I've rekeyed many cylinders. It's not all that hard, but you do have to pay attention. There are a bunch of wafers and for each wafer, a tiny little spring that will disappear in a heart beat. I like to work on a white towel, things don't bounce so far... And they are easier to see.

The sidewinder or laser keys used in early 80's W126 are more difficult, the bitting is recessed from the edges of the key which allows the use of split wafers. This makes it harder to rekey as there are way more combinations.

I tend to leave out a wafer or two if I don't have a correct one for a given cut. I figure picking the lock is the least likely way someone is going to try to get in the car. Around here, they just go up each driveway, testing to see if a car is unlocked before moving on to the next. All while looking into the security camera.

Michael

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Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120