just saying what i do personally.Tools
The best tools for finishing home made and and bought picks are...
1. Dremel with the following attatchments.
A. Hand help extension. ( this will give you better control)
B. Carbide Bit
C. Polishing Bit, and some Polishing compund (should come with you dremel)
2. Emery Paper (Not sand paper)
213 grit
220 grit
3. Vice, or you hand which ever is avaiable
4 Silicon Lube (works best for me)
5. Mini Files (2$ at harbor fieght) Cheepies will do just fine!
Step one: Removing burs and achieving a rounded pick and tang shape.
Okay you have made your pick now. Its going to have burs and such. This will be benificial for hacksaw blades, wiper inserts you name it. So first to get a good pick you want rounded edges. For an example have a look at Rays Botoga's. Also with southord picks there edges are flat as well this will work for those.
A:
So to get the burs of and achieve a rounded tang and pick, you will use your carbide bit tool for you dremel. Depending on how good you are with a dremel will determine the speed you use. So take the carbide bit and run it over the edges of the thang and pick head... any part that will be in or reacting with the pins. Do this back and forth motion on both sides till its rounded.
B: Using hand files to perfect the tang and pcik shapes.
You will need small files. I use one i have bought from harbor frieght. They are all small and come in numerous sizes and for a good pick are nessisary. First the carbide bit will round the tang and pick head, but to make the rounded shape you trying to achive flawless the filles will help.
For the tand that a flat file, spray with slilicon lubricant. This will allow a better prefinish. Use this file to round the tang to a great round and smooth shape.
Depenending on which pick head your making is what file you will choose to work best. Remember spary with silicon lubricant, the file will slide better and the finish will be better prepped for less sanding.
Step 2: Sanding
This part is a very critical phase in the finish of a pick as anybody will say. The reasonyou use emery paper is sand paper is for wood, dry wall, plastic. The amount of diffrent grains you use is up to you. Start semi rough and go to fine.
A : Sanding to prep for polishing
First use you roughest grit, but dont make it a super rough grit as you will get some nasty little scrathes that stay there. So take your rough grit and sand the pick tang and head, the pick should be moving in and out the paper and you would insert it into the lock. Continue doing this and work your way down to your finest grit...
B: Final Sanding with finest grit before polishing
By now you pick should be smooth enough to use, but if you want to go the extra distance to make it smooth enough to do minimal if any damgae to the pins then you take the finest grit emory paper and spray it with silicon lubricant, do as before sanding the edges wich should be round first and also any curves. Then last run the pick in and out in the silicon spray paper untill your satisfied, 20 seconds usually does it for me.
Step three : Polishing
Okay by now your pick should be good enough, but if you want a mirror like finish polishing is the way to go. I use my polishing bit with my dremel at the highest speed. So apply pollishing compound and work wiht you pick till the polish is worked in and you have no little polishing lines where you either stoped or pushed to hard.
And there you go, if you practice this guide you will have picks that are not only smother but better spaped to do less damage in a cylinder than even most comercial picks, i personally spent 2 hours redoing my 32 peice SO kit and they work ten times better and the locks don't take even a small beating
Hope this helps you guys, and as said Shrub has an excellent alaround pick making guide that is stickied, this is my own personal way of finishing picks and it does work great.
If i messed up spelling i appoogize its 3:30 am and i am beat, tell me what you guys think.
Andy
