The One GE's Golden Home Brews

[TheOneGE]

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=5024 My previous home brew topic, all the rest will originate from here.

Hate to start off with yet another fail but hey at least it's good practice. Situation is I just got a brand new dremel and my first project was to make a cutaway of the famous Master N. 140 and then a video of me picking it. Well let's just say, no way Jose. I cut a little too low and messed up a portion of the warding which caused the pins to sit improperly. And can't forget the lining of the bible walls. You'll notice in the pics below a lateral cut across the top of the bible, the explanation behind that is; when I was cutting away the outer layer of material I went to high and weakened the bible's top portion and exposed the top allowing the spring to slide out. To correct this I made that cut and took an old American key and sliced it up to slide in there to be a hat for the springs. It would have worked out nicely but all hell broke loose first. I had fun to beat the man, and they were all spool pins except for their cousin who got back from spool fat camp and joined the gang. My next project is a new military American lock I'm picking and once it's picked I'm gonna polish it up real nice and return it to the shop I borrowed it from so look forward...damned !!


















There's that metal piece I was telling you about.

[piotr]

That is thoroughly mutilated!

Even with a milling machine, making a cutaway out of a padlock that is still in one piece is really difficult. The usual approach is to drill out the pin stack plugs (and optionally the cylinder retaining pin to remove the plug) so that you have a hollow padlock body to mill. Then when you are finished milling you put it all back together. When you try and mill a padlock (or cylinder) that is intact, one slip of the end-cutter/burr/grindstone and you destroy a pin stack or the plug. Also because the springs are always under tension -- even when the key is not in the lock -- they tend to press against the wall of their chambers, they bow outwards in one direction. This means that as you grind down the wall of the pin chamber if the the spring is bent towards the wall you are grinding away you will catch the spring and destroy it. Don't ask me how I know all this

If you succeed in making a cutaway out of a Master #140 and
(a) it still works;
(b) it holds together (without elastic bands and/or gaffer tape); and
(c) the springs and pins have not been touched by the burr/grindstone

I will buy it from you.

[Laporte]

It sure is mutilated! I love it.

It makes me smile because it looks like something I would cook up given a dremel, a Master 140 and the burning desire to create a cutaway padlock.

And also, I smile because you went for it and tried it, the outcome not withstanding.

Good for you. Like you said, at the very least it's good practice.

[Oldfast]

GE, nice 1st attempt, and thanks for sharing those pics. And, might I add, rarely does my 1st attempt with ANYTHING seem to turn out too well LOL. Often times, nothing results except knowledge/lessons to apply to my next try.

Keeping in mind, I've only tried my hand at one cutaway myself, I'd like to throw out a few suggestions. Basically what Piotr mentioned. I would think it's next to impossible to make a still functioning cutaway when the guts are still in it. By removing all the internal workings (springs,pins,plug) you can make your cuts freely without fear of killing any springs or pins.

viewtopic.php?p=40275#p40275 By removing some of the material from the edge of the lock you'll begin to see the five chambers. Notice the fifth chamber in the picture, that I did not remove (but you can see the circular outline of it). As you already know now, that chamber contains the retaining pin. Take that out, and you can then remove the plug.

I'd suggest working on the plug seperately while it's outside of the lock. Same with the body... make your cuts on that while the plug is out of it. Make your cuts for the 1st chamber on each of the plug and body seperately, then put them together to see how they align and function. Once satisfied, move on to the next chamber. Also, keep in mind, the widths of your cuts cannot be much more than half the total diameter of the chamber itself. Make them too wide and the pinstacks will not be held in place, or, will have excess movement within the chamber that was not there originally.

Once finished, you could seal the chambers off in a number of ways I suppose. Make a "cap" of some sort that covers all five. Or, maybe you could thread the top of each chamber to recieve a fastener. Again, I'm not real familiar with the process, so these are just some thoughts. Others, I'm sure, could give some more useful suggestions.

Thanks again for sharing, and I really hope you post some more pics of your next attempt.

[TheOneGE]

Thank you for your feedback it makes me happy to get advice from others which helps me learn. Oldfast that was some amazing stuff you got there and I think I know a new way to approach this now which won't involve such 'mutilation'. Question; what did you use to drill your holes and make your cuts? I'm having trouble with precision with using a dremel and all but it takes much more practice than I've done; I kind of have an idea of how, but how would you thread such a small hole to affix a cap to it?
Whenever I get this American picked(or have time to pick it) I'll be sure to post some shiny new pics.

[piotr]

Thank you for your feedback it makes me happy to get advice from others which helps me learn. Oldfast that was some amazing stuff you got there and I think I know a new way to approach this now which won't involve such 'mutilation'. Question; what did you use to drill your holes and make your cuts? I'm having trouble with precision with using a dremel and all but it takes much more practice than I've done; I kind of have an idea of how, but how would you thread such a small hole to affix a cap to it?
Whenever I get this American picked(or have time to pick it) I'll be sure to post some shiny new pics.

You usually use a drill press to drill the holes because it allows you to drill down straight and it also allows you to control the depth of the drilling so you don't go too far.

To create the threads you use a device called a "tap". They come in all sorts of diameters and look like a cross bewteen a bolt and a drill bit. For a lock as small as the Master #140 you want the mini taps i.e. <2mm. The mini tap and die kits look like this:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/M1-0-M2-5-30 ... 0471493505 The taps are the drill bit like things and you fit those to the supplied wrench and turn it by hand. The circular things with circle shapes inside them are thread dies they let you cut threads into cylinders or rods. You can buy taps individually. Match your tap measurements to your grub screw measurements for a perfect fit.

Hope this helps.

[uklockpicker]

Nice attemp, its best to take your locks apart it gives you a good understanding when picking

[Oldfast]

Considering I've never used a tap in my life..lol... I'm glad Piotr jumped in on that.

I hear ya on the difficulty of using a dremel with any degree of precision! What I did was place the lock in a vice. Then found something (paint can) that was a few inches lower than the lock. Resting my arm on this gave me some control. To avoid cutting at an angle, it seemed to help me when I looked at the cutting disc from above. From that angle I was able to keep the disc at least semi-perpendicular to the floor.

Drawing or etching a line prior to cutting helps. Also, I started each cut at the top of each hole to ensure I was centered on that chamber, then proceeded downward. I haven't had any mishaps yet, but those cutting discs are awfully brittle.. I could see one shattering into a billion pieces. So some safety glasses wouldn't be a bad idea, considering the optimal viewpoint when cutting is usually directly in the line of fire.

Again, something I haven't done myself, but could be another option for you: I've seen some beautiful cutaways done with a hacksaw and an assortment of hand files. More time obviously, but much more control as well.