Making royalty - King and Queen Picks

[Romstar]

These things work like a charm.

I would almost put them up against the Bogota picks, except they aren't supposed to be rakes.

Used with the profile technique, they are very effective.

And yes, they do work as rakes if the need arises. Although that isn't what they were meant for.

Romstar

[Kaotik]

They turned out very nice Rom. They even look better with the coating on the cork handles.

About that idea of using the foam, I scrapped it cause I didn't like the way it felt after finishing them, I had a feeling it might turn out like that but thought I would try it anyway.

[Peter Martin]

QUESTION #1

If I understand the previous posts and your thread correctly, the total length of the king & queen pick is seven (7) pin spaces. For a Yale lock, with a pin space of .165", the total length of the tip is 1.155".

If I wanted to optimize this pick for Weiser, Schlage, or other locks with .155" spacing, should the tip length be adjusted (to 1.085")?



Basically, if I reduce the template down 6-7%, do you think this will make the pick perform better on Weiser & Schlage?

QUESTION #2

If we no longer have a 5-pin lock, but instead have a 7-pin Best we wish to make a profile pick for, how would the design change? I presume the length would be 9-pins (x.150 for a total of 1.350"), but what would the two added spaces to the profile look like? Or would this require an in-depth study of Best IC core pinning-i.e. factors such as MACS, no three pins of the same depth in a row, and some weird statistics formula from a random sample of Best cores around the globe?

[Romstar]

In response to question 1, the reduction should be enough to make the changes. You are correct in that the design specifies a usable area of seven spaces. For Yale, that gives us 1 & 5/32 or as you stated, 1.155. I have played with this design now for years, and so far I haven't noticed a huge difference in shrinking the pick. It does seem to make it a bit easier, but nothing dramatic.

These picks were designed for use in locks that have an open ended keyway.

This brings us to your second question.

Some BEST locks have an open ended core, and thus you can design a pick with 9 spaces to cover a wider range of profiles. The real bear starts when you run into locks with closed cores.

This results in preventing you from inserting the pick past the first five, six, or seven spaces depending on the lock design. So in the case of a nine position pick, and a seven pin closed core design, you always lose the last two positions.

Generally, your asumption is correct. The next set of spaces require the use of pattern formulas that give you a cross section of the allowable combinations in a given lock. This means knowing the MACS of the lock, throwing away dummy combos like all 1s or all 5s and other impossible combinations.

After that, you get rid of the simple combinations, and then compare all the patterns. You are looking for the patterns that represent the majority of the combinations in a lock. Also, bear in mind that you get upside down patterns when you flip the pick, and these can be modified to cover a wider variety of patterns.

So far I am just now finishing up some new designs for this series. I have already found a few of my own mistakes, and I have had to go back to the computer to see how I can modify the patterns.

I am trying to make the next set of picks in this series cover as wide a selection of brands as possible. Its a bit of a bear.

Thanks for asking the questions though.
Romstar

[bonez]

i must say rom,

fantastic looking set of picks.



j.

[shdwdrgn]

Based on the info from this thread, and the template I found from another, I've made some changes and resized the pick, the results of which I would like to contribute.

Some info about this template... The print size should be scaled to 4.75" wide. The pin-spacing was scaled to approximately 0.160" (assuming that will help it to work in more locks). Also the shank leading into the handle has been tapered because my picks based off the original pattern would bend when trying to lift 5 pins.

I can't claim these work, as I'm still a newbie. One side of the queen is a good fit for my house lock, yet I have been unable to get the pins to set. However I believe the scale of these picks to be correct, and the ridges nicely line up with the pins of my test lock. If I made some gross mistake, feel free to point me in the right direction...

[Jason13]

I only have a bench grinder but i guess i could use both of the wheels to come up with that


Thanks romstar for the templates.

[Peter Martin]

I found that making the King & Queen picks was easier if I first scribed a full grid onto my picks.
I scribe the patterns onto my picks using layout ink instead of using a template. The grid also gives you a good idea of how far up and down to make the peaks and valleys of the picks. My pick stock is 1/4" high so I scribe three lines across, each 1/16" inch apart. Then I scribe the width lines 5/32" vertically apart from each other. After these lines are scribed (using layout ink), I then draw the pattern.

[Peter Martin]

Like this...

[timal]

How do the Royal set perform for you. What locks have you been able to open with them ?
Also, they look Great ! Good Job ! Feel free to send me a set

[dmux]

those work very well, they can open a lot of locks easily