I need help with shims

[clayton1123]

Where can I find out how to make padlock shims?

the best place I found too make shims is I-hack.com

[vector40]

Or you could buy them.

People always seem to be more interested in making shims than really makes sense to me... I understand the hobbyist ethic, but guys, it's not like making picks, there's nothing particularly customizable about them, they're just thin pieces of metal. I suppose it makes sense to try and improvise 'em if you just want to see how they work, but to be honest, they work exactly like you'd expect. You push them in and pull out the shackle. Pretty dull.

[CPLP]

Thanks clayton1123 and Shrub. Good info.

vector40 wrote:

Or you could buy them.

I've actually bought to boxes of them, but they are pretty bad, they don't worth the money so I would like to know how to make them so that I could make them avoiding spending unnecessary money. I don't use them very much but, when I try them in some padlocks, I don't like the results. It's funnier to pick them. So I think you are right vector40.

[Testermonkey]

I'm sure you all know this...

Get a quick and dirty shim anytime anywhere. Grab your nearest dvd or cd case remove the security device. Usually a bulky black plastic sticker about an 1.5 long and cut it open lengthwise. Inside is a dandy little shim and if its not thick enough I use two or three.

cool huh?

[qwerty125]

is that material thin enough and durable enough to get into the new padlocks these days? I've tried them all... metal part from the diskette, part of the soda can, metal piece inside VHS cassettes..
they all work find on older combo/pad locks.. but these days.. the hole is so tight its hard to get any size shim in there.. It falls apart when you try to jam it in there..

[illusion]

Those are fine for shimming open cylinders when repinning, but are generaly crap for shimming padlocks.

[qwerty125]

so are they're any sturdy well made shims out there that can shim the new padlocks out there today? I've been meaning to buy a set but I'm not gonna fork over 20+ if I know I cant use it

[thequantaleaper]

I have found in my limited experience that shims (particularly ones made from soda/beer cans in my case) don't frequently work for padlocks.


But as others have said it may just be easier to pick those locks, and besides if your just learning its more fun that way anyway. But I have found reasonable success with combination locks... Even with the Master brand. For some reason the round design with combination locks often seems to provide a wider entry gap for shims.

[jimb]

shims can be flimsy and i'm trying to develope a tougher shim. Im not sure what material to use but i'll be trying sheet metal. It might be a little too thick though. Also the size of the shim is a vey important factor, if it's to short it wont go deep enough, if it's to long it will rip easier. Im looking for a shim template and if i find it i will post it.

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/189/48/

[dwkbb]

I made some shims from the bottom of a Pringles Chip can as well as the metal ends from a Pillsberry Crescent Rolls can. They work fine. Use a tin snips to cut. Use a piece of soft wood such as pine and shape the shim by hammering the shaft of a screwdriver against the shim and into the wood.

[Colin]

I have also tried to use shims to open padlocks, with very little success. I have found that better quality locks are better made as so reduces the clearance that the shim has to access.

[LockNewbie21]

This talk of padlock shims bring to mind a funny demonstration from some uk lockpikcing website, were he inserts and opens it with one shim, but it had a dual locking mechanism meaning you need one for each side, the funny part is he opened it and then said for a lock like this you will need to, i found that one mostly all the new locks shims are inefective, actually the only time i ever seen one used is back in high school when my master combo lock jammed(older model one) and the janitor came with them and poped it, i had no idea what they were at the time, but it worked thats the only time i actually seen one work and granted those were the older master combo locks.


Andy