Mutterings from a mouse

[mouse]

My first attempt at making a pick from a wiper blade.



Items
1. Junior hacksaw blade
2. Piece of UK wiper blade
3. My normal pick
4. New double ended wiper blade pick

As you can see, there is hardly any metal you can file away on the wiper blade.
The only way to make picks using this, is to first bend the metal into a rough shape, then start filing.

The final result is a very sexy looking pick which is surprisingly strong and flexible.

It can be a bit awkward to hold but it was not designed to be used as an every day pick.
This is my first step towards my "covert" set.
I just have to workout how to make a Bogota.

[bonez]

yet again

a fine loking assortment of pick.

[wtf|pickproof?]

Hey, thats a really nice set of pics you've made! I've seen you experimented a bit with two pronged wrenches but don't have a lot of regular ones. Personally I use mostly S shaped wrenches made from wiper inserts which I mostly place in the top of the keyway and some made from sweeper bristles. Those give me more room in restricted keyways and usually are placed deep into the bottom of the keway. (both according to US mounting style) I find that a good sortiment of tension tools is more important than a big sortiment of picks.

I've played around with a covert set too. I made my double ended picks from junior hacksaw blades and manage to fit 8 picks and a pice of wiperblade (for a tension wrench in a pen housing. So the pen doesn't work anymore, but looks exactly like the original if it's closed. Maybe I can be borthered to post some pics if I get access to a cam.

[mouse]

Finally made my "covert" set from wiper blades.
They all fit inside a working papermate pen.





The ink tube has a Small section cut off.
The section is just long enough to stick out of the pen mechanism when glued into position.




This section will press down on the torque wrench which is sandwiched between the two pieces, allowing the pen to work and allowing the torque wrench to fit inside.

[illusion]

I use the size tension wrench as the one you made, all the time... nice feel to it.

it looks fiddly to keep hold of the pieces, but for a set that fits inside a pen it's good.

I guess it's kinda cool

so nice work once again mouse

[mouse]

Decided to have a go at drawing some templates.



The templates are just a rough guide to the different pick shapes.

Tyred to make them the same as southords but there are a few differences.

The tips on 12/13/14/15 are slightly longer.
All the pick blades are straight, not tapered. There thickness will depend on the strength of the material you are using.

[illusion]

Top guy!

They're actualy pretty accurate too

Great work mate

[Chrispy]

They're some nifty templates you got there Mouse. Well done.

Although the shaft on the MSL-02 looks kinda long.

[illusion]

They're some nifty templates you got there Mouse. Well done.

Although the shaft on the MSL-02 looks kinda long.

it is perhaps 5 mm too long, but no problem really

[mouse]

lol. actually my MSL-02 is 2mm longer than the template.

The shafts are only a way of presenting the overall look of the picks.
The thickness and length will depend on individual preferences and the strength of the material used.

The shape and tips of the picks are the only important thing.

All the "templates" I have found have either been taken with a camera at an angle (hard to see the pick shape details) or don't have a scale to enable accurate measurement.

All the templates have been created from the large images found at http://southord.com/catalog.asp?cat=locksmith&rowstart=120.

Unfortunately the images found there are not 1:1 scale.
I have resized the images to match the picks that I have and then resized the other images the same amount.
I have then traced over the pick shapes to create my pick templates because the original images have too much shadow/highlights to see the shapes properly.

Looking at the southord picks raises a couple of questions.

1. Looking at MSL-01, the P2P (peak to peak) distance is about 3.5mm.
This is the near enough the same as the pins in my padlocks but my door locks have pins separated at 4mm.

Are southord rakes any good at opening door locks with 4mm p2p ?
Would a stretched 4mm version work better ?

2. Would the Bogota, king&queen rakes work better if there were rakes for 3.5mm & 4mm ?

[illusion]

Single ball pick.

I measure mine as 12cm exactly including the handle.

the head measures 4.2cm

making the handle 7.8cm

Question 1: I find it works well if you place it in the lock and rock it whilst bouncing tension. The distance is either fine, or good enough to present no trouble on most locks.

Question 2: I would suggest you try it, if so please report your results. I would think it a good idea, but it needs looking into.

[Kodiak]

While we're on the topic of slimlines. . .

I see the shanks are made slimmer, but is the steel more thin as compared to a standard SouthOrd?

[illusion]

not having a micrometer this isn't 100% accurate, but 0.5mm was what I got.

[R1cksson]

I don't have access to any large grinders so this is my way of making picks with a dremel.

[8 steps]

I have never been any good at metalwork but I can make a pick in an hour.

I have noticed some rust appearing on some picks. Might try spraying the picks with clear lacquer.

God-damn. That's all I have to say about that...

God-damn.

[mouse]

The MOUSE has been at it again.

Mouse manor has been echoing with the sounds of grinding & hammering.

Now mouse proudly presents the ACW (Adjustable Circular Wrench).



The project started with 3 large washers and a nail. (Only 2 washers needed after redesign)



1 washer was split in half, filed down to allow a wiper blade to fit in between, sandwiched between the other washers and then riveted together with the nail.



2 large holes were drilled to reduce weight.



My design was changed, I cut through the bottom washer and opened up the slot, enabling different prongs to be fitted.



To reduce weight this wrench could be made with only 2 washers and a nail.

The final result is an adjustable circular wrench (37mm diameter) which can use different designed prongs and when used, is less likely to be obstructed by handles/door frames ... etc.