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How To: Adjustable 2 Prong Tension Wrench

When it comes down to it there is nothing better than manual tools for your Lock pick Set, whether they be retail, homebrew, macgyver style. DIY'ers look here.

How To: Adjustable 2 Prong Tension Wrench

Postby Exodus5000 » 2 Mar 2006 13:21

How to make an adjustable double prong tension wrench.
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?Page ... &ProdID=56


Materials:

1.) You will need about 20 cm’s of a nice stiff wire. I’m not sure what gauge or type of wire I used, but if you head to a Wal Mart, a craft store, or any hardware store there should be plenty of wire to choose from.
2.) One barrel nut. A barrel nut is a regular hex nut, but made much longer. It is sometimes used to connect two threaded pieces of metal together. Again you can find this at any hardware store.
3.) One bolt that will match your barrel nut.
4.) A drill. Preferably a drill press, but I suppose you could use a power drill if you’re careful.
5.) A vice.
6.) A pliers.
7.) A bench grinder, or files, or a dremel tool.


Procedure:

1.) Determine the length you want your wrench to be. I wanted mine to be 10 cms in length, therefore I cut a piece of wire to 20 cms. Mark the middle of the piece of wire with a pen and bend the wire into a “V” shape. Use a pliers or vice to try and pinch the folded center as tight as possible.
2.) Using your drill, drill 2 holes straight through the barrel nut. The spacing doesn’t have to be precise, the important part is that the holes are in a plane next to each other and not “off kilter.” You’re going to be feeding the wire through the barrel nut so try to make the holes just big enough so that the wire fits through the nut snuggly. (see picture below for a rough idea on spacing.)
3.) Feed the wire “V” through barrel nut.
4.) Using files, a dremel tool, or a bench grinder, grind the tips of the “V” wire so that they’re squared off slightly. This is to make sure the wrench will fit into a lock and won’t slide around once inside of it. While grinding mine I had a spare lock with me so I could match the wire up next to it to make sure I hadn’t made it too thick or thin.
5.) Bend the tips of your wire to the desired “tensioning” angle.
6.) Screw in your bolt, cut the bolt to length if necessary if a lot is sticking out (which was the case with mine.)

Notes:

Play with the angle of the “V” a little bit before you feed it through your barrel nut. You want the barrel nut to be able to slide up and down the wire changing the angle of the wire slightly as you do so.

It might also be a good idea to create a handle for your tension wrench. Be creative, electrical tape, duct tape, rubber dipped handles, etc.

Operation:

Hold the wrench up to the lock you wish to work on, insert it into the lock and adjust the barrel nut until the angle of the wire is at the right distance, not too wide or narrow for the keyway. Lock the wrench into place by tightening the bolt on the barrel nut.

Image
[deadlink]http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6973/exodus5000ac5.jpg
Exodus5000
 
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Location: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, USA

Postby bonez » 2 Mar 2006 13:30

nice job

8)
Image
don't eat yellow snow -a quote by illusion.
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Postby Buggs41 » 2 Mar 2006 18:17

Very nice idea!
Image
My fleet of NR2003 online race cars.
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Postby CPLP » 2 Mar 2006 20:33

I like it...I'll try to make one.
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Postby dsd5150 » 8 Mar 2006 11:42

very nice job man...
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Postby 2hammers » 11 Mar 2006 11:50

Very Nice i'm going to make one cheers.

I have a file handle that would look good on
that I think
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Postby WDPaladin » 11 Mar 2006 13:57

I like it MacGuyver, thanks! Now if only we can place a GPS unit and a small incendiary device within the handle.. Heh, very nice job.
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adjustable tension wrench

Postby scampdog » 11 Mar 2006 19:27

good job mate, simple but effective,going to make me one of them.
there's no such thing as gravity.The earth SUCKS!!
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Postby Wrenchman » 21 Mar 2006 9:28

It´s beautiful....... what is it :o

It sure wont fit into any of my locks, do you guys have like monster locks over there?

I´m new here :).... I´m gonna have to do some serious search function searching :!:
Before you pick a lock:
The first thing that you should do is check to make sure that
the lock is your's and secondly make sure its not in use.
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Postby KottonKang » 31 Mar 2006 3:57

How well do these tension wrenches perform ? I have one that came with a set i bought but the prong are oddly shaped on them and i cant really use it. Looks great though.
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huh?

Postby undeadspacehippie » 18 May 2006 23:19

sorry about this - but how exactly does it adjust? I'll re-read the post instructions again, but i can't visualize how the two arms move while adjustment is being made - could you post a pic of where the wire mates with the bolt and barrel? (Sort of an over head?) - Any help is appreciated, thanks for the work you have done already.

USH
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Postby zeke79 » 18 May 2006 23:25

If you slide the barrel nut up toward the prongs it spreads them out further apart from each other. If you slide the barrel nut away from the prongs it pulls them together. Of course adjusting this way limits the amount of adjustment but it does serve its purpose.
For the best book out there on high security locks and their operation, take a look at amazon.com for High-Security Mechanical Locks An Encyclopedic Reference. Written by our very own site member Greyman! A true 5 Star read!!
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Postby undeadspacehippie » 19 May 2006 0:04

Ahhhh! - ok, didn't think of that, i was thinking that the bolt was turned in order to make the threads come "to and fro" in the barrel and bolt and therefore shorten the distance between the two wires. (did I just say that? - rather make the wires move together or apart) - I'm gonna give this a try tommorrow.
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Postby zeke79 » 19 May 2006 0:06

Give it a shot and let us know what you think :wink: .
For the best book out there on high security locks and their operation, take a look at amazon.com for High-Security Mechanical Locks An Encyclopedic Reference. Written by our very own site member Greyman! A true 5 Star read!!
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Postby Exodus5000 » 19 May 2006 17:55

Using plain wire like the wrench above works ok, it's more simple because it fits into the holes drilled into the hex nut better, but using windshield wiper inserts would be a better alternative than plain old wire if you can manage it.
[deadlink]http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6973/exodus5000ac5.jpg
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