Errol's Novel Question

[Shrub]

I'm still trying to catch up on my lock knowledge so that I can say something intelligent about that. (And, incidentally, I started grinding down my first hacksaw blade this afternoon. But it doesn't fit into any keyways yet, so I reckon I'll have to do some more grinding ... bothers me though that it might get too weak. We shall see.)
Errol

You will be lost soon you will see

Come on lads another push or 2 and we have another, forget the book write one on how to pick locks

Seriously though i like your style of writing already, let us know as and when you have somthing published,

All the best.

[Santos718]

Also let us know if you get stuck, or need a dicription on how something works, or anything along that line. Seriously, thats waht LP101 is here for, help!

[Errol]

Hi Chrispy

Thanks for the tips about the thickness of the shaft and the cooling with water. I've read about the cooling but haven't done it yet. But I will now. I didn't know about the thickness of the shaft though. I'll watch that. I'm still finding it all a bit tricky. At the moment, I'm just clamping the hacksaw blade in a vice and doing the grinding by putting those little grinding wheels in my electric drill, so I suppose that's not the most efficent method. But I'll learn as I go. At any event, I reckon I'll be joining the ranks of the big pick-breakers!

By the way, among all the good ideas I received about a 19th century jail lock for my story, I think the curtain is going to be the most suitable and the easiest to explain. I found some more information on it at OldLocks.com to supplement what you told me. As you probably know, it's at:

http://www.oldlocks.com/lockpicking.htm

Thanks again for telling me about it. (There's been so much, though, I think I must use some more of the information about old locks later.)

Hi Jimmie
Yes, boy, what a story! I came across it earlier but forgot to bookmark it. So thanks for the reference. It's amazing to see how innovative those guys were. I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing.

Errol

[Shrub]

Errol,

As a tip, try and clamp the drill in the vice instaed of the work,

Yes the vice will shunt a lot of the heat away but once the local area gets warm the work can quickly overheat,

You can keep dabbing a wet cloth on the work but it would be a lot better to be able to dunk it in a bucket of cold clean water every few seconds,

You will be able to have a lot more control over the cuts being made as well,


Have you thought what materials and where from your character gets them?

A pick could be hardened by heating with a candle and then quenched with spit,

Im not so sure what materials you would get in a cell of that era as they were totally differant to what we have today, i dont know what your character has done but i thought prisoners were chained up all day on being removed for torture, he would also be desease ridden and very weak,

I could be totaly wrong and way off the mark but only some ideas.

[helix]

Errol, I like you.

We have some things in common.

I admire your 'Dean Koontz-iness' study.

Although I am not a big fan of his style, I'd have to
say that his novels are so accurate that it is creepy.

This he achieves by doing the neccessary studies
before he writes and not by hoping that his audience
just 'buy it'.

PM me, I have something that you may be able to use.

[Chrispy]

Errol, I like you.

Uh oh, Santos is going to have a field day. Let's get pausable!