Makeshift Pinning Mat?

[MortimerDuke]

I just received my Maximum Security 7-Pin Easy Rekey practice lock (ordered Saturday night, arrived Tuesday afternoon- Thanks, Mr. Wizard!). Unfortunately, my pinning mat won't be here for a week. Any suggestions for a cheap, temporary mat substitute?

MD

[smokingman]

I just received my Maximum Security 7-Pin Easy Rekey practice lock (ordered Saturday night, arrived Tuesday afternoon- Thanks, Mr. Wizard!). Unfortunately, my pinning mat won't be here for a week. Any suggestions for a cheap, temporary mat substitute?

MD

I have been using a piece of industrial or commercial carpet samples/remnants for years and never got around to buying a real mat
since these work so well.
Thye bottom/backing of many such carpets is rubber and grooved.
It doesn't matter what carpet is on the top side as long as it is short pile, since the back side is used for the mat.
As long as the back side has rubber and is grooved it will work great for pins/spring holders
and is cheap,sometimes free.

[KPick]

I fold a piece of paper into an accordion fold and then I use that. If you want to use it for a mat, just fold it many times. I only use half a sheet of paper for one. I make 2 per sheet.

[YouLuckyFox]

I wear a ring on my hand in addition to my wedding band, I just take off both rings and keep key pins inside one and driver pins inside another + .

[Achyfellow]

I just received my Maximum Security 7-Pin Easy Rekey practice lock (ordered Saturday night, arrived Tuesday afternoon- Thanks, Mr. Wizard!). Unfortunately, my pinning mat won't be here for a week. Any suggestions for a cheap, temporary mat substitute?

MD

Corrugated cardboard is your best friend:



(Found that image on google, but I use the same method and it's great)

[GWiens2001]

Use that all the time. Love cardboard pinning mats.

Gordon

[MortimerDuke]

Thanks for the replies. I tried paper initially, but it is not sufficiently cat-resistant . Ring is a good idea, but I need some extra room to sort through the pins that came with the kit. Both the carpet and the cardboard are great solutions. When I saw the photo in Achyfellow's post, all I could think was DUH! I've only seen cardboard as a pinning mat in about a dozen of Gordon's posts. Just couldn't access that info when I needed it.

MB

[YouLuckyFox]

Also, at the machine shop I worked at they had these bench mats that covered all the benches and they were intended not to allow tools to fall down, they were perfect for pinning mats. You might look for a cheap deal on a bench mat with ridges at a jewelry or tool supplier (obviously my machine shops source would not be useful to you since they order them in foot by foot sections.) Here's an image of what they look like:


Kind of a lame idea but if you have a mini-ice cube tray it should serve the purpose:


Also:


Post Script: Apologies for the photo swarm, hopefully they will inspire creativity.

[mechanical_nightmare]

I seem to recall a member here who used old rubber auto floor mats. I can't remember which thread or which member, but it sounds like it should work well. I am probably going to head in this direction; LAB and Sparrow pinning mats look very functional and aesthetic, but I'm pretty sure the car floor mats can be found for free with some searching. I'm sick and tired of looking for pins that bounce off the bench and get lost on the attic floor...

[yono]

an old toyota car floor mat --rubberise(if you happen to have one) is a perfect one. goodluck.

[torontosafecracker]

they sell welcome mats that look like that (black with ridges), I have a buddy who uses it for sluicing gold but I suppose it could work.


Home Depot has them for 8 bones

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Are ... 5yc1vZbnb0

[hetz]

draw linners work well, but i think im going to order the lab mat. it looks like a really nice one. anyone have this mat that can give there input?

[IndigoChild]

I got a big piece of leather from my local leather shop. Worked awesome.

[KPick]

I got a big piece of leather from my local leather shop. Worked awesome.

Interesting. May you show me how it's used?

[IndigoChild]

Sorry. I don't have it anymore. But you can take a nail and cut the head off and hammer it flat on its side to make a pin stack tray. Better than folding up a business card. Make 10 little groves with that nail and you should be good. Just like tooling a design into a piece of leather. You know what dice rod or nail will work for your needs. The leather is super easy to clean too. Hand wipes work perfect.