DIY electric pick

by **Dark Angel** » 2 Dec 2003 14:31

Has anybody had any luck with making a electric pick.
I know several people have said that it is possible to make one from a electric screwdriver or a toothbrush,but have never actually heard of anyone being succsessfull with these ideas?

by **quazimodo** » 13 Dec 2003 2:45

hey, im new to the forums, but i actually made what i consider a very good electric pick. i was looking at all the electric ones and thinking 4 volts and $100+ on one of these was a joke, soo i made my one.

it is a piece of pvc pipe, a bit more diameter then a AA battery, and about 2 1/2 AA batteries in length (the idea was to have 2 in there to give me 3 volts). the motor is connected to the batteries using corks with metal rods on either side, and is duct taped on. a faily large sewing pin is also resined to the other side of the tube opposite the motor. on the motor is an uneven weight so it vibrates.
this picked my yale front door in 30 seconds or so on a good try, but wasnt good enough for me.
I took the 2 AA batteries out, and attached it to a 6 volt battery with wires, and this thing shakes like crazy
it opens the same door in about 4 seconds

i still have to test it on other locks, but this yale lock is a fairly normal door lock.

the big 6 volter is huge, so im going to remove it, put on a resistor and a small 9volt battery (the ones with + - on the same end) to get 6 volts.. maybe ill try more and push for instant unlocking

anyway i didnt get any ideas off this from anyone, purley my own imagination, so if someone else did it before, im still going to take credit :twisted:

if anyone has any idea how on earth to make a tubular pick, or knows where to get one in sydney, plz say

any input on design will be appreciated (im going to make a cone for the needle so its more accurate, and put the engine inside it with a smaller weight up right near the needle)

by **Nigromante** » 13 Dec 2003 23:18

Hey I was Just wondering if you could possibly post pics of your pick (get it? pics of your pick). It would be nice to see this contraption. I'm about to go make one with an electric toothbrush I got from the dollar store for a buck and see how well it does. I'll post my results after Its done being made.

by **Dark Angel** » 14 Dec 2003 6:00

I heard a lot of people say that they made electric picks from a toothbrush.
So a while a go i tried to make one,the action on the tooth brush is ok but the power is not enough to lift the pins in the lock.
I simple removed the brush and used a needle from a manual pick gun,all i did was heat up the pick then simply pushed it on to the head of the toothbrush,the heated pick melted into the plastic,i then melted a bit of plastic on top of the pick and as soon as it cooled down it was perfectly set into the end of the toothbrush.
But like i said before, the toothbrush did not have the power to bounce the pins properly.
Something like a electric screwdriver will have a lot more power.

by **Nigromante** » 14 Dec 2003 19:56

Yeah I noticed my toothbrush isn't very strong so i'm going to give it more juice to see what happens I found a great way to make vibrate like a mofo though which will help in getting it the power needed to pop the pins.

by **quazimodo** » 15 Dec 2003 3:26

ok i finally got my digi cam back from friends, here are some pics

As you can see its a fairly botched up job, but works a dream. when i get my drill press back im going to machine aluminium sections and create 9 volters with the motor right near the tip for maximum vibration, with a variable speed to get perfect vibrations.

the reason for the large, uneven weight on the end is that i wanted vibrations, but i also wanted them to be very big and strong so that my hand or the lock wont stop it vibrating.

another thing i found is that it works best on locks like yale rather than the cheap ones on my room door.

anyway i dont mind if you make exact repolicas or work on it on your own, but if you come up with better ideas post them up

now does anyone have any idea how to make 7 & 8 pin tubular lock picks/[/img]

