Homebrew tensioner and 2 picks i made to get started

[Warden Smith]

Here are some locks i collected and some picks and a tensioner i made. the tensioner was made out of a dvd laser run and is extremely tough and serves me well.the picks were made out of craft knife handles and were very hard to dremmil. allas only one pick now survives as i heated the other one up on the gas stove and dipped it in water after in an attempt to make it even harder. it didn't, it made it very bendy and weak anyway, check my vid. enjoy ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fOmosiO77c

[Violaetor]

The weakened pick may be salvageable if you reheat it slowly to an light straw(yellow) color (air cool), you could temper it to a harder state, but may not be worth the work and effort versus just making another pick, but if you're into experiments could be fun.

[Warden Smith]

cheers Violaetor, ill try that next time.

[shortlineflyer]

i read recently in a book on metallurgy that one of the best things to do to make steel hard and strong is heat it to about 1750 degrees with a torch, and then dip it in oil. if you do this please be careful because the oil might flash. I would suggest doing this outside if you choose to do it.

[raimundo]

hard is not necessarily strong. it can be hard and brittle.
diamond is the hardest stone, but jade is the toughest, it has no fracture cleavages that diamond has many of.

diamond cuts jade, jade smashes diamond. jade is for hammers diamond is for sharp edges.

similiar difference exist in metals

a heat hardened metal can be 'drawn' back with a time in a medium heat for the crystalization to settle, its called tempering.

[Torvaun]

Machinist here.
Thin stuff like lockpicks, I'd shy away from water-quenching to avoid distortion. Heat it through to 1625 Fahrenheit. When you remove heat, immediately quench in either oil or brine. Agitation is recommended. After it has cooled, it will be brittler than I'd generally prefer, and so I would want to draw it. Heat it evenly to about 400 F, remove from heat, and let it air-cool back down to room temperature. Polish to remove scale, and enjoy.