First Impression

[DCT]

Beautiful work as usual!
Earlier you mentioned marking the pins with sharpie on the 5 pin master 15.
It sounds great but what does that mean exactly?
I'm sure I'm about to have a Doh moment but its worth it to learn something!

[GWiens2001]

Beautiful work as usual!
Earlier you mentioned marking the pins with sharpie on the 5 pin master 15.
It sounds great but what does that mean exactly?
I'm sure I'm about to have a Doh moment but its worth it to learn something!

Gordon

[DCT]

The saga continues, I ran out of locks to impression so my local lockie gave me this Master 15 (5 Pin) with a few blanks to make him a key for it. 5 pins was not much different except I really had to watch at which part of the file I was using because I could have easily went over 2 marks if I would have used the thickest part of the file. Wanted to try reading of the pins before impressioning so I picked it and with a sharpie marker, I marked each pin then turned the paper over which yielded a close copy of what the key would look like.

Thanks Gordon,
How is the reading of the pins taken, like impressioning?
Is it just the spacing?
I've seen Papa Glebs key drawings and suspect the answer is staring me in the face.
I'd like to mention in advance that everyones patience is greatly appreciated:)

[Papa Gleb]

DCT, don't sweat it mate. There are no stupid or obvious questions. It's a learning process that we all went or are still going through.

I'm not sure what Gordon means by that unless to get the marks on that windshield wiper insert then transfer to the key.

What I do is stick the blank in at first pass and once I get a mark, I draw a line on the blank itself so at any given point I know if I'm going off pin when filing. Usually as far i my experiences go, first pass has given me all pin marks so I'll mark them all and continue. On high low cuts you could go into the next pin if using the thickest part of the file and with the lines I know where I need to stop or go further.

As for reading, you pick the lock first then take you pick and from back to front slid the puck taking note of the difference from pin to pin. You can also estimate how deep the first cut (last pin) based on how high or low that pin is and front there move to the next and adjust accordingly. This is very very helpful especially to beginner like myself as it gives me a back up check during impressioning. Should I feel I made a mistake, I can always refer to the drawing. So far 8/9 drawings have been accurate to the cuts. Keep in mind this is an estimation so depending on how much time you spend decoding determines how accurately your drawing will come out.

Another vital part is going slow. Don't rush things. There is more success impressioning for 3-4 hours but getting it right the first time than 30 minute but 10 blanks in. With ever lock you learn something new so it's all in practice.

Feel absolutely free to ask any questions you may have and do check out Oldfast's 22 or something page on impressioning. It really really helped plus MrAndyBody has 2 great videos also very helpful. And I'm sure I'm forgetting someone else's work but to be honest I'm a noob to all of this myself lol.

[DCT]

Thanks Papa Gleb!
I feel much better now;)
As I had never thought to do that while impressioning I will add it to the list of things to do!
I appreciate the detailed explanation!

[GWiens2001]

Did not have a picture of a key with the sharpie marker on it that I could find quickly. That particular wiper was being used since I had no key blanks for a tiny old Popular Mechanics suitcase padlock. So made a key using a wiper insert, only reaching from the top of the keyway down to the first ward. It worked! But anyway, that is how you mark a key blank (actually just the edge of the blade that contacts the key pins.

May be impressioning a key soon if the day stays slow, so will post pics of the prepped key blank, as well as some marks.

Gordon

[Papa Gleb]

Wow Gordon show the wiper key lol. Did you ever think to try dry erase markers? They remove easier than sharpie but might be a problem going in as the pins may take it all off before you insert the key all the way in.

[Papa Gleb]

Let me start by a huge WOW. This little Yale Eaton gave me some hell. At first attempt, I didn't realize that the blank was cutting into the plug and I had no idea that a plug could be so weak. It felt like aluminum to be honest so I had to thin the shoulders down and shorten them a bit which of course made the key weak so after I noticed it cracked from top and bottom I stopped. I took the next blank and thinned the entire key down by much to avoid the first issue plus I wanted to see how knife edging would work and I think for wafer locks that may be the best option. My understanding was that wafers will leave huge marks that you can easily see with the naked eye but this was not the case and in fact this lock left the smallest marks and not on top but on the side of the key. Another hard point was this blank. Due to the warding, the location of the marks on the blank changed. Not from tip to bow but from side to side. Another lock making me thinking I screwed something up till the end. I think the locks that give this feeling, makes it all worth it.

