Great news. I signed on with a Locksmith

[klown]

Out of interest today I called the local locksmith. I asked if he would allow me to work under him as a apprentice and he accepted. He was actually very enthused that he could get the extra help. Around here the city police do lock-out and takes away business from the lockie. But, he said after the first of the year he had struck a deal with the mayor that would not allow the police to do lock outs unless of an emergency. He said he charges $45 in town and $10 extra if it is out in the county. The thing I've noticed and something I had asked him is that most lockie including the guy that does it for AAA wedge the top of the door open and insert a rod to unlock cars instead of slim jims. Is this common practice now days or do any of you disapprove of this practice? It kinda seems like cheating to me, but I guess with all the wires and side airbags it is the safest way to do it without being liable for damages. Also he is a member of this forum, not user what his ID is but with both of us working together we ought to have some pretty interesting stories for you all.

[pauly003]

Way to go, thats great. Im polishing my skills a little before i apply to my local lockie for a job. How mush is he going to pay you, and how many hours will you be getting per week.

[UWSDWF]

i don't know what you're doing there klown but you seem to have a double post problem...

[Romstar]

Klown,

Glad to hear you got picked up as an apprentice. Its a great job, and what you are doing is one of the best ways to learn. Don't be surprise if you get to do the crap work for a while. Its called orking your way up the ladder.

As to your question about how vehicles are opened, you are correct. A great number of people use long reach tools as you have seen.

I personally try to stay away from the things unless absolutely necessary. There are much better ways to open vehicles. Some in the traditional manner, and others by way of picking.

The reason some people use the long reach tools is simply because it is easier on them. In some cases, it is the recomended way, but by and large it is a simpler approach. The drawback of course is that you can cause some warping of the door in certain cases.

Good luck,
Romstar

[2octops]

Unlocking cars has came a long way in the past 20 years. Very few new vehicles can be opened now with a slim jim. Inside the door tools came about in the late 70's/early 80's when horizontal linkages were introduced. The long reach tools were introduced in the mid 90's because of the introduction to cable linkages, sheilded linkages and people were tearing up too much stuff in the doors of some of the newer cars.

The long reach tools are easy to use and very rarely cause any sort of damage if used correctly. If you over jack a door a little, you can cause an air gap, but it can be easily corrected in just a few seconds. If you overjack a door too far and crease it, you had better have a good liability policy.

With the invent of indexing windows and laminated glass on vehicles in the past few years, long reach tools are worthless and other means are coming about to gain entry without damage. Most of these, we just fit a key to the door and unlock it.

[Raccoon]

I'm unfamiliar with indexing windows (interlocking glass to frame?), and I don't see why laminated glass would make it more difficult to use long reach tools-- if anything, it should be easier with less risk of breaking glass.

It's when cars start to latch at both the top and bottom of the door, that I'll start to worry. But such latches are inconvenient to manufacturers for several reasons, so I'm not going to lose sleep.

[klown]

I don't know why I am double posting. I am only hitting the submit button once. I noticed earlier when I replied to a thread it double posted. Can anyone shed any light on this?

[Romstar]

I don't know why I am double posting. I am only hitting the submit button once. I noticed earlier when I replied to a thread it double posted. Can anyone shed any light on this?

It happens. Its like a hiccup or something. Don't worry about it too much unless it happens to you a lot.

Romstar

[klown]

To answer your question pauly, he said that he gets $45 in town and $10 extra out of town. He said that I could keep all the profits from the lock outs. We live in a pretty small town so I probably won't see many lock installations. But, I hope to. I told the guy I would work for free just for the experience. There is just not enough business in this town to be a full time locksmith.

[klown]

Romstar, did you receive my pm?

[Romstar]

No, I did not, but I will check again.

Romstar

[parapilot]

I don't know why I am double posting. I am only hitting the submit button once. I noticed earlier when I replied to a thread it double posted. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Do you use the back button on the browser? If so after posting and pressing back you will get a blank page. If you refresh it will post again. Nav using the forum buttons or press back until you get the forum page again and dont use refresh.

Thats 1 common way phpbb can double post.