My first sucessfull practice lock!

[memodrix]

I should point out that I am VERY new to lock picking...despite my efforts and time spent on and off I have yet to get the basics down to m satisfaction.

I just got this idea in my head and it had to come out. I figure if I can't properly 'visualize whats going on' by what I feel, why can't I SEE what's going on? That alone would be great for associating What I feel 'those ever so slight clicks and pressures' with what is happening. and lo and behold, I looked at my favorite lock, and this is what happened......proof that I should never be left alone around any kind of tools when bored..

Until I can borrow a better digital camera than my crappy 10 dollar one, these pics of the modifications will have to do.



Yea, it's ugly, its even more ugly when you can see it clearly, but it lets me see inside of the lock as I pick it, which is a great help for people trying to associate what they feel from the pick with what's going on.

If I ever figure out how to do this more cleanly I may post some sort of FAQ, but for now a quick rundown of what I did'll do.

Materials used:

Lock - Its an ilco...it says 150 Ilco on the lock housing. I disassembled it and re pinned it the same way it came so I could use the key on it. I chose this one due to the fact that it was free(!) and the sides of it were actually flat with only the very front and back of the lock being round.

tools:
-flat rectangular file to smooth out the grooves cut out of pin holes

-Dremel tool with one of those big grey/black cutting & grinding disks. also used a grey grinding stone to polish it and remove burrs

-Popsicle stick. Yes a popsicle stick. I used the dremel tool on this to cut it down to the perfect size for a cover to depress the springs.

-the metal ring the lock's keys came on. I bent it into a C shape, then drilled a small indentation in the top of the wooden piece and the bottom of the lock. By putting the ends of the home made 'C' clamp in these indentations, I made a secure means of holding the wooden cover over the springs without obstructing the 'window' that I made in the side of the lock.

VERY quick run-thru of what I did:

1. disassembled the lock. put springs, pins in a safe place.

2 . use grey cutting/grinding wheel to carefully grind down the side of the lock, stopping just above where the pin holes would start.

3. Did my best to flatten out the ground down area, making it all nice and pretty like. failed miserably.

4. VERY(!) carefully cut slits down into the pin holes making sure not to cut the slits too wide, as that would cause the springs and pins to pop and fall out.

5. did my best to de-burr and clean the thing. slid one of the top pins through each hole to make sure that there were no obstructions.

6. took the lock..err..core? and carefully repeated steps 4 & 5(using bottom pin) on it.

7. Replaced core, it stuck. after looking at the inside of the lock housing, I found a burr I missed. Had to get at it with a tungsten steel grinding bit.

8. placed key in passageway, placed bottom pins in the core's pinholes, making sure they lined up right.

9 . turned key to line up pin holes in core& housing. Replaced bottom pins & springs. Attached cover.

10. removed and re inserted key to see if I had totally destroyed my favorite lock. It worked! I now have a lock that will better help me associate what I feel with what's going on, and I can re pin the lock by turning it counter clockwise!

All it lacks is a good lubing with graphite. It kinda sticks at times.

Questions, comments? suggestions?

[jordyh]

Wow, this would seriously improve visualising with practicing.
Imagine, for a beginner, that you can learn to associate the feel of resistance of a mushroom or a spool, because we would be able to cut open locks with them in it.

That would be great.

That's it, i'm going to look for walktroughs, if i get a bit of a view on how to do that with various kinds of locks, and i'm bored enough (occurs), i'm going to "sacrifice" a few locks to "science."

[memodrix]

heh. It's really not that hard. if you can find a lock with flat sides that'd work better, but all you really have to do is make sure that you don't cut the grooves too wide. so just remember: not too deep or too wide. If the pin hole is half or more gone, the springs'll pop out and the pins will fly.

when I get a good camera I'm gonna make that into a little animation, with the key going in the lock....mwahahahaaa...oh, and graphite is a must. the pins'll stick otherwise.

theoretically you can do this to any basic 5 pin lock.

and two more things. that are VERY IMPORTANT!

1. You WILL NOT learn to pick a lock by doing this. in order to do that, you need to either re-pin the lock and cover the window side, or you will have to get an entirely new lock.

Anyone who uses this lock will be able to pick IT with all 5 pin stacks in it, but simply picking it teaches you nothing of real value. The idea here is to 'See' what you 'feel'.

I know I've stressed that, but its true. it simply teaches association between what happens and what that happening feels like on your pick.

After you are confident that you have learned to identify the binding pin, and what it feels like to set said pin, get another practice lock, put 2 pin stacks in it, and wash/rinse/repeat.

again I stress, this is only a tool to learn the first few steps of picking locks.

and I'm still taking my time learning those first few setps.

2. this is a short one. When you successfully modify a lock this way, it'll work wonders to use digital blue's exercise with it. here

[digital_blue]

It actually looks like a nice piece of work to me, and if it serves the purpose, then good for you.

One thing I would caution, however, though I know that not everyone will agree with me on this. I am personally not a proponent of using a cutaway lock to learn to pick locks. At this early stage of your skill development, I believe it is very easy to misinterpret physical feedback and develop bad habits and less-than-ideal skills if you have the luxuray of also relying on visual feedback. It can become somewhat of a crutch. I will mention that, once your skills are well refined, I believe cutaway locks can be very effective for learning to pick various high security locks.

Ultimately, it's your choice whether to learn with a cutaway lock or not, and best of luck either way. I just honestly believe that in the long run, you'll be better served by following the Beginner Lockpicking Exercise than you will using the cutaway. If are to use the cutaway, don't let it comprise more than about 25% of your total practice time. It will only steer you to bad habits.

Hope this helps!

db

[memodrix]

yea. I was just in the process of editing my post when you posted. My main problem is misinterpreting the feedback in the first place (that and I made my pick as well.)

I am hoping that this will help me with the whole find the binding pin thing. I already know that I was misinterpreting things, as before I thought that the back pin was first, but now I see that the pins are picked from frontmost to middle, then back, then next to back.

[illusion]

I am hoping that this will help me with the whole find the binding pin thing. I already know that I was misinterpreting things, as before I thought that the back pin was first, but now I see that the pins are picked from frontmost to middle, then back, then next to back.

it's all a question of 'feeling' the pins which binds.... this is merely practice.

keep practicing

[memodrix]

Will-do!

[vector40]

Try: Looking up (or closing your eyes) as you pick, doing your best, and only checking the window if you get totally stuck and cannot for the life of you figure out what's going on.

It's for troubleshooting.

[Omikron]

Try: Looking up (or closing your eyes) as you pick, doing your best, and only checking the window if you get totally stuck and cannot for the life of you figure out what's going on.

It's for troubleshooting.

Or picking in the dark...

[vector40]

Only if you want to turn the lights on every time... moving those d*mned switches is tiring.

[memodrix]

thanks guys, but I think I've learned the bit that i failed to grasp using the practice lock.

I'm doing the one pin at a time, pick repeatedly, add pin method on a different lock now, and seeing if it helped at all.. the lock housing/core I'm using now is a schlage. dunno the exact model.

A locksmith who was closing shop gave me a few locks he had lying around when my dad bought his stock of stuff. so I've got a few more to practice with.

I'm really interested to see how the jagged looking keyway affects my use of the little feeler pick I made, as opposed to my side view lock's more...basic blocky profile.