njhowen wrote: Failing that i will buy a tabe vice, they cost next to nothing, howevery single vice i can find would hold the lock in the wrong direction, as the grips face horizontally not vertically. Again, if anyone has an easy way to overcome this problem with a table vice, let me know
The first lock I bought was a Kwikset deadbolt; 5 standard pins. I also purchased a vice/clamp to hold it whilst I picked. I too ran into your problem with vicing it in place. I came up with two solutions.
1. I rolled up two sheets of paper to place under the vice for securing it to my counter/bar. The vice has rubber pads that actually contact the lock at the top of the bible which is flat and squishes into the rubber holding it secure. The rolled up paper was thick enough to mold around the rounded bottom part of the lock cylinder while staying flat and secure against the counter. I couldn't tighten it up all the way without the lock shooting out, but I could get it tight enough to pick without any wobble.
2. Above my counter is a half-wall with both sides and the bottom exposed. My vice opened wide enough to accomodate the wall and the lock. I put a piece of leather padding between the lock and the wall to keep the wall from getting scratched, and I used another rolled up piece of paper between the bible of the lock and the wall to keep the lock from wobbling.
I really wish I had a digital camera to show you the pictures of what I'm talking about. Of course, this was all at the beginning when I didn't know if I'd be getting into this seriously. Now I am looking at building a lockboard also. Here is a picture of the clamp I bought:
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=100006365.
Of course, if you have the money, you can buy a lock picking station.
http://www.lockpickshop.com/p-LOCKPICK-STATION-PLUS.html.
