Tension tool for lever padlocks?

[Solomon]

I picked up a Squire 440 the other day, and want to make some tools to pick it with. I haven't got 80 quid lying around to buy a set of Dangerfield picks, but I'm sure with a bit of help I could rustle up a makeshift version to do me in the meantime.

The picks themselves aren't an issue; not sure what the upstand height should be although trial and error will sort that out. It's mainly the tensioners I wanna focus on, so if anyone has experience with lever padlocks and can give a bit of insight into the kind of things I could use to tension it with, it'd be legendary.

Thanks in advance, everyone! This is a lovely little lock, different from what I usually buy, so I'll be excited as all hell when I get it picked.

EDIT TIME!

Here's what I have so far... I took a tensioner I made for an old mortice lock ages ago and made it more, um, padlock-friendly:





And here it is in the lock:



Forgive the grubby nails. I'm gonna cut those beasts after I finish this post; they're a real sight. Anyhoo, my question now is this... how do I know if I'm actually on the bolt or not? I looked into the keyway and can see the lever pack; my knowledge when it comes to lever locks it pretty shoddy so I'm not sure if I'm applying tension to the bolt or not. Here's a look into the keyhole:



You can see 3 of the 4 levers here, I'm guessing the bit at the back is where I need to be applying tension? I don't have a pick wire thin enough to get at the levers so I can't really test it just yet. Gonna work on that after I cut my man-beast nails.

[barbarian]

Not sure if this will help, these seem to be a popular target on YouTube. Here are a couple of videos where you can see the tools and technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rg08dNUY-4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtIw_wSk ... re=related

[Solomon]

Cheers barb! Can't tell much from those particular vids, but I had a scout about and sneekypeeks has a couple on lever padlocks which really helped. Looks like I'm tensioning the right part, all I need to do now is make a pick wire - the coat hanger is way too thick to manipulate individual levers so I'll need to get some thinner (and stronger) wire. From what I can tell, the bolt should be the same thickness as the levers, so I'll be making a new tensioner while I'm at it.

I'll pop into town and get some piano wire on monday. I heard 8 or 10 gauge should do the trick, but I'm not sure which is best... probably safest to go with 8 for both tensioner and pick, but I'd like to know what you guys think.

I'll probably make a tensioner in the same style as what I've made already, any thoughts on the design? Personally I'm quite fond of it, looks pretty good and it seems it'll work like a charm if I make a thinner one. Should be nice and comfortable to use aswell.

[Solomon]

I hate to double post, but here goes. I asked for some advice over on lp101 so as not to clog the boards here up with my questions, but it seems to be very slow over there recently... I got myself some lever padlock picks, and can't for the life of me figure out the right amount of tension for this sucker. Should I be starting light and adding more as each lever is set or what? I've been experimenting a good bit and don't seem to be getting anywhere.

From the videos I've seen, when the lock is successfully picked it's obvious that very heavy tension was being used... but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean that this amount was maintained from start to finish, so I'm at a bit of a loss here. Anyone got hands-on experience with these who'd like to share?

[barbarian]

I've never picked one of these. I believe that you can use a lot of tension right from the start and feel the binding lever.

That is unless they have the anti-picking notches in the levers.

I will check and see if I can find any Ebooks that might help.

Like most things, it differs from lock to lock.
Are any of the levers false-setting? Can to feel false gates?

Do you know how the mechanism works?

[uklockpicker]

Hi, check this out .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIeoMy3c ... annel_page

You can also tension a lever lock with a spare ground down key ! , as well as other byepass methods, watch the vid - i hope it helps in some way.

[Solomon]

Like most things, it differs from lock to lock.
Are any of the levers false-setting? Can to feel false gates?

Do you know how the mechanism works?

Nothing is setting. Nomatter how much tension I apply, the levers move up and down freely with no resistance. There is no springiness to the bolt either, it feels completely solid. And yeah, I know how the mechanism works. I stripped a mortice lock down before so I know what to feel for, but this lock isn't behaving the way it should.

I took everything to a locksmith I talk to, and he reckons the tool isn't actually tensioning the bolt properly. I had this thought myself and find myself agreeing with him, I mean it's the only explanation... but it makes no sense because the pin on the tensioner is exactly the height and thickness it needs to be. I think I'll try pulling it back out of the keyway slightly and see if it tensions the bolt at a different position.

Typical that I have a few ideas in my head now, and I can't try them out until I get my tensioner back lol... my lockie got a bit heavy handed with it and bent the pin, so he had to give it to an engineer to replace it. The other tensioners are too big, obviously, so it'll be at least a few days until I get the proper sized one back again. I'll keep you guys posted.

[withoutakey]

Thanks UKlockpicker for the link to that video. Just watched it and it's very good. Very easy to make the necessary tools which can be otherwise quite expensive.

Solomon how'd you get on with your improvised pick?

[Solomon]

Thanks UKlockpicker for the link to that video. Just watched it and it's very good. Very easy to make the necessary tools which can be otherwise quite expensive.

Solomon how'd you get on with your improvised pick?

I didn't, so I bought some proper ones. That particular squire is a pain in the ass... if I open it with the key, I can pick it back to the closed position but for the life of me I can't pick it back open again. As with everything, sooner or later I was bound to come across a lock which was stubborn as hell... it just happened to be the first one I bought, lol. I've played with a few different ones since and the tools really work great, I'll have to actually buy some more and get a few vids up.

[the lockpickkid]

So, you have got the tools to work on other lever locks?? I been wondering if I should pick one up, I have seen a few lever locks around here cheap, but most were expensive.

[Solomon]

So, you have got the tools to work on other lever locks?? I been wondering if I should pick one up, I have seen a few lever locks around here cheap, but most were expensive.

Yup not the cheapest lol... worth the money if you have to pick them regularly though. Don't have any pics of them by themselves, but I do have this:



I can take more pics of the them if you like, just let me know.

[the lockpickkid]

I knew you had the tools, I was wondering if you have had consistent luck with different lever locks other than the Squire.

[Solomon]

I knew you had the tools, I was wondering if you have had consistent luck with different lever locks other than the Squire.

Just a couple of yales and a larger squire, a 660 I think. I didn't really get into picking them much, don't find them as fun as other locks but I'll get my hands on some off ebay at some point and do a vid.

[Warder]

These are pictures of a lever lock that I'm about to pick.....
I'm trying to file a thick clothes hanger and bend it....