Homemade Picks... Looking for Advice

[Tighran]

In my time using my Southord MPXS-14 kit, I predictably found myself really only using a few of the tools (low hook, s-rake, l-rake, torsion tools). I found myself wanting a top-of-keyway torsion tool and also wondering if a low hook with a more triangular instead of flat tip would work (so basically a DeForest diamond). Instead of ordering them... I figured I'd make my own. Thanks to Dayziro and Kaotik and many others for useful posts on how to do this!

I played around with windshield wiper inserts but didn't care for the resulting picks. Getting a good bend and then filing seemed like a difficult combination. Instead I started trying to make top-of-keyway torsion tools since I felt it was something that would benefit me more in the short term. I got a surprisingly good planar cold-bend by slow bending with some toothed pliers and repeated hammering flat with... whatever I had handy, I think the bottom of a screwdriver. That'd be the top bend on the double bent tool. I then tried a hot bend on the other end and cutting serrations into both... They came out far too long so I cut the end off the cold bent end and used it for a while. I also tried cold bending one in a sort of T-shape to make a tool I think I saw kokomolock using. I somehow got it shaped fairly well though I think I felt something snap so I doubt it's very strong anymore. I'll add a picture once I find the thing. That was rather short and couldn't reach recessed keyways like on an American, and I felt like the others were too narrow for the width of the keyway... releaving torsion on the tool would just make it come loose, especially on a lock requiring very light torque. I eyeballed the width of the keyway to be about twice the width of the keyway so I figured why not bend it flat to be twice as thick? It was a tad too thick but with some heating and hammering I managed to get them well sized (the first was too long so I made the second shorter). I may well have used too much heat in the process but I've got more and was testing it out. I'm filing the sides a bit flatter and am trying to decide how to best add some serrations for a bit better hold.


I also picked up some hacksaw blades and went to work. Not wanting to make a DeForest right away, I figured I'd try a low hook. Using the aluminum oxide grinding stone on my Dremel, I slowly ground the teeth off, then sanded the paint off. On the first one, I used an attachment to the front to slowly and precisely grind the teeth off. It took quite some time but I saw no wear on the grinding stone. Then I got impatient and just hand held the blade to the wheel without the flat attachment... it went much quicker but after that I did notice some wear on the grinding stone.


Once I had a few nice pick blanks, I traced my Southord low hook onto the blank using a sharpie, making sure the traced outline was BIGGER than the original tool. I slowly cut away all the marked material using a Dremel 545EZ diamond cutting wheel. This took... several hours easily, and I kept the speeds somewhat low since my vise started making a lot of noise from the vibration. The blank never really got hot enough that I had to cool it in water. Then once I had a rough shape but larger than the desired product I went to work with handfiles. This also took quite some time but I really enjoyed this part. The rough cutting was just a chore, but the filing required attention and precision and really started to give the pick its shape. I gave it a nice mirror polish and wrapped the handles using Dayziro's wire handle method. For a first try I think it came out pretty well, though I filed the height of the neck a little too short and it bent slightly while I was picking using the bottom of the keyway entry as a fulcrum (which I've since stopped doing, I don't think picking should require that much force/leverage).


I've since started on my Deforest (using more hacksaw blade since the only feeler gauge I had in at the time was 0.020 and the saw blade is about 0.024, which I got some feeler gauge in of as I was working on it) which is visible in the above image. Again I'm cutting a rough shape and will use hand files for the final details, but I feel like the rough shaping process is so slow using the diamond cutting wheel. I've upped the speed in spite of the vibrations of the vise cranks (might try putting a rubber band around them or something) and it's going quicker and generating more heat. It's still slow however since I am essentially cutting or even grinding/sanding away using a very narrow point of contact. I switched to using the grinding wheel for a while and that seemed to work well, though again there is noticeable wear forming on it. I'm a newb to metallurgy and machining, so one method preferable over the other?

Is this level of wear expected to occur over the usage life of a grinding bit? If so how do I know when to stop using it and use a new one?

