Plastic keys!?

[erehwesle]

Well, you might just have a point there. I'm interested to know how it turns out, particularly as it may be a nice way to work car keys, which are, to me, rather opaque.

[jason]

Can we go slightly off topic? What were you doing looking in her purse and did she know?

[mckutzy]

i happin to work in plastics, and i think that plastic key card is made of ABS or a harder PS. a better candidate would be a polycarbonate like Lexan. ABS or PS can be used like a key but it would have a minimal life and used only a few times be fore it broke or wore out, like what this is intended for

[capt.dunc]

i've heard of plastic keys for impessioning, or rather two part keys. the bottom section cut from a brass or steel key and used for strength when turning the lock, and the upper section of plastic because it's quicker and easier to file. i've never tried it since i've not come across a lock with a simple key way, for most locks in the uk you'd need to put a bend in the plastic lengthways to fit, which would be a pain using the tools in the average garage.

[capt.dunc]

i've just had a thought, it may work on wafer locks, since they tend to have less restrictive keyways. i think i've got an old double sided wafer lock in a box somewhere, there goes my afternoon enjoying the sun.

[raimundo]

Most little cheap wafer/disc locks open with the first stroke of a well sanded diamond pick and light tension. it has been so long that I cannot remember any of these standing its ground. I don't consider them real locks. but some wafer locks can hold up, gmbriggsandstratton, illionisduo, greenleaf, and various automotive locks, but most disc locks on vehicles are easy. That said, I don't use commercial picks, my picks are thinner and well sanded, so I am not working with the handicap of commercial picks.

[plot]

plastic keys are a 1 use type of deal for when you get locked out of your car... a better way is to insert the plastic key so it sets the lock, then use something ELSE to turn the cylinder... not the actual plastic key itself, so no pressure is ever put on the key.


on another note, Western Auto is the only place in the midwest that used to sell plastic keys... and they are long gone, anyone know of any franchise that still cuts these things?

[capt.dunc]

plastic key blanks for impressioning seem to work. i tried it out on a wafer lock using a bit of a czech phone card with a metal support section. the marks left were smooth across the filed plastic, helped in part by the lock not being new and clean, and the wafers leaving wide marks. i'll strip a pin cylinder down and remove the key way wards to see how well pin tips will mark. but it won't solve the main problem in the uk, which will be shaping the plastic to fit the keyway. and i know the wafer was an easy pick, but i was the only lock i had kicking about with an unrestricted keyway.

[Sabin37]

Would it be possible to heat up a lock and melt the bitting into a plastic key? Disregarding the fact that the melted plastic might get stuck inside the lock, it seems reasonable.

[vector40]

I'm not sure if it would be an advantage. If you made it soft and impressioned it deeply, the blank wouldn't come out; the pins would get caught. And if you didn't make impression very deeply at a time, it's not any advantage anyway.

[Sabin37]

If I impressioned it all the way or really deep the first time, do you think I would be able to bend the key around the pins? I know if I pulled straight out, it would get stuck because the cuts wouldn't have any angles on them.
How long does it take a person with a lot of experience to impression a key?

[HeadHunterCEO]

I THINK LEAD WOULD IMPRESSION BETTER THAN PLASTic

lead key blades would be weak

[digital_blue]

How long does it take a person with a lot of experience to impression a key?

Someone experienced in impressioning can do it in 5 to 10 minutes consistently.

db