help with home made set

[cyber]

I have started hobbiest picking for a few months now and i still havent even been able to pick my first basic padlock, its only a standard 4 pin lock (thats lower pins not inluding driver pins and so forth). i have mad a few home made sets trying to save some money. i think my problemis that the picks that i have made are not pushing the lower pins to the sheer level,

i whanted to know if anyone can throw out some tip's on how to improve a home made set, or if anyone would be kind enough to throw me out some measurements of one of thiers, im only single pin picking,
i think its a hook pick that i need?

thanks heaps ( and sorry if i have posted in the wrong section or something im new to this forum.)

[ToolyMcgee]

Check out the Lockpicks-Manual section.
This is a link to the templates thread in that section.http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17326 It should give you a good reference point to compare your set with. Tips... sand your picks really well to get rid of sharp edges. 160grit, 300, 600 should be good enough, but the more highly they are polished, the smoother they operate in the lock. Also knock any sharp edges off your tensioner that could be catching on the cylinder when you are tensioning the plug. It's difficult to give you any specific improvement to make without even a picture of the set you are using, but this should be the advice you are looking for.

Good luck with your picks and that padlock.

-ToolyMcgee

[cyber]

ahh thanks for the link yeah my tension wrench seems to be fine ,i bought that one, but yeah ill give that link a go and see what i come up with, sorry that there was no pictures.
thanksfor the help