Raimundo's Bogota "How to" documents

[digital_blue]

This should have been a sticky a long time ago. It is now.

[cL4y]

Awhile ago,i was thinking of making these picks,becouse there was alotta hubbub about them,but i didn't know what they actually did,and i never looked,so i sticked whith normal picks.Now i have read what these do,i am certainly going to make some in my lockpicking lifetime.

Exellent work guys,what an idea.

cl4y

[Kaotik]

Raimundo, I still plan to get those Bagotas from you, but I took the liberty to read through the how-to documents and under the section of the needed materials for making them it specifies a heating source.

Common knowledge tells me it would be either to anneal it for easier filing or to harden it afterwards but it never says.

Could you or someone else make clear to me what the heating source is used for?

[scampdog]

whenever i try to read raimundo's how to documents,all i get are a completely unreadable set of instructions. does anyone else have this problem,or am i doing something wrong (i'm not to clever with a pc). i would be greatfull for any help offered

[Shrub]

Well yes in a way im the same, no new paragraphs and ray likes to make the explanation hard to understand im sure but if i read it a few times i understand them but these how toos wert written by him and are perfectly understandable to me,

Its the links on the first post you should be looking at by the way if your not doing

[Kaotik]

whenever i try to read raimundo's how to documents,all i get are a completely unreadable set of instructions. does anyone else have this problem,or am i doing something wrong (i'm not to clever with a pc). i would be greatfull for any help offered

The best way I found to read them well is to right-click on the document image and save picture as, put it where you can find it, then if you have Windows it will open as Windows Fax and Picture Viewer, click the magnifying glass with the "+" on it and it will enlarge to read the text and show more detail in the picks.

IMHO, I don't think this document should be distributed in any way without the express permission of the writer.

[raimundo]

I didn't realize that a heat source was mentioned in there, I do not anneal or otherwise screw around with the temper of the metal, the only heating I have regularly done to the metal is to heat the cold bent twist and tensor bends after the pick is finished to set the crystalization of the metal and erase the metalmemory (tendency to want to unbend) and I do this in about 30 seconds over a bic lighter. All the bending is cold, only setting the bend is done with a little heat, after the metal shows blue color on the surface, I quench it immediatly. and actually I don't even do the setting the bend much any more, its not necessary.
The paper was written and put on the web by a guy in holland who was using a simple how to that I had written on a piece of paper, the line drawings in it are done by me. For a long time I have thought to go back to it and do a little tweaking, but I never get around to it.
About bending the metal cold, as you do this listen for a pop, if you hear it, a fracture has started and you should throw away the piece and start over, some metal is more brittle than other examples, and this is why I start with the bending, so that no work is lost if it fractures, even if you do not hear a pop, inspect the twist and bend for any tiny start of a fracture, and if there is any, get a different piece of metal. and start again. at the twist, if the two pliers were too close together, a tear may start right at the edge of the pliers grip, so inspect this area also.
I have been thinking about making a pair with photos at every step, but I don't have any digital camera with a good closeup ability and I don't have any way to put it on the internet, since the cafe computers I use restrict the use of computers in ways that would stop downloading and uploading, but when someone in mpls wants to collaborate, I will make the new document an even a video.

[toiletplumber]

could these picks be made out of hacksaw blades with the popsickle handles....... I don't see why you couldn't use a grinder in order to get that pick shape....... It says that they are handmade but woudl using a grinder hinder the unlocking ability..... I dont care if I have the two matching sets or that the handle is a tension wrench but I would like the shape of that pick because everyone here that has tried it says it works. So could I make it out of a hacksaw blade witha grinder or whould it not fly?

[Kaotik]

Raimundo, thanks for clearing that up, and the tip about the Bic lighter.

I think I will try to make a set and see how they turn out.

Cheers

[scampdog]

having bought some of Rai's picks, i can't praise them enough,the only problem, is that i am stuck in a forgotten era, when only popsicle stick handles were the thing. Rai's picks work superbly, but i could not get on with the grips. taking this into account ,i scavenged rai's technique and put this set together to suit my type of picking,hope you like them.

[bonez]

very nice scamp!

very nice.

[raimundo]

Looks very nice, one of the better sets I've seen, have fun with them.

[scampdog]

Thanks ray that's made my day.

[!*AMP*!]

I am in the process of attempting to make a bogota rake and was wondering if I was on the right path...below are two pictures. It's still pretty rough and chunky, but the basic shape is taking form. Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated. BTW, I'm making it from a hex key...liked the feel of the bend in it.

[!*AMP*!]

BTW, for some reason on the second picture, it makes it look like the bottom is flattened on the bottom of one of the "U"'s but it isn't...