[GWiens2001]

Wow Gordon show the wiper key lol. Did you ever think to try dry erase markers? They remove easier than sharpie but might be a problem going in as the pins may take it all off before you insert the key all the way in.

This is before I drilled a tiny hole in the end and put it on a key ring to keep it with the lock. Don't feel like digging it out at the moment.



Putting it in the lock is easy.



Lift it into place atop the uppermost ward...



And turn...



It was one of those projects I started when at work with a lock and no blank. Have made probably a half dozen or so keys for locks using wiper inserts. Took all the pics and was going to do a writeup on impressioning when you have no blanks, with pictures showing all the steps, including marks and filing, etcetera. But don't know if there is interest.

Gordon

[Papa Gleb]

Gordon, make the write you sir!!!

[Papa Gleb]

Thank you to a great buddy Mr. Jeff, who send me a pretty big box of locks to practice impressioning on. Here are two that I already did and more to come. You guys are in for a treat as some of these locks are beautiful and rare. At least to me they are as I have never seem them.

I was thinking to start a new thread for this but decided to ask the Admin to change the title of this thread to: Papa Gleb's Impressioning Journey or something of equal meaning.

So lets beginnning:
WB Old Style Yale look alike was a breeze as you can see no crazy bitting there plus the lock was very cooperative, after I sprayed it with WD-40. Something I told myself I will not to on these old locks but I had no choice. The plug was very tight and plenty of dirty came out after I sprayed. No worries because I will give it a light clean up bath.

[Papa Gleb]

Next we have another WB numbered 622 which is in great condition. This lock wasnt too bad and the cuts on the key came out great so I am very happy with that except number 2 . Number 2 is the exact reason why I start with a light one stroke after my first pass. If I would gave given it a bit more, the impressioning might have been for nothing and I wouldnt know until the end lol. As you can also see I did go a bit off the mark line which is why there is a uncut part but I plan to fix this as I have another blank.

[Oldfast]

Very nice job on both the WBs Gleb! I'm impressed.

WB's are up there on my favorite locks list. Good ol boys they are.
I particularly like that first one ya did for Jeff. Don't see many like that.

p.s. I have many thanks to Jeff too! He's great for that. A LOT of my practice with
impressioning early on (and still today) is due to the locks and blanks he sends.
Of course, he gets a little somethin' out of it too.... Win-Win situation I'd say

[VancouverSpecial]

It was one of those projects I started when at work with a lock and no blank. Have made probably a half dozen or so keys for locks using wiper inserts. Took all the pics and was going to do a writeup on impressioning when you have no blanks, with pictures showing all the steps, including marks and filing, etcetera. But don't know if there is interest.

Gordon

Hell Yeah, make a tutorial! Your tutorials, among others, are part of the lifeblood of KP - I live for that kind of stuff.
Kind regards,
Sean

[Papa Gleb]

The story continues and yes Oldfast big thanks to Jeff or I would be at a stand still with no locks. He sure did send a very very nice bunch of locks. Some I have never seen till I got the box and the win win is fine with me any day.

Back to the story.... in that box came these 2 nice nice yale 5 pin padlocks with a standard yale (y1) keyway except its smaller than a Y1. Very nice locks and easy to work with. Banged these 2 out in a bit over an hour. The broken blank was me stupidily checking for cracks lol. I thought I seen one and decided to check how much bend is in it, to my surprise it stamped off very easily.

Now boys, the story is about to take a little twist which will explain why I havent posted anything considering I had a 5 day weekend... but I wont ruin it for you, all I will say is that i have started a little bag of broken blanks as a result of 2 very bad boys.... but lets enjoy the yales for now.