WIper inserts/ street bristles?

[bumpin88]

Actually I have seen someone turn out a bump key with a small wet rock for sharpening knives.
Yeah it was a bit crude, and if they hadn't cut it too deep it would have worked great.

But yeah if your into making picks on a large scale you should invest in a
dremel, then you could probably make enough to sell some??

while i am writing i just had another quick question, for king/queen pick how wide
of material would you need. by the looks of the templates i saw on here they
couldn't fit on wiper inserts.

[raimundo]

wiper inserts come in a variety of widths within a small perameter. The widest ones will make a k&q very nicely.
Ive only made a couple of these, as to me they are somewhat like 'computer gen' picks, attempting to address a wide range of specific bittings and a certain profile, in the kq instance thats either high near the front and taperd to the rear or the reverse.
there are other common general shapes such as high front and rear and deep in the middle and of course the reverse of that.
attempting to pick a lock with these things is not that interesting to me,

[bumpin88]

Yeah raimundo, i prefer to spp but why limit your options. besides i was just needing some practice making picks
and was just thinking of a few picks i have never used.
So i need the larger wiper inserts and they should work fine for these picks. thats good to know. thanks
also what other files would you recomend to make picks, as of now i have a 6" flat and triangle.

[raimundo]

I recommend that you add the quarter inch chain saw sharpening file, commonly stocked at the ace hardware chain. To understand why I recommend this, look at the tutorial that has my name on it in the lockpicks manual section.
I wrote a tutorial that was in pencil on brown paper and sent it to a member in the netherlands, and he did the digital piece that you see. The pencil drawings are done by me. I coulda done better if I had known he was going to make the tutorial, but it gets the concept accross. the photos were taken by Jan and the picks photographed were made by me.

[kromedge]

I'm going to have to disagree with the "a file can do anything a dremel can do". My Dremel Plunge Router attachment disagrees. My felt wheels disagree. My diamond cutter disagrees. My tungston cutter disagrees. My sanders disagree. My cut-off wheels disagree.

And even assuming it could, you'd have to add the statement "given an infinite amount of time and an infinite number of files..."

If a file could do anything a rotory tool could do, you wouldn't see hundreds of attachments and accessories for them.

The best picks I've made were done strictly with files. Yes, it was a time consuming affair but the results were near perfect. I have several Dremels and hundreds of accessories for them and while they are great to use for this hobby, there is nothing quite like hand filing the entire pick especially when you are getting it close to the size you want as there is no chance of an "OOPS" or "AWE CRAP" I went too far (which happens quite often with a Dremel) and then have to start over. I'm not knocking the Dremel by any means but I personally think a better job can be achieved by leaving the Dremel in the drawer. It is amazing what a high quality set of files can do - you just have to keep them clean.

[alfabravo]

i completly agree with kromedge!

i've done mine picks using a file. dremel could be an aid, but you can have marvelous results if you know how to handle them. they're more precise and allow you to controll of stock removal.

going back to subject, i've found for me that street bristles are better for picks than wiper inserts. it's just my personal opinion. i've also used them for tensioners, but opposite for me wiper inserts are better for the job. i've also don't heat treat wiper inserts(for tensioners), and bristles(for picks), and they're performing very well(made by files, no way to change steel structure).

street cleaners tend to snap when not bend without heating them with a torch(but doable, but better to heat them ), and wiper inserts are very flexible when making tension wrenches and there is no need to heat them up. just bend(snapping them is almost impossible).

[raimundo]

kromedge mentions keeping files clean, other tips are keep files in the sleeves they come in, or make sleeves with cardboard and tape.
the hardened sharp edges are very tiny and should be saved from knocking around among other hardened steel tools,
the salt in fingerprints can cause them to rust on these tiny edges also. each file in an individual sleeve of some soft material like cardboard keeps them from knocking together. even cut diamonds get paper wear, (wear from knocking into other cut diamonds in a diamond paper)

files cut on the push stroke and if you develop a good style by lifting the file for the back stroke, you are not continuing to create heat and friction that will tend to bend the sharp edges down.
I lift the file after each stroke and this also helps in keeping visual track of how its going.

[skylar]

Why is it that I cannot find 1/4" chainsaw file near me in Canada?

Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Home Hardware all have 5/32" and 7/32".

Does anyone know a good site to order them from?