different pick and tension wrench materials??

[phippoD]

Ive made picks out of old hacksaw blades before but they seemed just a bit brittle and me and a mate one day went experimenting and we used dipsticks from car engines and they work very well. they dont bend or break and you can be quiet rough with them and they wond snap so that got me wondering if there is any other materials that r good to make picks or tension wrenches from??

[Itzal]

A lot of people make them out of windshield wiper blade inserts, which are easy enough to get.

The couple I have are made from street sweeper bristles, which are nice, but hard to come by. I've spent the last couple of days scanning the gutters between my house and work and found about 10.

[cppdungeon]

haha. Its not as hard as he makes it sound to find street sweeper bristles. The trick is to find the sweepers in the morning, and walk along their path later in the day. you can tell where they have been because its clean. they make good picks too...but better wrenches.

[phippoD]

i cant get my hands on any steet cleaner brissels and when the windscreen wipers dont seem to have metal inserts they r all rubber any other sugestions??

[femurat]

Try to find an old wiper blade at a local junkyard. New cars have all plastic wipers, but if you find an old model I'm sure they have metal insert. Good luck.

[phippoD]

thanks for the help many thanks if any one else has any more sugestions please post

phippoD

[monsignormotard]

I have recently been trying to find stainless steel microspatulas like these ones:

[url]http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/search/ProductDetail/ALDRICH/Z513350[/url]

They are already flattened out to fit into keyways, you can make them double ended picks or cut the shaft in half and make two separate picks, you can make a handle for them out of pretty much anything with just a drill bit and some Krazy Glue (old toothbrushes work well), and to top it all off, they are stainless steel and nice and shiny. They do discolor a bit from the heat if you rush the grinding, but if you are patient, you can keep it to a minimum (sometimes just a little blueing). I find it much more satisfying to build a pick than to buy a set. You can find these things at university chem stores (you may need to befriend a grad student, since the chem stores employee is a strange breed, and extremely paranoid of illicit drug manufacturers obtaining raw materials). You could probably find them online at scientific supply houses online. (Don't even think about lifting them from your chemistry lab, kids!)

[Clead]

Drop me a PM if you want me to send you some of my stash of virgin unused sweeper bristles.

[sipple]

Drop me a PM if you want me to send you some of my stash of virgin unused sweeper bristles.

do you have any pictures of them so I know what to look for on the street?

[spoolspanker]

Yeah I heard using street sweeper bristles work well. I just recently made a pick out of a hack saw blade and used the dremel on it. after I was done I used plasti-dip for the handle. That worked nicely.

[New-York-Locksmith]

Hey you are right - i also used hack saw blades and they worked very well

[scoobyhunter]

Yeah I heard using street sweeper bristles work well. I just recently made a pick out of a hack saw blade and used the dremel on it. after I was done I used plasti-dip for the handle. That worked nicely.

hi,do you have a name for the plasti dip? or what is a good brand here in the uk and how do you use it? is it a 2 pack? regards,scoobyhunter.

[maxxed]

I have used stainless steel rulers, hacksaw blades, windsheild wiper inserts, street sweeper brissles, feeler guage blades, sections cut out of putty knife, music wire, springs from grandfather clock, stainless steel knife, car antenna, dip sticks, pieces cut from crazy carpet, piece found in broken printer, and pieces of eye glass frames. This list is probably not complete but the point I want to make is look at everyday object with the view of " what else can I make this do".
Spend some time looking in a surplus store, inspect items for material quality you may come up with a good find

[zeke79]

The best buy for pick stock I have found is the 10-12 foot sink snakes for unblocking sink drains. They are made from spring steel and are about 1/4" wide and about .023" thick or so. This stock has made some excellent picks for me.

[Cuervogrisss]

Windshield cleaner (is right written?) is the best option.