vibratory electro pick modified for making impressions on ke

[rai]

Ive been trying to impression a tiny M3 master key blank on a bike cable, not a very secure lock but I want to key this thing, one blank is ripped off at the shoulder, the second is twisted there, but the impressions Im finding with a ten power loop are sometimes not even there.
I have used the vise grip and bind bump method, that I learned in the early 1970's I have used the screw driver through the hole on the key bow to bind and a small hammer to bump, and even older method and I have used the bind and jerk out method that the europeans like so much.
Im just not getting the kind of marks i like to see before I file.

the hand method is too rough for these tiny keys,

If I owned on of the picking power tools that spank the pins into submission, I would try to find a way to mount the key blank on the end of that and see if it could make some credible marks,
It would be less likely to bend and break the blank, and could probably make the marks just by hammering away on the blank, in a short stroke that would not be likely to break blanks like using a vise grip plier can.

any of you guys out there want to try that, fit a blank on a pin spanker and see if its the solution to rapid and clear marks on a keyblank for impressioning.
just a suggestion Im hoping someone will try and then show us if it works....
I get ideas, I don't follow through on them all....
this thing is feasible, I just dont own a vibrator of limited stroke to try it out

[Oldfast]

Hmmm. Certainly an interesting thought Rai.

[mastersmith]

Rai, It's a little of topic, but, have you tried picking it and reading the pins? That would get you close and all you need is to transfer that info to the blank and impression it in to finish it. Your idea for the electric impressioner sounds intesting. Since those picks work on an "arc" motion, would that create a problem for the blank in the confines of a keyway?

[rai]

I did that several times, the first pin was deep cut, (long pin) then the second was very shallow, the third medium and forth was very deep again.
I was impressing it again last night, didn't finish, didn't break a blank either, just couldn't see marks to file. couldn't make such marks,
I think that the small size of the keyblank with that deep cut near the shoulder was part of the breaking off problem,
If im not getting marks I always pick the lock and read the pins, it just wasn't helping on this one. the lock was on a master bike cable, and picking proved that it only turns one direction so that limited the possibility of marks made with CCW binding, it could only be worked clockwise. its my believe that the binding force is and the marking force were acting together to rip off blanks although I think I was getting close. its hard to hold this in the hand while binding and bumping and at the same time control the force so as not to break,

anyway they do make impressioning tools to grip the key, I think a tool could also go kinetic and do some of the marking and binding. I think this is something that could be solved by a power tool. one of the things a kinetic tool can do better than hands would be to stop the force within limits so that the over pressuring that breaks key blanks could be better controlled.
certainly the auto pick is limited in its stroke by the design of the tool as well as the limits imposed by the keyway,
Im more interested in the concept of a tool that I know could be made that would do the marking with many more strikes that what anyone uses by hand and it could also apply the binding force briefly and at the exact right time.

More interested in the idea of an impressioning power tool being invented by someone with the right abilities and tools to make one than in just getting a key for this cablelock, the lock is only mentioned because it inspired the idea

[oldbiscuit]

Rai, I had a similar experience years back with a small padlock. I think the springs are just to soft to give a good impression. I started by filing the key edge to a thin sharp tapered edge. The pins left a very clear mark. After getting it to work I simply transferred the cuts to an uncut new key. It worked for me, you might give it a try if all else fails, Mark

[rai]

I will try that, the first blank started with a knife edge, but not a thin one, kinda like this ^ I suppose I could try doing what I have done before but not on this one, and that is to use the fourth cut rattail I use at a 45 degree angle to carry the knive edgeing down as the impressions go down deeper into the blank.
Good idea Oldbiscuit
Thanks.

[oldbiscuit]

Rai, I did that the same way, Just forgot to mention it. As I continued to file the cuts, I kept them at a knife edge. Mark