Auto locksmithing

[AUTOLOX]

Your the only person i know to date who has got the souber tibbe pick to work, kinda find it hard to believe. . I think i will stick to my safe ventures one.

the tibbe pick works great on the older tibbe locks and i have never failed to remove an ignition barrel with it, but i have never got it to work on the newer locks, you need the tension ventures pick gives.
if you have the pick read soubers instructions and have another go i bet you get the hang of it once someone shows you, you'll kick your self

[AUTOLOX]

[quote="aaalocksmiths"]in response to auto loxs on Benny and martins tibbe pick. everyone has their own opinion on this one. i use safe ventures tibbe pick i think it's fab,


sorry just reread this. i was not rubbishing ventures pick there are no doubts it is great . i was just trying to explain that it needn't cost much to start gaining entry to most cars but if you are going to take it seriously it will cost a fortune.
(on & on & on its like a never ending money pit sucking the money from my wallet, should of become an accountant, mother told me to )
sorry for any confusion

[transfer280]

Here in my area (S. Texas) wrecker drivers are called out to do alot
of the lockouts for motor clubs (AAA, ect)
99% of the time their tool of choice is the Big Easy and an air wedge.
But all of these calls, is a case where the keys are in the vehicle
The Big Esy is nice when your in a hurry and need to gain access
but what kind of image does it project to the customer, running an
"oversize coat hanger" through the window and hitting the unlock button.
I quess my main concern is the image that customer may have about
a Locksmith. Are they thinking that a Locksmith is a secondary job you
pick up for additional income or that maybe anyone can go out and buy
themselves a Big Easy and is now a Locksmith?
Before the flaming starts let me say this, I am not saying Wrecker Drivers are bad, there ar many I know that I highly respect but I have seen and heard many horror stories of Wrecker Drivers practicing some very bad buisness tactics. Second I have worked as a wrecker driver
at a towing company before and still drive a tow truck almost every day
(not for a towing company though) I deal with auto locks every day
and I am presently enrolled in a Locksmith school learning all that I can,
so somday (and I hpoe soon) I will be able to open my own Locksmith
buisness

[aaalocksmiths]

sorry never meant it to sound like i thought you were rubbishing ventures. just meant that you have a way that you are used to. like i said edens guys use this thing called a wand (i think). now i can pick a tibbe in about 10 secinds flat (decoding takes a bit longer) and i tried this wand thing, couldn't even feel the individual discs!!!!!! edens guys swear by this though so it works for them as ventures tibbe works for me.

i agree that you don't need to spend a fortune to figure these locks out but i prefer picking the locks than air bagging, normally it's quicker and looks alot better, as you say thought the tools come at a price which i think the manufacturers do take advantage of. i have made my own set of overlifters (currently at about 20 sets of keys) and cut them as i need them. it has saved me a fortune. what a basic set of overlifters is about 600 quid i think???? someone please correct me. i have supplied this extensive set to a couple of mates for a hell of a lot less than this. wheteher the high prices for auto tools keeps the guy who doesn't really know what he's doing taking work off those of us that just do auto work i don't know. lets be honest the locksmith trade as a whole is very cloak and dagger at the best of times. something i think this site is trying to stop, if we can help eachother then i don't see the problem as long as the toerags don't get hold of the info theres no problem

[toomush2drink]

I personally dont think the toerags care to be honest. There is more on this site than some of the current training courses offer and people are coming around to the idea locks can be picked but how many more still drill locks as a first option ? Some how i cant see a driller looking for lock picking sites on the internet. A curtain pick requires practice as other methods do but many want a quick fix (customers included) so out comes the drill. The people i used to sub from wanted to know how i would open this or that when i first started and where would i drill a chubb 114 , stump or gate ? They looked at me in disbelief when i said i could pick it with my pin and cam. They had never heard of one before and this is a big company with huge contracts and multiple adverts.

