snap gun warning

[PYRO1234321]

Just figured i would share what happened to me while trying to experiment with different snap gun designs (wire hand operated type). I made what i thought was an excellent snap gun out of a flint torch lighter, the type with a thick wire wound as a one turn spring in the middle and a flint and striker at the ends. it was very powerful, so i went to work on my front door (a cheap 5pin wieser deadbolt), after a few flicks, it opened, but it never ever relocked. i assumed it hit the pins so hard that they mushroomed at the base and got stuck in the pathways. so i decided to replace the cylinder with a spare that i had extra keys for. while taking the face plate off, a bunch of pins and springs were in a neat pile at the bottom of the faceplate..... it seems that the pins and springs were retained with a light brass strip lightly crimped into place on top of the cylinder. the force of the snap gun popped off the plate and ejected all the guts everywhere. i was able to re-key the cylinder and now use it as a demonstration piece, but the springs were also over-compressed, so they were to sloppy to reuse as a functional lock.

long story short, be careful with the snapper (the other kind too (; ), they can permanently damage loccks, i can't say the same for professional snap guns, but i would imagine its possible with those as well.

thats the end of my messing with anything else but simple old manual pics..........

[Chucklz]

Better quality locks wont fly apart so easily, but I guess thats also why pick gun manufacturers recommend starting with the lowest setting.

[Varjeal]

That's also the reason why some (gratefully few but all to vocal) wanna-be "professionals" recommend against using a pick-gun altogether, because a newbie cranked up their electric pick or manual pick gun to the hardest level, then let loose inside a lock or two with a barrage that literally shook the pins right out of the lock.

[Chucklz]

I think another reason why many people dislike electric guns is simply that it takes less time to be proficient at opening many locks, instead of the hours of careful practice for hand picking. Kind of the "I had to do it, so you do too" mentality. Although I have heard some anecdotal tales of electric guns causing alot of "wear" in the lock, with tales of metal shavings everywhere. I bet if you burnished your picking needles you wouldnt have this problem. Any experience with this anyone?

[Varjeal]

Yeah, just for kicks when my dad got his new electric pick gun I took an old lock and went at it with the tool. Turned the vibration up wayyyy to high and within about five minutes there was brass "dust" coming out of the lock. Not too mention that the brass cover over the pin chambers nearly popped right off!

Be Careful with these things!

[jason]

I think I've worked out another way to use a pickgun - leave it buzzing away for a couple of days and eventually you'll wear the pins down to the springs!

Not that good on an emergency lockout, but at least you can sell the customer another lock!!!!

[PickPick]

While I'm not bad with the gun, I once managed to knock out the plugs for the pin holes on an abus 45/40.
But apart from that, they really do cause a lot of wear in the lock, think about it, nearly everything inside is made of brass except for the needle which is made of steel. I've seen microscope pictures from such locks and the needle leaves heavy dents in the pins which can distort the shape of the pin tip so much that the lock won't operate smoothly anymore, especially if the pins rest against a flat spot on the key ond not on the flanks of the cut. Electric picks are even worse and the Multipick tops them all, the shape of the key profile was scratched into the back of the lock.

[15289577]

I think I've worked out another way to use a pickgun - leave it buzzing away for a couple of days and eventually you'll wear the pins down to the springs!

Not that good on an emergency lockout, but at least you can sell the customer another lock!!!!

I think I'd rather just drill out the lock...