Made a few things today

[Squelchtone]

Today I had a good day so I made a few things...
Practice lock made with dremel and file
http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s64 ... fw08m1.jpg

Pins made with drill and dremel
http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s64 ... ashswf.jpg
http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s64 ... tyzrsi.jpg

Made my first key from impressioning
http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s64 ... w1awvc.jpg
http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s64 ... 6vde7t.jpg

Not the best but I learned how to impression a key and it worked on my very first one... Too bad it was the only blank I had as I have a lot more locks that need keys made.

Is impressioning on a double sided wafer lock as easy as pin? I have some Slaymakers that are fun to pick but no keys.

I home the images come out..

UnlockingBoredom

[UnlockingBoredom]

Thanks for the Edit Squelchtone.... Geeze it seems like I need a lot of editing from you in my posts

[Divinorum]

Nice work man. Those pins look like a good time haha. Props on the cutaway and the impressioning job. Making a cut away by hand takes dedication and a successful impression first try is no easy feat. It probably took me 4 or 5 attempts to get that right at the very least.
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[EDIT: testing something with spacing in your signature line - Squelchtone 11:46am EST]

[KPick]

Oh the pins though. I love them. I remember when I made my first pins. They were funky and varied in patterns all the way through the lock. I wish I would of had a couple of pictures taken of them so I could show you.

Nice lock and you did a good job at making the pins visible. For a dremel its pretty good, and I know how hard it is to use a dremel because well... I've broken about a dozen to 2 dozen grinding discs trying to do metal work like that.

[deolslyfox]

Try chucking the longer pins up in your drill and use various needle files to cut shapes.

Pressing down hard with a box cutter is a good was to make serrations. Running the drill backwards helps as well.

Good work!!

[UnlockingBoredom]

I have been looking all over for needle files but cant find any around where I live (probably not looking in the right places!) and I didnt think of trying a box cutter to cut serrations.. I will have to try that when my hands are able to take the pressure.

[GWiens2001]

Any hardware store, or even Harbor Freight, will have them.

Gordon

[Squelchtone]

Gordon's right, I got this set of General brand files for $10 bucks at Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/General-Tool ... /100572556

fill in your profile so we know where you're from, we can then tell you stores to go to for tools and other useful locksport supplies. =)

Squelchtone

[UnlockingBoredom]

Thanks for the tip on where to get the files.. I picked up a set at Lowe's yesterday and have been inpressioning my key-less locks.
I have made 11 keys now for Master locks and 1 for a Quickset. I was doing it the hard way until today when I went to the locksmith to get some more M1 keys and told him that I was impressioning some old locks I lost the keys for. He asked if I knew how to pick locks.. When I told him yes, he said to open the lock and hold the plug turned and look in at the pins and then take a pick and see how the pins differ in heights.

Boy did that help!!! now instead of taking an hour and a half to make a key.. I made 3 keys tonight while listening to the TV and it took maybe an hour and a half total to do it.

I will have to post pictures of the keys and locks when I get the camera charged again.. but dont laugh at how bad they look, all I cared is that they open the locks.

[Squelchtone]

Thanks for the tip on where to get the files.. I picked up a set at Lowe's yesterday and have been inpressioning my key-less locks.
I have made 11 keys now for Master locks and 1 for a Quickset. I was doing it the hard way until today when I went to the locksmith to get some more M1 keys and told him that I was impressioning some old locks I lost the keys for. He asked if I knew how to pick locks.. When I told him yes, he said to open the lock and hold the plug turned and look in at the pins and then take a pick and see how the pins differ in heights.

Boy did that help!!! now instead of taking an hour and a half to make a key.. I made 3 keys tonight while listening to the TV and it took maybe an hour and a half total to do it.

I will have to post pictures of the keys and locks when I get the camera charged again.. but dont laugh at how bad they look, all I cared is that they open the locks.

I think though that this stops being "impressioning" when you take the plug out of the lock and look at the pin heights and then just file the blank to match the pins. I'm not sure what that would be called... hand filing a key? but yeah, as you realized, if you can take the lock apart it becomes much easier to originate a key. Impressioning a working lock that is locked is a thrilling feeling. It never gets old =)

Here's how I did it, I put blank in vice and I slipped plug with key pins over the blank, see which ones stuck out, slipped the plug off, filed a little, put the plug back on until all pins were flush at the shearline.

[GWiens2001]

Decent looking key, Squelchtone. The angles are not too steep, and like the rounded peaks, too.

Agree, it is not impressioning, since you are not making/reading any marks. It is filing a key to me as well.

Gordon

[1mrchristopher]

Sounds like he isn't disassembling, he's reading the picked lock, much like one reads wafers. Not impressioning, but impressive!

[UnlockingBoredom]

Sounds like he isn't disassembling, he's reading the picked lock, much like one reads wafers. Not impressioning, but impressive!

Yeah, at first I was impressioning with a closed lock (well most of the keys I made were from closed locks) but after the locksmith said to pick it, them with the plug turned you can run a pick across the pins and judge what the cuts should be. After I run the pick across the pins a few times I write on a piece of paper what I think the pins are. I then cut the depths on the key and finish it up doing the normal impressioning method if needed. It makes making a key for a lock much faster..