Why don't you save yourself a lot of trouble and take it to the hardware store or a locksmith? Mine re-keys a lock for less than $5, and that's much cheaper than trying to get a set of pins.

The chief reason I want to do it myself is that the locksmith has only brass pins.

AND, I may soon rekey the entire house.

As lazypup said, you don't want to remove that top plate on the lock cylinder. The springs and pins inside are going to pop out and you'll never be able to get them put back in. A hardware or home improvement store will be able to rekey quickly and inexpensively, even if you're doing your whole house.

Have all your locks re-keyed by a pro locksmith for convienence of using the same key, but if you think you are going to stop a thief, you're fooling yourself. A good security system might slow 'em down a bit, but overall if they want in bad enough, it's going to happen no matter what measures you take.

Some folks in l.a. spent big bucks on a 6' wrought iron spear tip fencing, wrought iron grates over the windows, and security entry doors. The thiefs climbed up on the roof and entered through a skylight. Their prison looking digs got robbed!

If banks and museums get robbed in the night, you can be sure no matter what measures you take in your home, its a walk in the park to a true died in the wool thief.

do a google search on "bumpkey"
and you may decide to replace your locks.

There are far simpler techniques for picking a lock than the use of a bumpkey.

On the other hand, for those of us who understand locks we could use an ordinary candle, a blank key and a hand file to fit an exact key to your lock in about 10 minutes.

On the other hand, if someone wants in bad enough, they will simply break a window, kick a door in, cut a hole through the door with a cordless saw, drill a pilot hole through an exterior wall and use a cordless sawzall to cut a chunk out of an exterior wall and for those who have gone to the expense and bother of installing iron burglar bars they could use a hand portable oxy-acetylene torch such as those used by HVC techs.

The bottom line, LOCKS KEEP HONEST PEOPLE HONEST. but have very little effect on crooks.

A good swift kick to most doors will cause the casing and strike plate to fail.
Even with 3 inch screws there is just not enough wood to stop a determined break in.

A steel jamb and steel faced door are about as good as you are going to want to consider.
A steel jamb in a masonry building that is back filled with mortar between the jamb and masonry can be nearly impossible to break (you cannot even spread the jamb).
At that point criminals (and the fore department) just shift to the windows.