Engineers "Bumping Rakes" - Let's get them working =D

[Dragunov-21]

So I recently caught sight of Engineer's sig, and thought they were a great idea if they could be turned into a workable design.

Basically, if you could find a way to operate a rake that looks like this:

/\/\/\/\/\______

like a bumpkey, you'd have a tool to bump locks with a whole variety of keyways.

Now I don't know if this can be made to work, but I'd sure like to find out.

The easiest way I can think of doing this would be springloading the tang within something like a centerpunch (thank E for the suggestion). I've also got an idea for how to stop the rake from simply being pushed into the bottom of the keyway instead of bumping the pins - I'll get a sketch uploaded in a bit.

So basically, anyone who has any ideas (particularly those experienced with bumping and/or toolmaking), speak up lol.

[Dragunov-21]

The last upload didn't work, so here's take two.

[Engineer]

Good sketch!

[femurat]

If you bump with the pick flying in the keyway, the pick is pushed down instead of pushing the pins up. Right.
The first thing that cross my mind about the spring on the bottom of the picktip is a wide U shaped wire.
This could better distribute and center the force exactly under the pins. Am I right?

I'm happy this "new" project is growing

[Engineer]

That's EXCELENT femurat, wish I had thought of that

[femurat]

That's EXCELENT femurat, wish I had thought of that

thanks

Adjustable height (and preload) of the spring could be useful. We can use a spacer like the one used in adjustable tension wrenches for picking double sided locks... but the principle should be the opposite. Instead of keeping tight we need a spacer.
We can change its position with a slider, and fix it with a screw.


Now this spring mechanism looks too complicated. Do we need it? I think it works better without it.
I'm saying everything that crosses my mind like in a brainstorming: even the "wrong" ideas are useful for the final result.

Cheers

[Engineer]

Credit where credit is due femurat - Those are two superb suggestions you have made!

I found I needed three sizes to cover most cylinder pin & spacings. My testing was not exhaustive, but I tried to go for "inter-range" sizes that would cover as many as possible.

I am hoping that a simple spring arrangement would be enough to keep the pick pressed against the pins, simply because it would be cheaper and easier to make. If not, then your second diagram of a lever mecanism, secured by a small knurled thumbwheel, again would be an excelent method of solving the problem.

[raimundo]

have you tried overlifting? I haven't done it purposely but I just landed here from another post about locks that are accidentally picked as you pull out the key,

So that brings up my idea of an overlifting probe which would be a straight probe inside a tube with a coil spring that can quickly jerk the probe all the way out of the lock after it lifts all pins to the top of the keyway.

Its an Idea that I havent yet produced a prototype for, so I keep kicking it around in places like this to see if it interests anyone else.

[jondoe]

have you tried overlifting? I haven't done it purposely but I just landed here from another post about locks that are accidentally picked as you pull out the key,

So that brings up my idea of an overlifting probe which would be a straight probe inside a tube with a coil spring that can quickly jerk the probe all the way out of the lock after it lifts all pins to the top of the keyway.

Its an Idea that I havent yet produced a prototype for, so I keep kicking it around in places like this to see if it interests anyone else.

Have you made any protoypes since this post?