------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newsgroups: alt.locksmithing From: walter@kaiwan.com (WALTER EMIL TEAGUE III) Subject: Re: Buying picks Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1993 09:14:49 GMT Lines: 8 I am getting real tired saying this individually, so I'm posting it. I wish that this would be placed in a FAQ file. I am not paid, and this is not an advertisement. But the cheapest, and best, place I know to purchase lock related goodies is: Septon, Inc., P. O. Box 9, Malden-on-Hudson, NY, 12453, Tel 1-800-537-8752, FAX 1-914-246-3416. Example: 16 pc. pick set in zippered leather case is $26.88. Pick guns, $17.95. They have a catalog. Ask for one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: craig@grad03.math.ncsu.edu (Ralph Craig) Subject: Advice gotten: Lockpicks Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1993 20:13:32 GMT Lines: 52 This post is a summary of the advice which I have gotten so far, and a request for comments thereupon. First, all agree that annealed steel can be worked with files, mill files for rough work, needle files for the final touches. In addition to buying the steel already annealed, it has been suggested that I can anneal it myself by heating it to cherry-red and letting it cool slowly. I am wary of doing this myself because I will be working with very thin material (such as a hacksaw blade) and I don't know how to insulate it properly to ensure slow, even cooling. Most recommend a propane torch for the annealing and for the hardening but some optimistic souls say that for a small piece like a lockpick, my gas stove will indeed suffice. As for the hardening process itself, opinion is divided over whether quenching should be done in oil or water and whether the piece should be stirred or not. People tended to speak in absolutes here ("Keep stirring until the piece is cool enough to touch." vs. "Do not stir the piece, it will cause it to warp.") The tempering seems to be the trickiest part. I do not need to have a very precise balance between hardness and springines, though, so it seems that this can be accomplished by preheating my oven to 375 - 400 degrees, leaving the picks in for about an hour then letting them air cool. Comments? One unique suggestion for tempering was to take the pieces outside, cover them with motor oil and set fire to it. After the oil burns up, cover the piece with sand or ashes and let it cool slowly. Comments on this one? As long as we're here, anybody know if there are restrictions on the sale of lockpicks? I only know that they are legal to own and carry in every state but not in D.C. In short, it seems that I can perform every step from hacksaw blade to lockpick in my own kitchen, with tools I already have lying around the house. With a little gun blueing for the business end and plastic-coat dip for the handle, I ought to be able to turn out a respectable product. Thanks to all who contributed and thanks for any future pearls of wisdom, Ralph. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: alt.locksmithing From: hak@alf.cooper.edu (Jeff Hakner) Subject: Re: Picking Master Combo Locks Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 03:14:16 GMT in article , whittg@marcus.its.rpi.edu (Graham B. Whitted Iv) says: > > > I have just join this newsgroup, and am very happy to be able to > give my two cents worth. I have been following the discussion of picking > master combination locks. I find this mildly amusing, since i have been > doing this since high school, and usually well under one minute (personal > best is about fifteen seconds), however in the worst case can be upto > five minutes. Anyway here is how to do it. > If you pull on the lock as if trying to open it, and then try to > turn the dial, you will notice that the dial will becom "locked" at > only certain positions on the dial. A matter of fact there are exactly > 12 ( three for each set of ten). Three of these twelve numbers make > up the combination. You only need to find on the three in a set of ten, > because the numbers will repaet in each set of ten. > > Example - Lets say I find the three numbers to be 2 6 8 then the 12 numbers > are 2 6 8 12 16 18 22 26 28 32 36 38. > > Okay, now for some reason unknown to me the way to find the first number > doesn't work for all locks, buti have to say about 90% it does. If you > pull the lock about half way down so that you still can turn the dial, > and turn the dial clockwise, you will feel the lock begin to pull down > and pop back up at one number. Now add five to this number and that is > your first number. > > Now all that is left to do is find the second number, which is one of the > magic twelve numbers above. I usually just start at the next possible > number and work my way up. The way to find the 2nd number is to stop at each of the gates, pull on the shackle, and wiggle the dial. If you are on the second number, the rocker will have passed both the first and second gates, and thus will rub against the dial, producing noticeable resistance. > > Example - Using the twelve numbers above, lets say i find my first > number to be 12. I would then try the combo 12 - 16, and for the third > number i just work my way back thourgh the series starting at 18 pull > the lock at each number, if it opens, then that is