Ralph_Goodman wrote:How much trial and error is involved in making these? How often do you open a lock up wrong?
And if it never happens (which I could believe based on the quality of your end product), how much preparation and research do you do before hand to know exactly what you are doing?
What's your approach before the process of milling begins?
there is some trial and error involved, I normally end up messing up 1 . my "messup rate" is about one in every 50-75 locks I cut.
most of the messed up ones cant be saved and end up in the scrap bucket, the ones not to badly messed up that I own (not a commission job) get donated to locksport groups or sold cheap.
I tend to find technical drawings or patent drawings to help workout cuts ahead of time or worst case I ask someone on the forum for info.
most locks styles get anywhere from 1 to 4hrs of research before i cut them.
my approach is the following with any "new to me" style of lock. be it a Schlage padlock or a Lockwood with a Twin core.
-acquire the lock
-Try and pick the lock (if I have never picked one before) at this stage is when I also do most of my research.
-Take apart the lock 5 or 6 times, this is where I see how the parts interact with each other and get a "feel" for the lock. also this is where i take measurements to help select the right end mills for the job.
-Draw on the lock, I take a sharpie or layout blue and scribe out a outline of what I want to do.
-This is the stage where the magic happens, I mill the lock. sometimes I think I am done and start to reassemble it and notice that something is not quite what I was going for and I have to put it back on the mill to do a touch up or 2.
and that is it without writing a novel on the subject.
if you have any followup questions please feel free to ask.
