Mutterings from a mouse

[jordyh]

:O
Any chance you could put a spring on it and make your own spring loaded tensioner?

[illusion]

The furry toolmaker has done it again

That's a cool idea, and even better it seems to work well.

Another idea is to take a bearing (skateboard ones will work) and silver-solder two pieces of piano wire onto it, this will not be adjustable, but very compact.

Nice thinking mate,, good to see fresh ideas coming through

[kraid]

You really inspired me, Im thinking of making my own tools.
I only got one of those Dremel tools and some basic tools like hammer,
file and a old USSR Vise too ;D


Do You think It can be done pretty quick and easy with those tools?

[Chucklz]

Da.

[kraid]

oh Im so sorry, I didnt see you wrote you only had a dremel and NOT a grinder I thought it was the other way around

so I guess the answer is Yes
and Very nice picks!

Im off to buy some sawblades, cya

[ekips]

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.

Hi Mouse,

Can I ask you a quick question about the slim 'covert' set you made?

In your post you said that you have to bend into shape and then file them.
How do you bend them?
As in if you lay the blade flat do you bend them up and down? so the blades still lay flat on their sides?

I really want to make a set like that but I'm not sure how.

Oh by the way, THANK YOU for the templates you posted a while back, made my fist set from them and I'm VERY chuffed with them

Ekips

[p1ckf1sh]

In your post you said that you have to bend into shape and then file them.
How do you bend them?
As in if you lay the blade flat do you bend them up and down? so the blades still lay flat on their sides?

I think that is exactly what mouse means. I would do it like this at least, and from the pictures I think mouse did it like that as well. You need the bending to gain "depth" (to make the hook actually reach something), but it still needs to fit into the lock. So if you bent them sideways (which is easier to do) you would need to do the filing for the tip and then for the entire shaft, and you would end up with something very thin and fragile.

A vice (vise? spelling? , i need to sleep more, my english starts to suck) or a set of good pliers that enable you to hold the wiperblade firmly is needed to do this properly I think. I don't think that you can just bend them over the edge of a table or something. Also, when bending, don't do the entire "movement" in one location. Grip one location, bend a bit, move grip a few millimeters, continue bending, to get a shallower curve. Otherwise you might weaken the material in that one location too much...

Hope it helps...

[ekips]

I think thats my next buy, A nice big tabletop vice, and some decent hand files.

Ekips

[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.

Hi Mouse,

Can I ask you a quick question about the slim 'covert' set you made?

In your post you said that you have to bend into shape and then file them.
How do you bend them?
As in if you lay the blade flat do you bend them up and down? so the blades still lay flat on their sides?

I really want to make a set like that but I'm not sure how.

Oh by the way, THANK YOU for the templates you posted a while back, made my fist set from them and I'm VERY chuffed with them

Ekips

Hi !
Sorry for not replying earlier but I have just started a new job and my spare time has suddenly disappeared.

The only wiper blade inserts I have found are fairly slim.

When I made my covers set I was using just some basic tools.


The teeth on the tools quickly became damaged and my poor paws were aching after a short time.

I created a small bending jig out of some odds & ends lying around the house.

A couple of pieces of metal, drilled and bolted together with washers providing a small gap.
I eventually managed to drill some holes for small nails, separated just enough to slide a wiper insert in between.

(Please don't laugh at my drilling)

When I purchased a small Southord kit and examined the peak hight and spacing, I realised that It would be impossible to bend the metal into shape.

A new technique was required.
File-Bend-File-Bend-File

I file away about half of the metal I need to remove, then i very carefully bend the upward/downward sections a couple of degrees.

This slightly raises the peaks and returns the troughs to the original level.

Then i continue to file and bend untill I have the required shape.

The small southord half diamond has a peak only .5mm higher than the height of a thin wiper blade.
The largest peaks of the L rake are only about 2mm higher.

So you can see that you don't have to bend the metal very much to to get the desired shapes ( unless you are making a hook or a fancy rake )



1= A piece of wiper blade
2= Original covert set made with jig & pliers.
3= Double ended pick made with jig & pliers.
4= Some new mini picks made by the F-B-F-B-F method.
5= Original junior hacksaw pick made by cutting grinding and filing.
6= Southord small half diamond.

I am going to remake my covert set like the mini picks without the shrink wrap as a grip.

Might make a full proper set with longer grips.

[ekips]

Mouse> Thanks for the reply

You are like my Lockpicking God-Father

If it wasnt for that template you posted I would never of made my first set and got the bug for it

I picked almost all the locks I can get my grubby little fingers on and now eye up everyones locks with envy.

I'm going to get some bits of metal over the next few days and make a jig.
So to be clear, I bend like this?

Small amounts, then do I file the inside of the bend or the outside?

Thanks in advance

Ekips