by **quazimodo** » 19 Dec 2003 6:16

someone add to this plz - add something about diy tubular picks

by **hillrunner2003** » 2 Jan 2004 17:39

Tubular lock picks are not easy to build yourself! i wouldn't really attempt it however there is a way where you don't have to by one of the expensive professional picks however i never had any success with this method. You just file down an allen wrench in the shape of a square on the short end and this becomes your torch wrench and you insert this in the grove on the lock. then using a small pick you bounce each pin and work your way around. This is a very primative method because a tubular lock must be pick in this way several times before reaching the unlocked position. You may not understand what i am trying to explain but trust me its not worth your time either buy a professional tool or forget it. you will honestly be better off without worrying about tubulars even with the tubular lockpick it is very difficult to pick the locks but it is fun cause once you pick it its like having a key. Don't waste your money and i am pretty sure though if you are determined to pick tubular locks that southord.com is having a sale on them right now or at least they were recently and you getthem for half what i paid for mine. anyway have fun

by **joecool2727** » 3 Jan 2004 0:36

the pics dont work for me :cry:

what size motor did you use and how did you mount it inside the pipe? also how did u attach the weight to the motor?
lastly does anyone kno an easy place to get pvc pipe?

by **technik** » 25 Jan 2004 10:45

someone add to this plz - add something about diy tubular picks

this pic shows how it can be done. I don't see why an allen wrench wouldn't work like hillrunner said, instead of the allen wrench, or just a screwdriver etc.

In regards to your electric pick, well done, I have heard of many people trying and failing to make them out of toothbrushes etc. However, your descriptions and pics are not informative and detailed enough for someone to attempt construction. It would be awsome if you could strip down the pick, and show all things in order, with labels etc. I know this will be a bit of work, but I would be greatly appreciative.

by **Mad Mick** » 25 Jan 2004 20:56

O.K. folks, simple way to make an electric pick from a toothbrush:

1- Get a Crest Spinbrush
2- Get an old windscreen wiper blade
3- Get a piece of the plastic/brass wire connector with the 2 screws (Looks like Lego)

Cut the neck of the toothbrush attachment with a hacksaw, about an 1 1/4 inch from the coloured band. (don't try to cut all the way through, just cut the plastic around the metal shank until the head comes off)
Melt or glue the outer plastic to the inner bush, to stop it popping out.

Remove the brass connector and screws from the wire connector (remove the screws and slide it out from the plastic casing)

Put the 2 screws back in, and slide the brass 1/2 way onto the shank from the toothbrush body AFTER cutting off the linkage, and tighten the screw.

Make a snake from a section of the stainless steel strip which runs down the length of the wiper blade rubber.

Insert this into the end of the brass connector, and tighten the other screw.

Use very light tension on the wrench, and rake the tool slowly across the pins.

Works O.K. for me, you may have to find your own method to work best for you.

Hope this helps someone out....

by **Chucklz** » 25 Jan 2004 22:48

Mick, have you tried differing pick designs in general? Ie some of the different commercial rakes etc?

by **Mad Mick** » 26 Jan 2004 20:05

No Chucklz, I didn't try any other profiles. After making the toothbrush pick with the snake insert, and finding it to open most of the padlocks I have in a few seconds, I concluded that this was too easy. I prefer more of a challenge to my dexterity, than to have a tool to do it for me, so the electric thing has been gathering dust for a while now.

I could easily knock up some new inserts and try them, as the wiper strips are very easy to come by for me, but why bother if I'm not going to use the tool anyway?

Not that I have had much hands on practice lately anyway, I've been on this forum pretty much every night, and find the only free time for picking seems to be on my 5 min smoke break at work.....

by **technik** » 27 Jan 2004 1:20

any chance you could take sum pics of it Mad Mick?

by **hozer2k** » 27 Jan 2004 13:33

This really isnt the theory behind how an electric pick works though right?

I thought the goal is to seperate the pin from the driver temporarily on all 5 pins simultaneously. Obviously to do this you would want little to no tension and then suddenly apply the tension when you get seperation. If you are raking the thing its not really working like a traditional electric pick would. Seems to me its more of just a rake really fast, but if you are applying light tension and raking you wouldnt get all to seperate simultaneously. Plus I wonder if this has enough energy for most locks, esp olders ones.

Id be curious to see results of others as it may make it easier on say a house lock, but I dont think it really works like an electric pick would.

DIY electric pick

DIY electric pick

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