Idea for obtaining bump keys

[LodeRunner]

Well, the whole bumpkeying thing has me quite intrigued now, but I am, shall we say, not making much progress. I'm not really great with my hands (then why am I getting into this hobby, you ask? Answer: I like a good challenge. Plus, locks are just plain cool), and the keys I've come up with either haven't worked or look so horrible that I wouldn't dare try sticking them in a lock. Plus, my ferret is going insane from the incessant squeak squeak squeaking of file on brass. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong... even the ones I've made that look halfway decent don't seem to work.

Some people have reported that they've walked into a 'smith and walked out with an armful of 999 keys. Other people say they've been treated like criminals, and given that I've got long black hair and a couple tattoos...

Anyway, to cut to the chase, would it be possible to use a depth/spacing key as a bump key? I was thinking about picking up a set from this site:
http://clksupplies.com/shop/index.php?cPath=25
and using the 999 depth key as, well, a 999 key.

Is there any particular reason why this wouldn't work? Does anyone know of a cheaper source for depth keys? I'm also not sure how to tell which keyways I have... I guess any input you could give would be appreciated.

[ThE_MasteR]

Well, they do say which keyway they all fit into so you shouldn't be worrying. Let's say that you get the 999 depth key for a M1 Masterlock keyway, well it'll fit in most Masterlock No.X series, and even a No.40 lock, as I have them and they have the same keyway. The only thing you would need to do, is to grind off a bit of metal on the head, and a bit on the shoulder, since they didn't modifiy them.

Maybe you should contact them if you need more info..

[zeke79]

Here is a short article I put together on how to obtain bumpkeys with a brief explanation on how to use them and why they work. http://nickz.homeunix.com/lockpicking/bumpkeys.pdf Username is lockpicking password is 101.

[devildog]

Yeah, that's actually exactly what I did to begin with--bought some space and depth keys and then took the 999 key down to the local hardware store where they wouldn't know their a$$ from their elbow and had them cut a few copies (you're less likely to get hassled from someone like that than a lockie as they won't know what it is, although a lot of the time lockies will think it's for a master key system, but anyway).

DON'T use your original 999 space and depth key as a bumpkey--you'll want to retain it to make more copies if you ruin/loose the others.

[l0cked0ut]

what about 10 10 10s. Arent these are better because some keys actually have the 9 depth already so bumping them would cause a pin to lock. I was going to try to make my own yesterday, but i couldnt find a square file. From what ive seen it should be fairly simple to make your own set of them but it probably takes some trial and error. The other thing is that the proper bump tool is also important for getting the right amount of force.

[Chrispy]

Are there #10 cuts? I didn't think there was.

[devildog]

Not officially; I think it started out, in reference to bump keys at least, when Barry 'the key' referred to it in 'Bumping Revisited', although I've seen a locksmith selling a set of space and depth keys on ebay that included an extra key for master pinning that was one increment deeper than the usual #9 Key, what he referred to as a '10 key', so I could be wrong about the origins, but it's a cut that's only used for master pinning (and now bump keys, obviously ) so you'd never see it on a normal key from a manufacturer, nor would you see a lock with a '10 pin' in it that would require a key to have a 10 cut either...I think... - the locksmiths on here can probably tell you a bit more I think.

[Chrispy]

That's what I thought.

On a completely unrelated (but kinda related) topic, my next purchases/acquisitions are a master pin set and a security pin set.

[devildog]

Say, do security pins come in a standard repinning kit? I bought one of those 'change-a-lock' kits from lockpicks.com for Schlage locks as those are the only ones I'm really only going to be repinning for practice at the moment and $10.95 beats the crap out of AT LEAST $60-80 for a real repinning kit, and that's just those little durex mini things AND that's if I get it off of EBay and not from a real supplier . Here's what I'm talking about on lockpicks.com:

'Change-a-Lock'

[Chucklz]

I've gotten the occasional pin kit from
http://stores.ebay.com/LeeLynns-Lock-Su ... eZL2QQtZkm

Has lots of extras in there when you stuff your practice locks.

[vector40]

Yeah, I've got one of those portable Schlage repinning kits, Chuck. Real nice.

[Chucklz]

Oh yes, for full disclosure, I have no relationship with them at all, except that they take my money and give me pin kits.

[digital_blue]

I just got this in the mail today.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... %3AIT&rd=1

Good news, I was under the impression it was a .005 and it is a .003 kit. Bad news... I have no idea how long it's gonna take to sort out the pins that didn't stay put through shipping (or it was sent that way, but I prefer to believe in human kindness ).



Anyway... back to sorting....

db

[devildog]

That's a really good price for what you got.


I can SEE that it's for PROFESSIONAL locksmiths ONLY--it boldly and authoritatively says so right on the lid...*snicker*........*snort*....

[digital_blue]

Hey, can any of you Foley Belsaw folk clear something up for me. It would appear that some of the pins (I'm working with the smaller top pins right now) are different colours, but exactly the same size. I've got both green and gold, for instance, that seem to both be 048. Does this make sense? If it does, then it's been tripping me up for an hour already. If it doesn't, then I don't know what to say. They're the same freakin' size...



db