fgarci03's Impressioning Quest

[fgarci03]

Hey all!

I'm starting to go into impressioning. I have made a simple attempt in the past without any success. Left it aside for a while, and now I started again.

This post is for me to record every steps I'm now making so I can:
1) Keep track of my evolution
2) Get help from the pro's
3) Possibly help someone

I will post both my successes and failures, techniques and thoughts. I'll do many things that have probably been proved unsuccessfull but it's my way of doing things. I need to see first hand some stuff. Call it re-inventing the wheel, it's how I do

This is the kind of post that can be updated frequently or not, depending on my current projects. I hope you find this as interesting as me, and help with all your knowledge!

Thanks for watching

[fgarci03]

So,

My first impression was actually to make keys for my room lock and for my sister's.

Both rooms have this keyway:


So I got the blanks:


These blanks have to be filled just to fit the keyway, both in height and width, so that's what I did:


When I put it on my room's lock, it rotated. I had a working key :


But I noticed the key had some markings, as it didn't rotate smoothly. So I filled and kept "forcing the key" to get more marks:


The result of a smoothly working key for my room was this:


SUCCESS! FIRST IMPRESSION!
______________________
My sister's room:

I tried this key on her lock (some locks around the house work with the same key. It didn't rotate, so I filled a blank again, and started to work on it. Started to see some marks and filed them:


Untill I couldn't see any more marks. So I applied more force on the key. Untill it broke :


START AGAIN. This time, since I removed the lock from the door to retreive the broken piece, I cheated. I was looking at the levers and filled where I saw binding. Untill I got this:

But sometimes it operated the lock, sometimes not. Untill I found that it only operated the lock if the lock was upside down. I filled to much because the levers being upside down, gravity does the rest.

START AGAIN.
All the same procedure. With more caution, taking more time and having more patience.


Working bit by bit, untill...


WORKING KEY!
Yes it's ugly. But it works!
Both keys also work from both sides of the lock, as these are made to be in use, not just to practice impressioning. The last key was just a little bit filled to much on the part that operates the bolt, but works well enough. I'm going to make another one in a near future that works better and is prettier (this one looks like a piece of bent metal ), but for the time being, my sister has a key for her room and I got to practice impressioning.

Materials used:
Needle file. It doesn't even have a handle, so my hands are killing me. But if you do a job that you like it's like no job at all


LESSON 1:
- Don't cheat! I cheated and it came out wrong. If I'm cheating I'm not paying enought attention, as I believe it'll be easier. It came out wrong!

LESSON 2:
- Don't force the key like a jack*ss. You don't need this to impression a key:



The key that I made that didn't work because I cheated (the only one that actually looks with a key!), actually worked on one of my girlfriend's door (she actually needed a key for that door, as the original broke one bit and only worked from one side of the door. Talk about irony

I'll be back with more soon

[fgarci03]

If you can't see the photos, reload the page. My dropbox is having a bit of trouble (don't know if they are updating, but I know for sure the pictures are working because I tested). Sometimes they just don't load...

[GWiens2001]

***rousing round of applause***

Very good work, fgarci03! It takes a little practice to get a key that looks like a key. And some locks, due to the bitting, don't look as nice.

Gordon

[fgarci03]

Thanks, one day I'll make keys like you

I learned from huxleypig a couple of techniques I want to try out. Maybe next time I'll be able to make pretty keys

[GWiens2001]

Have you tried smoking the key? (using a candle or match to put soot on the key to make it easier to see the marks). I use that with warded keys, and used it the one time I made a key for a lever cabinet lock.

Gordon

[fgarci03]

Didn't try that. But both are things I want to try, just smoked or with melted wax in it

Smoking the key would work with pin tumblers too? I guess the pins dragging in it while inserting/removing the key would make it redundanct, but I'll ask anyway


P.S. - I'll also try with knifed edges. I can't control my force if I use a pliers to make the marks, and just with my hands I hurt myself.. With knifed edges I would need much less force to make marks visible right?

[phrygianradar]

Good job! This will be fun to follow along and watch your progress. Always enjoy your posts!

[GWiens2001]

Subject: fgarci03's Impressioning Quest

Didn't try that. But both are things I want to try, just smoked or with melted wax in it

Smoking the key would work with pin tumblers too? I guess the pins dragging in it while inserting/removing the key would make it redundanct, but I'll ask anyway


P.S. - I'll also try with knifed edges. I can't control my force if I use a pliers to make the marks, and just with my hands I hurt myself.. With knifed edges I would need much less force to make marks visible right?

