Shims - making and breaking..

[oystlars]

Hello there,

just read a very good article at i-hacked on how to make shims out of beer-cans.

Have tried it, but I feel that alu beercans are to weak to use..?

What about steel? Is it better?

Any other materials suited for the work?

Best regards!

/øystein

[Chrispy]

Welcome. If you have a look around the site, you'll find a lot of threads regarding this topic. You can also use the search function at the top of the page.

[oystlars]

Thanks, will check it out.

/øystein

[Manz_Moe]

I know this post is a little old, but what the hay

I have been making padlock lock shims for quite sometime now, the alum can trick never ever worked for me so I shopped around.

I picked up a budget retractable tape measure and sanded the paint along with all the measuremnts of with a 240ish grit emery paper.
I cut out a template similer to the commercial shim but with longer handles for better grip.
The cut out shims where then cleaned up on the edges, especially on junction cuts.

I placed duct tape on the outside of the handle, and formed the shim around a padlock shackle.

These shims work great, are cheap as chips, take bugger all to make and can be used a few times if your lucky.

i dont know how to post pics yet, but in the future I'll show you what i mean.

[oystlars]

I have found that padlocks that are shimable also are very easy to pick, and locks that takes more time to pick are generally unshimable?

Is it just me?

Picking is generally easier and faster on these locks?

[Exodus5000]

I have found that padlocks that are shimable also are very easy to pick, and locks that takes more time to pick are generally unshimable?

Is it just me?

Picking is generally easier and faster on these locks?

You're right, but if you come across a combination padlock or something that does not have a key way to pick it's sometimes nice to be able to shim it quickly without messing around with finding the combination.

[master in training]

I have found that padlocks that are shimable also are very easy to pick, and locks that takes more time to pick are generally unshimable?

Is it just me?

Picking is generally easier and faster on these locks?

The reason for this is that the cheaper locks have bad tolerances not only in the pins, but in the shackle as well, allowing easier picking as well as shimming. You see what I mean?