Should I worry about wear on the diamond cutting wheel (not something I want shattering while spinning at high speeds with my hands nearby)? I also have another grinding bit, silicon carbide, which I have not tried, though it says it is for use on non-ferrous metals.

Basically short of getting a bigger bench grinder, any recommendations on any changes or improvements to make?

[Kheops]

My 2¢:

Have you thought about electro etching? There are a few posts on the forum regarding this technique. If you're familiar with electrolysis, have a small car battery charger available, you pretty much have all you need.

I have tried it a few times. Works great for removing the bulk of the steel, then you just have to finish off with your dremel. Don't try to get you final product by electro etching, you wind up "under-etching" the steel (you have to remember that you'll probably have to remove at least another 5% of what's left of all the edges of your pick, after you've electro etched).

I have made a few hacksaw blade picks using this technique. It took me some time to become proficient at taping my bare blades to create a sort of stencil, through which I paint the part I want to keep, and more specifically have both sides of the blade be painted at exactly the same spot. However, that's it, that's the hard part. One I've got a few coats of metal primer and paint on it, and they are dry, I hook it up in my salt water bath and it does the rest by itself. 6 hours later the only thing left on my blade is what was VERY carefully painted (no spots missed, otherwise you might wind up with a really cool pick, with a hole in the middle).

You can even make it more simple, paint one side completely, only paint on one side what you want to keep as your final pick (however you'll have to leave closer to 10-20% more all around, to clean up after the etching).

If you like hack saw blade picks, this is the technique I recommend. Just don't use stainless steel, neither for your picks, nor for your cathode, it will produce very toxic chromium salts (think cancer). This is the reason I don't electro etch my picks, because I have become too fond of stainless steel picks.

As for grinding, well, I go somewhat over board. I have an angle grinder with a large cutting disc, and very cold weather in january! I set up my grinder outside, locked into a vise, and when it's really cold and windy, I grind out rough picks. I did this last year and it really worked out great. Even if it was -30 and windy outside, I still had to take my time, cause the heat from an angle grinder can still ruin the temper on the steel. Next time we get a good cold snap I plan on cutting out a dozen or so rough picks of different shapes and sizes I want to try out. I'll set them aside, and whenever I need a new pick (or for a colleague) I'll just have to do the finishing, which I mostly do by hand, with a small file and a lot of patience.

Last summer I used a similar set up, but oriented a small stream of water with a garden hose right next to my grinder wheel. This works REALLY well at cooling whatever you're grinding. You can put a lot of pressure on your grinding disc and cut through your pick material in no time. However, even with a rain coat, rain pants, rubber boots, and a face shield, I was really soaked. Use caution as well, make sure your aren't sending water anywhere that you have electricity. With all that water that was splashing in my face I also needed to be 100% focused on what I was doing, in order to not only properly grind out my pick, but also in order to NOT grind off a finger tip.

I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but, dollar store steak knives. Awesome stainless steel for next to nothing. 4 knives for 1.25$ gives me 4 very stiff, mirror polished, stainless steel picks. I've tried a few different brands of picks, and nothing beats my 30¢ home made ones (Will eventually buy at least 1 Peterson since I've come to undertand they are the top of the top, see how that compares).

[app13]

I'm going to buck the trend slightly and suggest you stay away from dollar store steak knives, as the temper of the steel isn't the greatest and the metal can easily become very brittle from over-heating while being ground, at least in my experience.

Good quality spring steel will get you where you want to be; feeler gauge and sewer rod seem to be about the best. I'll echo Kheops on the suggestion for electro-etching. If you do stick with grinding I would suggest picking up a medium sized bench grinder, the kind you bolt to the bench. I picked mine up for about $40 from home depot. Use the grinder to remove mass, then the dremel to work in the final details. It will be normal to dunk your pick in water every few seconds to keep the temperature down. After this, you want to sand your picks down to a VERY fine finish. I'm talking "see your face in it" levels of sanding. I'm talking "my arm is really tired and this sucks" levels of sanding. Sanding is what seperates the men from the boys when it comes to DIY lockpicks.