Knifed edges can work well when you are starting with pin tumbler locks. I did that, too. It does take less force to get an impression, but if you keep knifing the edge, especially with the twisty European profile cylinders (for those in the United States, look at a Yale Y1 keyway to get the idea), you can miss the impression marks as the mark stays in the center of the keyway, but the key blank moves off to the as you work down the blank.

I would be cautious with melted wax in pin tumbler locks, as the wax may scrape off and cause the pins to bind instead of being moved normally by the spring. Have used high temperature wax (thermal crayons) for some of the really rounded pins before I got better magnifiers. Really rounded pins can be hard to see the impressions. But with warded locks it does not seem to be a problem. An ink marker can work well, too. Have too little experience with lever locks to be able to accurately judge the effect of melted wax, but I think it would be ok as long as you do not over-do it.

Have used solder (again, small, thin layer) with some success on hard to impression locks. Just heat up the lock and fill up the keyway. Oops! I mean heat the blank and apply a thin layer of solder to the edge you are trying to impression. The soft metal of the solder shows the marks easily.

Smoking the blank can work fine with pin tumbler locks. You soon learn to recognize drag marks.

Locking pliers (Vice-Grip type) work well to hold the blank during impressioning. Using your bare hands just ain't gonna work unless you have hands like Arnold Schwartzeneger's arms.

Good luck, and keep at it!

Gordon

[fgarci03]

Thanks for your feedback!

I'll have new stuff on the next days

[RRibeiro]

Well done!

It is a pacience work but with practice it will be natural. Besides, after you done this in several different locks you will be able to recognize the shape of the key and this makes everything much more easy.

[IndigoChild]

I started off impressioning with a knife edge and an old pair of vice grips. I found the best way to impression for me though is a brand new pair of vice grips. I like the HDX brand and if you have room use the wire cutters to bite down on the key. Now mind you I am talking about house keys and what not. This method works on just about every lock I do. Get you 2 pipping files, one with a rough surface and one with a very fine surface. Clean up the edge of the key and make it shiny. Then impression it. You will see scuff marks. Use the course file and go over each scuff with one pass. Then clean it up and make it shiny again. It doesnt matter how ugly the key looks because it can be easily duplicated onto a new blank. And the advantage I like with this method is I dont get a non working duplicate because I accidently mushed my knife edge while copying the cuts.

[GWiens2001]

Indigo, for the two pippin files, do you use a #2 and a #4 Swiss cut?

I just use a #4. It is slower, but then again, I don't do it for a living.

Gordon

[IndigoChild]

Yes thank you, I did not know the names of them. I just know how they work and what they do haha.

[Quickpicknpay]

Mortice keys are used from both sides of the lock and therefore the cuts on the blade should end up being symetrical.(unlike safe keys)
It would be easier in a way to use brass keys like you did but snapping them would be somewhat easier if they have a side ward cut into the key.
In Australia we mostly get steel mortice and safe keyblanks. These are harder to impression with but stronger. The weakest point is where the blade has been welded to the pin or pipe of the key.
Filing an angle to a near sharp point is a good technique for using steel keys. The top edge to be read should be a touch under 1mm wide. If I was using brass keys I would probably do the same for more stubburn locks but with less if a sharp edge (1-2mm) on the top of the blade as they may give you false readings.
As with most locks, if you can manipulate them to an unlocked position you may be able to feel the levers and get a better idea of the overall shape of the key. Picking the mortice lock to the half open/closed position will enable you to read the lever heights with some wire or spring steel feelers. This takes more time and in the end you still have to make the key but I thought i'd mention this for those who have time to tinker.
Blackening the blade with a candle flame or marking with a marker pen are also good techniques but also take some practice to learn to read the false and positive marks.
I usually just use a small screwdriver through the head of the key to apply turning pressure, but sometimes have to upgrade to small vice grips.
Safe locks are much more difficult to impression. These days I would be drilling to open most of them then repairing and repainting the door.
The time it takes to impression and sometimes with no luck puts me off attempting to impressioning them. But for a hobby for someone with time that loves a challenge they can be just that.
Good luck