First Pick - Falle Safe - Hacksaw Blade

[ChonkyTonks]

Hey all,

I made my first pick tonight. I used the Falle Safe 5/6 as my first pick to make. It certainly is not perfect, but gives me something on which to build. I am currently fashioning a maple handle for it. I will post more pictures of it once I have the handle finished.

-ChonkyTonks

[femurat]

Very nice pick! Did you shape it with a bench grinder or with a dremel? I'm surprised by the regular thickness of the pick: it's not easy to make a constant curve like the two you made

Cheers

[ChonkyTonks]

Very nice pick! Did you shape it with a bench grinder or with a dremel? I'm surprised by the regular thickness of the pick: it's not easy to make a constant curve like the two you made

Cheers

This was purely with a dremel. It was a mix of cutting blades (of which I burned through about three) to get the basic shape and then a grinding bit to get it to the right curve. I just received some feeler gauge from McMaster-Carr and think that it will be a much better material with which to work. I think that I will also get some stronger picks out of it since I went with an assortment of .030, .027 and .025 in thickness. I like this pick as a "first pick", but it really needs a handle due to the hacksaw blade being so thin.

Thanks for the good words.

[raimundo]

femurat, you can cut that concave part with a dremel grinding wheel that has a large diameter, you just hold it into the groove and play it back and forth until it makes a pleasing concave line, then you grind off the back side with a bench grinder, until its near the correct line then use a flat file and a curved stroke to fit the outside to the line.

this is the easiest way to get there, cutting the concavity first, and matching the convex side last.

[ChonkyTonks]

femurat, you can cut that concave part with a dremel grinding wheel that has a large diameter, you just hold it into the groove and play it back and forth until it makes a pleasing concave line, then you grind off the back side with a bench grinder, until its near the correct line then use a flat file and a curved stroke to fit the outside to the line.

this is the easiest way to get there, cutting the concavity first, and matching the convex side last.

Raimundo,

Have any critiques for my first pick? I would be happy to hear your thoughts.

-ChonkyTonks

[raimundo]

Well I don't make picks out of hacksaw blades, but it totally looks like some johnfalle work on the ends. I have made one just the way I described, but made it out of the remnants of a petersen broken hook. cut down the handle length to use as shaft etc. beyond that, I actually don't use the falle curves in picking, I dont have any, the one I made is with rebecca, a former or lapsed member though I don't know her handle for the forum right now.

So, the best critique you can get will be when you start using that pick on some locks.

some think that curve is a sort of fulcrum or leverage point for some heavy pushing, or it could be for gentle rocking under that pin. Also johnfalle is european, so it may work very well in and upside down style. try it out and let us know.

[ChonkyTonks]

Well I don't make picks out of hacksaw blades, but it totally looks like some johnfalle work on the ends. I have made one just the way I described, but made it out of the remnants of a petersen broken hook. cut down the handle length to use as shaft etc. beyond that, I actually don't use the falle curves in picking, I dont have any, the one I made is with rebecca, a former or lapsed member though I don't know her handle for the forum right now.

So, the best critique you can get will be when you start using that pick on some locks.

some think that curve is a sort of fulcrum or leverage point for some heavy pushing, or it could be for gentle rocking under that pin. Also johnfalle is european, so it may work very well in and upside down style. try it out and let us know.

Raimundo,

Thanks for the critique. I normally would not use hacksaw blades, either, as I just feel they are too flimsy. This was my first go with some cheap material to see what I could do. So far, the pick is really not all that useful. I chose the design on a lark and can see how it would be effective as a fulcrum, but I think it would work best with a tall key way. I have not been able to pick even my easiest lock with it, but I also have not had my mind in it over the last few days, so that could be why. I am going to start working on another pick using my feeler gauge stock and see where I can get. I am thinking of a hybrid combo pick that has a rake on one side and a Deforest on the other. That will be a more usable combination, in my opinion. I will post the details/pics once I am done.

In addition, has anyone on here ever used bloodwood as a handle material before?

-ChonkyTonks

[femurat]

Hi Ray, thanks for the tips on how to make a curve like this. I was impressed by a newbie who made a nice curve and wondered how he managed to get it. I'm not going to make one since I found useless the one I made years ago, but this is just due to my personal preference for diamonds and hooks (and bogota's ).

Hi ChonkyTonks, a rake and a deforest on the same handle? I'd prefer 2 size of the same shape... just a suggestion, if you like your idea go for it and show us the result. And about the best wood to use for your handle, every hard wood is a good choice, so just avoid balsa!

Cheers

[ChonkyTonks]

Hi Ray, thanks for the tips on how to make a curve like this. I was impressed by a newbie who made a nice curve and wondered how he managed to get it. I'm not going to make one since I found useless the one I made years ago, but this is just due to my personal preference for diamonds and hooks (and bogota's ).

Hi ChonkyTonks, a rake and a deforest on the same handle? I'd prefer 2 size of the same shape... just a suggestion, if you like your idea go for it and show us the result. And about the best wood to use for your handle, every hard wood is a good choice, so just avoid balsa!

Cheers

Yeah, I do see your point. Does make sense to have the same type of pick if you are doing a combo. That is what I ended up doing at lunch today. I made a combo Deforest (big/small) half diamond using the .030" feeler gauge from McMaster. Let me know what you think.





This is definitely the thickness that I like. I do not feel like it is flimsy in the slightest and, with a handle, will be a very tough pick. I have not used it but just to see what the translation was like. It feels good, perhaps a bit "dulled", but I have been using my Rytans a lot lately, which is why it does feel that way. I need to work on my design a bit. It is a little off, but should even out once I grind it some more. I feel like it is a good pick for only being the second one I have ever created.

-ChonkyTonks

[ChonkyTonks]

Aaaaaand here is pick number 3: Combo bogata/rake



(yes, I know I need to get a light box so there is less flash washout.)

[pin_pusher]

nice and shiny, looking good. i've been using metal banding for my picks, but haven't had time recently to make any worth posting. there's a business next to my house that keeps a metal dumpster outside stocked full of the banding, and other metal tidbits...consider me lucky.

[C locked]

In absence of a light box. Place baking paper over the flash. To diffuse the light. Really only works with an external flash.