Circular HELP!!

[mrbravo4373]

Can anyone tell me how to make a circular tension wrench? Or maybe provide a couple pictures, I'm completely stumped. Thanks everyone.

[Solomon]

It's just 2 prongs sticking out of a fancy circular housing, one goes into the top of the keyway and one goes in the bottom. You could make one by soldering 2 L-shaped bits of wire into a circular whatsit but I honestly wouldn't bother, they're not very practical. From my experience they're cool to play with and they look good but that's about it. I had mine for a short while and gave it away... the spring loaded ones are supposed to be really good in conjunction with a pick gun, but for manual picking you just can't beat a standard wrench. You lose so much feedback with the circular tools and they're annoying to control when picking out of false sets etc.

The only upside I can think of for using one is that you won't have any handles or door jambs etc obstructing the wrench, but that's what flats like the prybar were invented for.

[the lockpickkid]

It's just 2 prongs sticking out of a fancy circular housing, one goes into the top of the keyway and one goes in the bottom. You could make one by soldering 2 L-shaped bits of wire into a circular whatsit but I honestly wouldn't bother, they're not very practical. From my experience they're cool to play with and they look good but that's about it. I had mine for a short while and gave it away... the spring loaded ones are supposed to be really good in conjunction with a pick gun, but for manual picking you just can't beat a standard wrench. You lose so much feedback with the circular tools and they're annoying to control when picking out of false sets etc.

The only upside I can think of for using one is that you won't have any handles or door jambs etc obstructing the wrench, but that's what flats like the prybar were invented for. :pimpmofo:

I have often thought these would be cool to have, but then again, doesn't matter if the jamb is in the way or not, pick it any way, and just plug spin it.

[Oldfast]

One of these your talkin' bout?

If your goal is to make your own... then by all means, rock on my friend. And don't let me make it easy for you.
I'm sure it'll turn out just as good as your Jacknife pick. However, if you'd just like to have one... I have an extra.

They're not completely worthless. I actually find some decent applications for mine. Not worth $25 though IMO.
Although... lol... that didn't seem to stop me from purchasing another one when I thought I had lost me first.

[Altashot]

I wouldn't bother with them either. I tried both, rigid and spring loaded.
The spring loaded feature is not usable IMO. The spring are too heavy to be useful and they reduce the feed back.
The rigid one is a bit better on feed back but is still too bulky to apply light tension.

I just stick to the "good ol" tension wrench.
If something is in the way, I just bend it to fit.
They can be made quickly with just about anything and are easily replaced.

M.

[Ragnar]

Two quick questions:

1) How is the feel when using a tool like this? I've never handled one & am curious what the advantage is to this rather than a double (or forked) tension wrench? Especially when you have the spring type, I'm just confused how that would give you any reasonable feel.


The following is not related to the topic:

One of these your talkin' bout?
If your goal is to make your own... then by all means, rock on my friend. And don't let me make it easy for you.
I'm sure it'll turn out just as good as your Jacknife pick. However, if you'd just like to have one... I have an extra.

They're not completely worthless. I actually find some decent applications for mine. Not worth $25 though IMO.
Although... lol... that didn't seem to stop me from purchasing another one when I thought I had lost me first.

2) Ok, it's not related to circular tension tools, but where do I start in this community to have people be that awesome around me? I mean, I've seen endless threads of people shipping out security pins/locks to play with/homemade tools to review/someone made me a key reference for pinning that was printable.... I'm not asking for a handout & I have little to offer here yet. I guess I'm just finally expressing my amazement towards this community & I'm grateful to be a small part of it.

[Josh66]

I have a few tension wrenches I've made from large diameter stainless washers... Cut a slit in it, bend one side up, bend the other side down, then file/finish as needed.

You end up with a sort of half circle caltrop looking thing. It works OK for limited access, plus it takes up very little room. I don't have any pictures of them online - hopefully you can tell what I'm talking about from the description...

You can make each end a different size, and use the end not in use to turn it with.

[elbowmacaroni]

Well, I gotta say, they have always at least mildly interested me as they are kinda neat. Every time I regain a bit more of interest, and I inquire about them, I get the same response... they aren't worth it and they reduce feedback, are fiddly, etc. However, I did just have an idea for making one. If you took a gift ring and a couple pieces of music wire, one could fashion one of these up fairly quickly. Once I have some free time (I suppose that should almost be IF) I might just fab one up to play with.

But a gift ring and music wire would likely be the fastest and easiest way to make one (or among the top few fastest and easiest to make anyway) to test out to see what I thought of them. As with many things in this hobby, the opinions of others can only take you so far. There is a lot of personal preference involved.

Go ahead and make one (some?) and let us know what you think!