your combo. > > The worst case scenario is when the first number can not be found, i > have a large number of master locks that i have found, and when this > occurs i have been able to guess at the first number based on the serial > numbers on the back, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes the only > way to find the combo is to try all twelve of the magic numbers as your > first number and repeat the above steps for each. I've been told by locksmiths who have the Master code book that there is no apparrent correlation between serial number and combo. I once did a study where I opened many locks in my HS and recorded the serial # and combo. I was unable to discern a pattern. As for finding the first number with the pull-up method, it only works on middle-aged 1500 series locks. It is caused by the relocking dog, which rides the shackle shaft, engaging a post on the back disc. Master evidently realized the problem around 1988, and changed the design to close this loophole. Older 1500 series locks (pre-1980, or so) are also missing this helpful aid. Finally, it should be noted that this method only works on Master 1500 series locks. In particular, it does not have any bearing on the 2000 series "deadbolt" combo locks. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: okunewck@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Phil OKunewick) Subject: Spring steel (Re: Advice needed: Lockpicks) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1993 15:37:27 GMT Lines: 79 craig@math.ncsu.edu (Ralph Craig) writes: >I am new to this group, having been referred here by >the kind folks at alt.locksmithing. I am attempting >to make myself a high quality set of lockpicks... >...The romance >is in doing it for myself. > >First, the material. The final product is to be >tempered spring steel. The problems: It is difficult >to work without having a moderately expensive source >of power and my budget is on a shoestring. Also, I >have tried with remarkably little success to obtain >1/8" wide strips of .022 gauge spring steel. (Attempts >include machine shops, clock makers, gunsmiths, etc.).. This is the sort of thing to go in a FAQ. (Is it there already?) That's why I'm posting instead of mailing it. Hacksaw blades are the best source of spring steel known to man. These can be worked by anybody with a basement toolbox - All you need is hand tools and a propane torch (or gas kitchen stove). I've made several useful products out of old blades. Here's the procedure: ANNEAL - Use a propane torch to heat the area of the blade you need to work. After it glows cherry red, let it cool slooooowwwlllllyyyy - if you need to, play the torch on it less and less as it cools. The blade should take at least one or two minutes before it can be touched. WORK - The blade will be very soft at this point. Cut it, bend it, file it, drill it, whatever it takes. Saw it with another hacksaw blade. You can grind it if you get sparks, but if it don't spark then don't grind; file or sand it instead. (No sparks means the metal is soft enough to clog your grinding wheel - the amount of pressure then needed to do anything can make things blow up in your face.) HARDEN - heat it to cherry red again, then dunk it in oil or water. It's thin, so the coolant doesn't really matter. But I prefer oil. After hardening, the metal will be incredibly brittle - okay if you want a tough edge, but useless as a spring. TEMPER - Here's where it becomes an art - You need to evenly heat the blade to a certain temperature, then quench it. The temperature can be determined by a color change in the oxide on the surface - first metallic yellow ("straw"), then metallic red, then metallic blue. As soon as the oxide reaches your desired color (blue for most springs), quench it again. If it starts glowing cherry red you lose - quench it, clean the oxide off, and start tempering all over again. GRIND - the metal is hard again, but not as hard as a silicon carbide grinding wheel. You can put the finishing touches on with any good grinder, even a dremel tool in an electric drill if you're really patient. (Don't exert too much pressure, and wear goggles - I've blown up dremel wheels this way.) PROBLEMS - first, the oxide color is hard to notice if you've never seen it before. Take a look at the colors of a fresh weld for a sample. You can clean a couple "viewing areas" of your hacksaw blade spring with a file; the metal has to be shiny in the areas you're watching. Second, you get uneven heat from a propane torch. On a large object you are likely to get uneven tempering - if you heat only one spot then the areas next it will be both hardened and annealed (picture an archery target pattern). Direct the flame lengthwise along the hacksaw blade to reduce this effect. But you can also take advantage of it - when I repaired a lawnmower starter spring, I left the end with the drilled hole soft to keep it from cracking again. Third, you will screw up your first attempts. Trust me. Practice on a spare blade without cutting or drilling it, break or bend it, then try again. Once you have the hardening/tempering down, then start making your finished product - no sense doing all that work just to snap it in half from bad tempering. Good luck. --------------------------------------------------------------