Picking Mounted Locks

[supervalet]

when you are all crouched down and hunched over picking a mounted lock you get tired pretty quick. Its not like when you have the lock in your hand and can mosey around the house or hold your ciggy in the same hand as your lock. A mounted lock keeps you much more focused. And when you get tired you stand up and pick and then you are forced to pick simply by feelwith your schematic in the back of your head. I think its far more valuable than "lock in hand"

[lockeymoto]

I can vouch on the vacume vise, no suction for long, even when wet. but I removed the rubber and foung "mounts" that could be attached to my bench

[FFVison]

Yeah, I have a lot of padlocks and I typically pick them "in hand" but there were a few times I decided to try locking a few to my headboard in my bed and it made things a LOT more difficult. It became a lot more difficult to get them into comfortable position for me to be all that effective. In fact, aside from those, I can't recall ever successfully picking any mounted locks, though I do have some deadbolts that I can pick that aren't mounted. Perhaps working on mounted locks might be a bit more useful.

[rwp42]

I use a panavise, but with two modifications: 1) the part tray base mount, which provides a place for pins, springs, etc... and is also heavy enough to not require a more permanent mounting solution; 2) the wide-opening head, allowing the jaws to open to 6" wide.

http://www.panavise.com/nf/vises/vises_bmounts.html

http://www.panavise.com/nf/vises/vises_head.html

I just set the vise on any table or workbench, clamp a lock, and go at it. Very handy.

RwP

[le.nutzman]

I tend to pick padlocks in pretty much any position possible only for the sole fact that most of the locks that i've encountered were mounted in ways that DIDN'T offer optimal picking conditions.

Depending on the lock, if i'm familiar with it or not, i will either pick it in hand or in my suction vice (the one with the use with wet substance suction style base).

I have found that picking them in hand i tend to use way more tension than i need and having it mounted in my vise i tend be alot lighter on the tension.

[gotta]

Having been a locksmith for 26 years, do yourselves a favor and use a knee pad if you kneel. I've had two knee scopes. Door locks are mounted in doors in the field, and I'm 6' tall. I use two garden pads glued together with foam glue. This is nice for kneeling on. I wish I'd done it sooner in my career. When I was learning, I used old lock displays. For padlocks, it's best to learn while holding it in your hand as was mentioned earlier. Since I'm right handed, left hand doors(hinges on left facing from outside) are easier because the jamb is out of the way. Worst ones are right hand doors with screen doors mounted left hand.