help

by **phoenixtears43** » 12 Mar 2005 21:17

quench them????? what is that?

by **master in training** » 12 Mar 2005 21:26

there are so many posts on making lockpicks, you only have to type something like "make picks" in the search and you'll get loads of info, just read a few threads and you'll soon find a detailed answer to your question.

i'll give you one hint though, if you're making picks using a grinder, or a dremel or anything similar, quenching is VITAL. :wink:

by **zekeo** » 12 Mar 2005 23:15

Yes, I know it's annoying when people don't search before asking questions, but isn't it easier to type "quenching is dipping your pick in water" than to tell phoenix to search?

By the way, quenching is dipping your pick in water as you're working it.

by **digital_blue** » 12 Mar 2005 23:33

Feed a man a fish / teach a man to fish.
Enjoy your meal.

db

by **master in training** » 13 Mar 2005 7:35

the whole thing of searching is that you normally find out a load of other things you didnt know before you searched, like you could search for quenching but find out loads of safety tips, or ideas for picks.

by **phoenixtears43** » 13 Mar 2005 13:58

thanks ,zekeo, i didnt even think to do that, dip them in water, i already made 4 picks, if i dont quench them, will they break in the lock?, ill be sure to search that...

by **phoenixtears43** » 13 Mar 2005 14:05

i searched, and somewhere on this sit it sais not to let them get hot enough that they hiss in the water, but when i was grinding, they didnt get that hot. my picks seem strong, i dont think they will snap, or i hope they wont. why search on google if it just brings me back to lockpicking 101?

by **phoenixtears43** » 13 Mar 2005 14:31

i was wrong, they did get hot

by **master in training** » 13 Mar 2005 16:59

i think a general sort of rule is, if they're warm to the touch with bare skin, they're at the sort of highest heat they want to be getting too, quench them then, if they get too hot they get really brittle and snap with the slightest bit of pressure.

if your picks to hot to the point of discolouring (they turned blue and other colours) it may help to search for tempering (i think thats the word, im not 100%), this is the process of adding the strength back into them, its not quick or easy, but will certainly help them not to break. i think the idea is basically to heat them up then let them cool down slowly, but you will have to check. if you need information about picks, a great place is Zeke's website, look for the forum with a subject along the lines of new http, enter author as zeke* if you're having trouble.

failing all that, just PM me and i'll try and sort out any more detailed questions or anything. you could add me to msn as well if you have it.

~ Master in Training ~

by **monkeE** » 13 Mar 2005 23:06

Tempering picks is actually really easy, if you have the right tools. Because of the flat nature of a pick, the heating goes really fast. The basic idea is when you heat carbon steel to red hot (actually glowing), and then cool it off really fast, you make the metal really really hard. If you heat it to red hot and let it cool slowly, like in the air, it anneals, or becomes soft. The only trick is, if you harden the steel, you better temper it, or release the pressure caught within the metal. This is done by first hardening by heating to red hot (butane lighters can sometimes work for this). Then dunk it in cool water. The metal is extremely brittle at this point, so don't even try to bend it if it gained a twist during the dunk. Then, the skill part comes in. Lightly sand off the top layer of carbon that formed from the dunking, and then reheat the metal to a light blue or maybe light brown color. Then, let it cool off in the air. The blue color gives a more springy temper than brown. I apologize if this post is really hard to understand, but I hope to finish and post a tempering manual sometime soon.

-monkeE

by **DanArgent** » 14 Mar 2005 8:34

yeah we should make a tempering thread. One of my other hobies is blacksmithing. I have a forge and anvil and such in my back yard. I find using a propane torch is fast and easy for hacksaw blades. The hacksaw blades that I use are about 4% carbon. So just like you said you heat them up to a nice cherry red and quench. This will be hard unless you have a high heat sorce like a forge or blowtorch. If small white sparks start apearing on the surface then you are going too hot, this is little bits of carbon lighting up. After quenching there is a flaky layer of black material, this is high carbon consentration steel that is really brittle, it is called scale. If the water is pure when you quench, you should be able to get the scale off with steel wool and it is pretty easy. With larger chunks of metel you just wack it with a hammer or on the side of the forge and this shakes most of it off. Then you take it up to a dull red and let it air cool. If you are really interested in getting the best results (like tempering a sword or something) you put a type of insulating clay all around it and suspend it. This makes it cool -really- slowly and results in extreamly consistent material strength. One word of warning, when you quench, make sure you quench the entire thing rapidly. If one part is left out of the water you will get a line where the temperature change was different and it will be very weak. You can recognize this line because it is slighly rainbow hued. If you have to have one part out of the water (like a sword tang that you are holding) then you move the entire piece of metal up and down in the water very rapidly to spread out the difference in cooling rate. Most of that is irrelavent for making picks, but you guys might be interested. Also, I have seen hacksaw blades with as high as 6% carbon, the technique veries for different concentrations.

by **digital_blue** » 14 Mar 2005 8:54

DanArgent wrote:yeah we should make a tempering thread.

Here's a few for starters....

http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=5898&highlight=tempering
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=5047&highlight=tempering
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=2532&highlight=tempering
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=1023&highlight=tempering

db

by **phoenixtears43** » 14 Mar 2005 21:14

thanks, i better try that tempering thing, i have a blowtorch, and my snake rake broke alredy!

by **Guesss** » 14 Mar 2005 22:12

you are all missing the obvious advice. pyro made a great video on making picks. search that out. it is either in a sticky or a faq but searching will find it. and if you haven't figured it out don't google the site has a search on it.

by **phoenixtears43** » 15 Mar 2005 15:25

i alredy saw the video, thanks

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