turning a picked lock without a plug spinner

[capt.dunc]

i'm sure that many people here, having been told that you can turn a plug passed it's relock point with a spinner but not by hand have tried to be really fast, surely "you" can turn it fast enough by hand. if your lock has picked the wrong way and your spinner has just broke then try this, it works about 50% of the time for me. turn the cylinder to 1 or 11 o' clock depending which way you're going, insert a good weight turning tool, and use a 16 inch bendy stick to hit the end of it as fast as you can, don't flinch and follow through on your stroke.

[vector40]

Err. A bendy stick?

[Mad Mick]

Bendy stick
n.
1. A long slender piece of wood, especially:
a. A branch or stem cut from a tree or shrub.
b. A wand, staff, baton, or rod.

bendy stick (ben-dee-stik), bendy stick·s (pl)

application.
Typically, a 16 inch lenth of pliable wood is preferred, so as to be out of arms' reach.

method.
As a scotsman is observed to be bending over, the bendy stick is used to gently lift up the back of his kilt to determine whether, or not, he is actually cheating.

[hzatorsk]

I've stuck a matching cut key (like a bump key) into the lock about a quarter of an inch (sometimes the first pin won't let the key past it if the 5 cut is too high).

Holding the key at about 20 degrees before it relocks in such a way that 'snapping' your finger will rapidly move the key through the relocking point...

...I can usually spin a plug past the pins 8 outta 10 times.

[raimundo]

I have not tried this, but reading the thread it occured to me, you could put a soft piece of wire in and pack it against the pins with a hard diamond or hook and then put another in and pack it until you have three or four of these in there, and then try to flip the lock fast before the bending of the soft wire starts to work against you as it is pushed out of shape again.

[cat2488]

that's a very creative idea, i'm going to have to try that!
definately sounds like it would work.

-Kyle

[Chucklz]

I've had reasonable luck with LONG tension wrenches and a very strong rubber band. Nothing too fancy, but its nice to know that in a pinch, one of your long wrenches can really be helpful.

[Hojo]

How do you break a plug spinner...

Most spinners, or "Flip-its", have a really simple construction and you can just put them back together...

[capt.dunc]

the souber plug spinner has a flat metal tang down it's length, this gets twisted along it's long axis to provide the spin, because it get used in both directions eventually metal fatigue takes it toll, they sell spare blades, but if you're at a clients door when it goes and i guess that if you're clumsy you could drop it and break the tip section.

[toomush2drink]

The souber tool is easily repaired on site with a wiper insert or sweeper bristle.Mind you after getting stuck on a door with a broken spinner and a lock that would only pick the wrong way i always carry a spare spiner and wiper blades now and just ordered a dino plug spinner for good measure

[justjulius]

im sure everyone carries a cordless drill with them so for arguments sake lets say that you have one of these. now i am going out on a limb here but if you have a#2 pencil break it off so its about 2 to 3 inches long and put it in the drillwith the eraser and out an eraser that is brand new should be cut befor hand down to about an eigth of an inch if it is too long i think the torque of this project will break it now take a piece of tape and double side it and put it on the part of the lock that you are trying to spin (so that the tape is only on the part that spins) now get the drill up to full speed in the direction that you want the lock to spin and push the eraser firmly on the tape and presto the lock will do what you need
sorry for the elementart explination but i am new and this is just a theory if anyone tries this let me know if it works

[Chrispy]

A small chisel or file that fits into the keyway and has a round handle. Put chisel/file blade in as far as it will go and rub hands together as fast as possible (kinda like the method of starting a fire using two sticks, get what I mean with the rubbing hands together part?)

[vector40]

Just as a thought, if you've got something like the Rytan spinner -- something that uses a flat blade for torque -- and it breaks, you might be able to take out what's left of the blade and hold it with, oh, two pairs of pliers -- insert the tip, hold it steady with one pair just behind the lock, then twist the back with another pair, then release the forward pair? The device itself is just a method to wind up and release the rotational force easily and quickly, so it stands to reason that you can do it another way if you have to.

[Wolf2486]

I once used a slinky and it worked pretty well. I just bent out a part of the slinky and turned it until it felt tight, put it in the lock, and, much to my surprise, it worked. Unfortunately, however, if you wind too tight the slinky malfunctions and its a mess to fix it...

[fixer]

The normal reasons for using a plug spinner are :-

a) you picked the lock the wrong way by accident

b) the lock would only pick the wrong way

Problem 'a' is solved by more knowledge of the lock and the way they turn.

Problem 'b' is inherent in the way that lockpicking works and even the best picker sometimes has to pick the wrong way.

With any spinner, the whole idea is to rotate the plug faster than the springs can push the pins into the plug and lock up the cylinder again.

--
Fixer