[aaalocksmiths]

Yeah i suppose the opportunist isn't bothered about picking locks, too much effort.

i only mentioned it as (as i told you in december) we had a spate of tradesmans vans being broken into, fords mainly, and the locks had been picked!!!! (someone had obviously got a tibbe pick) when these guys came out to their vans in the morning they were open and empty! these were vans on the drive of the guys homes. (hence why i sent you those locks toomush). (have you fitted them yet)?

[AUTOLOX]

we had a spate of tradesmans vans being broken into, fords, and the locks had been picked!!!! (someone had obviously got a tibbe pick) when these guys came out to their vans in the morning they were open and empty!

we had a spate like this,they would park there car/van next to a van,pretend to be locked out,ask the van driver if they could try his key(see if it would work)read the key (does not matter if it is transponder or not as they or after tools not the van)then go to the local cobbler and get a key cut for £5.

£5 for a van full of tools is a bargain

[aaalocksmiths]

By god the brass neck of some of these people is unbelievable. to be honest i wouldn't of hesitated to let someone try my key to see if it opened their car before i got into this game and didn't really have much of a clue on how a lock works just that it did.

the cheeky sods

[MrB]

when these guys came out to their vans in the morning they were open and empty! these were vans on the drive of the guys homes.

Surely an alarm would help here? Make sure the alarm is activated/deactivated with a separate remote and not by the door key, and you would know the instant anyone broke in to your van. They might run off with something before you got out there, but at least they wouldn't have a chance to empty the van.

[aaalocksmiths]

Most people over here rely on the factory fitted alarms.
after a friend of mine and i discussed this on the phone he suggested a remote operated house alarm (for when your at home obviously). the PIR goes in the back of the van and the rest is protecting the house. when the back door gets opened and activates the alarm the house alarm goes off and you are on your way down the stairs with a baseball bat, the toerag wonders what the hell is going on and hopefully doesn't get time to pick anything up.

i have heard of tehse nice people spiking a vehicle through the looms first and basically blowing every fuse on the vaehicle before opening the doors. no power no alarm!!!! mind you bar sealing it in a nuclear bunker under your house they will get it if they want it bad enough.

i have thought of leaving the dog in the back of the van (killer rotty) but she's afraid of the dark and would probably eat her way out overnight....

[MrB]

I know everyone relies on the factory fitted alarms for their cars, but for a trade van full of £1000's worth of stock and tools it would surely be worth investing in an aftermarket upgrade? Maybe something Thatcham approved with anti-tamper features like one of these:

http://www.covert-installations.co.uk/alarms.html

I've no idea if those particular alarms are any good, that's just the first link that Google turned up.

(Incidentally, I'm from over there, I just happen to be living over here at the moment.)

[Rockford]

Just going through planning permission for an extension to the house - wonder if I can get an underground bunker added !

What about alarms designed for sheds/garages with their own power supply, so even if the vehicle power is disrupted, the alarm is still functional ?.

I've my garage linked into the house alarm system - just need to empty it so I can get the van in.

Rockford.....

[AUTOLOX]

[quote="MrB"]I know everyone relies on the factory fitted alarms for their cars, but for a trade van full of £1000's worth of stock and tools it would surely be worth investing in an aftermarket upgrade? Maybe something Thatcham approved with anti-tamper features like one of these:

quote]

I have gained entry to loads of cars and vans in car parks,out side offices,in the street, firstly i send the owners away telling them it is a protected trade and i can not let them see what i am doing, the alarms go off,i stand there waiting for the customer to return no one has stopped or questioned me yet. what's the point of an alarm?

for your van i would recommend bloody big slam locks.

[MrB]

what's the point of an alarm?

Just that if the van is parked in your driveway overnight you will hear if the alarm goes off and go investigate.

[AUTOLOX]

what's the point of an alarm?

Just that if the van is parked in your driveway overnight you will hear if the alarm goes off and go investigate.

Yes but if you have slam locks would they try to break in in the first place?

I am not trying to be argumentative i would just sooner stop them getting in rather than chase after them they got in