Lockpick set created from drain snake.

[skylar]

I bought some drain snake at the dollar store



I then cut it into 8 pieces about 5.5"



I then sanded off the top layer using 180 grit sand paper so I would have a shine surface



I then used a sharpie to trace some picks and templates on to all 8 pieces of drain snake



I then began grinding off the excess metal



Quenching often in ice water



I finished the fine tuning with my dremel tool



I sanded the picks by hand. This tool three hours



Here is the end result





Sorry for the bad photography.

Ask any questions you would like.

I am going to try to make handles today.

Here is my full set if pictures if you would like to look through
http://s1042.photobucket.com/albums/b42 ... n%20Snake/

[femurat]

Nice picks skylar It's the first time I see cooling picks in ice water! Is the weather that hot where you live?

Using wooden blocks to help sanding is a good habit. Do you use smaller sticks to sand and straighten the shafts also? This could be a big improvement in your already good process.

Cheers

[Squelchtone]

Excellent work Skylar, they came out really nice!

Thanks for the very good tutorial as well, people can learn from this.

Cheers
Squelchtone

[criminalhate]

Great looking picks =)

Next time in the picture where you fanned them out can you put the tips into the center so we can see them better?

[weilawei]

I vote for sticky! This seems like a great way to make picks on the cheap, and I bet you could get decent results from experimenting with different heat treatments. I don't know much about metal-working, but won't quenching it like that make it harder/more brittle?

[criminalhate]

the point of the water skylar is using, is to keep the materiel cool so the heat treatment doe not get destroyed while creating the shape of the pick.


The problem with heat treating something like picks is the problem with consistently maintaining temperature during the process with out burning away the carbon or steel. So instead we work already heat treated metal cold to save the temper and springiness.

[skylar]

I will post a better picture of the tips and a picture of the handles that I put on them.

[skylar]

Hi Guys

Here are the handles that I put on my set.



Here are the pick tips. They got a little scratched today practicing

[skylar]

I did try to make a mold for the handles but it just ended up causing all the fimo to stick to it.

I am going to make another set to see if I can perfect the process.

[criminalhate]

Those turned out really nice.

Thank you for the better tip pic.

[shortlineflyer]

round the back of the picks so that it wont rub through the back of the handles

[raimundo]

Round the backs of the picks first before starting the pick tips, I even sand them a bit just to prep the metal for the
process,

Reason? it helps to keep blood off the tools.

those sharp cut ends can affect how well you can hold the steel in some manipulations, so I just start with rounding and
sanding them to make them less annoying during the process.

[raimundo]

JUst a note, you will find a shorter hook by half well sanded to be more effective on most locks, but that long hook you made
can be useful too,
I would say that your set lacks the deforest, and the short hook.

I only say that because these two picks are actually worth the trouble of making. there are a lot of designs that can be absent and never missed but these two are very effective.

[blackjacker2]

They look realy great !

I hope they will be able to turn allot of keyways for you

[Eyes_Only]

Nice job! They look like the Peterson picks with the dipped handles.