of Berkshire. It was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now administered by British Waterways and known as the Kennet Navigation.

County Lock is the shallowest of the locks on the Kennet, as boats only rise or fall about 30 cm (1 foot) in the lock. The main stream of the Kennet flows down the weir on the far side of the lock, whilst another arm of the Kennet disappears under the Bridge Street Roundabout.

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Miraflores is the name of one of the three locks that form part of the Panama Canal and the name of the small lake that separates these locks from the Pedro Miguel locks upstream. In the Miraflores locks, vessels are lifted (or lowered) in three stages totalling 8 m, allowing them to transit to or from the Pacific Ocean port of Balboa (near Panama City). Ships cross below the Puente de las Américas (Bridge of the Americas) which connects North and South America.

As of 2005, the following schedule was in effect for ship transit through the locks. From 06:00 to 15:15, ships travel from the Pacific towards the Atlantic. From 15:45 to 23:00 ships travel from the Atlantic towards the Pacific. At any other time, travel is permitted in both directions,

A modern visitor center allows tourists to have a full view of the Miraflores locks operation. Binoculars are recommended to also see the Pedro Miguel locks, visible in the distance. As of 2005, admittance to the visitors center costs US$5 (observation terrace) or $8 (supporting exhibits and show added). Viewing a transit operation at the center can take more than 30 minutes. A souvernirs shop in the base level sells related merchandise. The center closes at 17:00.

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Southcote Lock is a lock on the River Kennet at Southcote within the town of Reading in Berkshire, England.

Southcote Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now administered by British Waterways and known as the Kennet Navigation. It has a rise/fall of 5 ft 3 in (1.65 m).

The Victorian brick building that overseas Southcote Lock is the redundant Southcote Pumping Station which, when it opened in 1850, was the key to Reading’s demanding water needs.

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A tubular lock pick is a specialized lockpicking tool used for opening a tubular pin tumbler lock. Tubular lock picks are all very similar in design and come in sizes to fit all major tubular locks, including 6, 7, and 8-pin locks.

The tool is simply inserted into the lock and turned clockwise with medium tension. As the tool is pushed into the lock, each of the picks is slowly forced down until they stop, thus binding the driver pins behind the shear line of the lock. When the final pick is pushed down, the shear plane is clear and the lock opens. This can usually be accomplished in a matter of seconds.

Most tubular lock picks come with a “decoder” which lets the locksmith know at what depths the pins broke the shear plane. By using the decoding key after the lock has been picked, the locksmith can cut a tubular key to the correct pin depths and thus avoid having to replace the lock.

In 2004 it was widely publicized that the barrel of a cheap ballpoint pen would act as an effective lock pick for many brands of tubular lock.

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The Great Lakes Waterway is a system of channels and canals that makes all of the Great Lakes accessible to oceangoing vessels. Its principal civil engineering components are the Welland Canal, bypassing Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the Soo Locks, bypassing the rapids of the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, at Sault Sainte Marie. Maintained channels serve the St. Clair River and Detroit River between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. A United States Coast Guard icebreaker helps keep the passage open for much of the winter, although shipping usually ceases for 2 or 3 months each year.

The Great Lakes Waterway is supplemented by the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which makes the Saint Lawrence River navigable from Montreal to Kingston, Ontario. The two waterways are often jointly referred to as the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Great Lakes Seaway has larger locks and deeper drafts than the St. Lawrence Seaway with the result that a number of lake freighters are confined to the lakes, being small enough to operate on the Waterway but too large to pass down the Seaway.

The Great Lakes Waterway is co-administered by Canada and the United States.

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