First Impression success!!!

[jos weyers]

I usually have to grab a different one for turning those "U's" into "V" shapes

You don't want V's.

Sure, your key will look more like a normal key, but at the bottom of a U it's WAY easier to see marks.

[Oldfast]

A round file is all you need. Just push towards the side while you file up and you'll get nice flat angles.

You don't want V's. Sure, your key will look more like a normal key, but at the bottom of a U it's WAY easier to see marks.

Jos, your right- The U-shape made from a round file makes it much easier to see the impressions. And for me, it also gives a little extra margin for error, considering I still have trouble keeping the correct spacing as the cuts get deeper. Sometimes it takes me a minute to correct this so the pins are once again marking at the lowest point of each cut.
P.S. I was excited to see you reply, considering I just watched you at the championships http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfmxsXlL-o8 Wow, 1:27, GOOD STUFF!

Femurat, exactly the answer I was looking for. I wanted to go with the round over the pippel, but wasn't sure if it would work for tapering those steep angles on some of the deeper cuts. Now I know it'll do just fine. So, the round Swiss #4 cut it is. As always, thanks guys.

[Eyes_Only]

Hey Oldfast, where did you get that tool?

[Oldfast]

The tool is for removing the seal around car windshields. Check around at all the auto places in your area (Napa, Auto Zone, Advanced Auto, etc.). Not all of them will carry this particular tool. I had to hit five places before I came across this one at "Auto Value".

I wanted to provide you with a link to the youtube vid I seen this on, but cannot for the life of me, find it again (thought it was pickwizard, maybe). If I remember right, I think he paid around $12 for his. Mine was closer to $19. Anyway, happy hunting Eyes_Only

[Warden Smith]

The tool is for removing the seal around car windshields. Check around at all the auto places in your area (Napa, Auto Zone, Advanced Auto, etc.). Not all of them will carry this particular tool. I had to hit five places before I came across this one at "Auto Value".

I wanted to provide you with a link to the youtube vid I seen this on, but cannot for the life of me, find it again (thought it was pickwizard, maybe). If I remember right, I think he paid around $12 for his. Mine was closer to $19. Anyway, happy hunting Eyes_Only

it was Daz of DBC locksmiths forum, Here's the link you wanted to provide buddy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN1RCkqduV4

[Oldfast]

YES, that's the one, thanks Warden.

By the way welcome to the site. Watched your videos yesterday, look foward to seeing more.

[Warden Smith]

Thanks for the welcome Oldfast. as my skills progress, more vids will go up. at the moment, i have a world of posts to go through here so i will be playing catchup for a while.

[Oldfast]

Could impressioning, even if done correctly, possibly damage a lock?

[jos weyers]

Could impressioning, even if done correctly, possibly damage a lock?

There is definitely some form of ware.
As far as I know, If the lock does break during impressioning, it was faulty to begin with.

but a broken blank CAN cause you a headache...

[Eyes_Only]

Depending on how much physical force you use when rocking the blank in the lock and how many times you try to impression it, you can leave some wear marks in the face of the plug similar to those you get when you repeatedly use a bump key.

And some types of wafer locks that have very small thin wafers can be bent out of shape if you're too rough on it.

[raimundo]

In the locksmithing trade, the job is often done with the lock mounted in the door. Often this is not just makeing a key but also done for opening the lock at the same time.

this can loosen the mounting of a rim cylinder, and this has to be retightened,

its not damage so much as a visible change of the state of the lock and as we know, a rim cylinder that is loose doe's not work well as a lock since the whole cylinder can sometimes be turned enough to pull back the bolt or it can be turned in some direction that the key no longer works.

[Oldfast]

Nice info, thanks guys. Another question:

Are there certain brands/types of locks that are generally accepted as "difficult" to impression?

[raimundo]

Medeco, Scorpion, Abloy, and a few others.