Interesting, how important is the stiffness of the wire? Is the strip in a wiper blade "special"? Were I to take up the hobby and didn't have an appropriate type of welding rod (gas / tig) in the shop you can buy them one or two at a time at the welding supply.

Frosty The Lucky.

Those rods are pretty stiff and made to hold their shape so i would guess they are made of some sort of spring steel. 

The wiper strips I've fooled with (not for anything as interesting as lock picking, unfortunately) seemed to be stainless steel of some stripe.  Definitely stiff -- I'm guessing work hardened, but who knows. 

You could probably flatten a 1/16" filler rod cold and get similar dimensions and properties. But if you're like me, your wipers probably need changing anyway.

Stainless steel can be made to order for properties, from soft and flexible to knife blade hard or harder. I'll bet an old mono-steel hacksaw blade would make good picks, they can be hardened considerably or annealed. I've made exacto type blades from them in the past.

Frosty The Lucky.

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

Is the strip in a wiper blade "special"?

I think its most important characteristic is that it’s already pretty close to the desired cross section. (Hacksaw blades are similarly appealing for being already around the right thickness.) Most of the people doing this do not appear to be experienced metalworkers, and I doubt most of them even know what a tig rod is. 

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

how important is the stiffness of the wire?

Welcome to the “Should tensioning tools be rigid or springy?” debate!

She start to look like something again.

5 hours ago, JHCC said:

Welcome to the “Should tensioning tools be rigid or springy?” debate!

As I thought, a subjective opinion. From my experience using tools I'd have to vote for rigid for the better feel / sensitivity to movement, pins seating, etc.

It's coming along Gewoon, how long do you have to finish it?

Frosty The Lucky.

Should tension tools be rigid or springy? I would guess that just as with any profession, hobby, or craft that is up to the user on how they like their tool. Kind of like horn on the tong hand side or the hammer hand side we have, all about user preference. 

Gewoon, nice work. A lot more patience than i have for body work. I would have slapped in a little bondo, gave it a quick sand, then a shot of primer and called it done. 

I used to work in a custom car shop. The painter we had mixed a bunch of left over paint we had on hand to paint a mustang with once. When it was sprayed it was the color of a new penny. He then candied it with a wine fire cherry red tint in the clear coat. That was one of the most impressive paint jobs i had ever seen. The red was dark enough to cover the copper but on the corners and places the copper stood out. 

A local painter here, Shane Syx one of the best pin stripers around, has the rights to Ed Roth's work. He painted a huge Rat Fink on the side of a local Auto parts store. Pretty cool to see that coming back. 

Its now an orange and some specs. Sanding and color again. Have clearcoat as well, but see if i have the time.

Still have to install an airco and make brackets.

9 hours ago, JHCC said:

(Hacksaw blades are similarly appealing for being already around the right thickness.)

Recently had a car in where I needed to repair the roof and upper rails. They had aftermarket roof racks that had locks protecting them from removal. The owner didn't have the key but didn't want them cut or ruined. Ugh. So after some thought I tried one of the small saw blades from my pneumatic metal saw with it clamped into vicegrips I was able to jimmy the locks open, and re lock them for reassembly. 

Now THAT'S awesome! Das can pick roof racks! 

Sorry Das, couldn't help myself but there it was right in  front of me a straight line and as we all  know a straight line is my kryptonite.

Frosty The Lucky.

I know Frosty. 

Thanks Das.

It's turned out to be a good day to have something to smile about. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Picked up some discarded wiper blade splines from the auto parts store and made a “Chris Capune-style universal tensioning wrench”. This I later gave to a lockpicking friend. 

That's much longer than I envisioned, IF I have how it's used right.

Frosty The Lucky.

Here's the video whence I got the instructions. (It should be noted that having a fully equipped blacksmith shop, I used a post vise, a straight peen hammer, and an adjustable twisting wrench rather than the two pairs of locking pliers recommended herein.)

 

I later gave the tensioner to Lisa's shop manager's boyfriend, who works in cybersecurity and is also interested in locksport.

In other news, I stopped by a local locksmith and asked if they had any old or secondhand locks that they no longer need it or wanted. They were kind enough to sell me an Abus 55/60, an Abus 83/45, and a Master 81, all NOS and $5 each. Nice folks. I got the Master open later that evening, and I'm going to take a stab at the Abus 55 later today.

You used REAL metal working tools!? I only just got home and scanned some of the torsion wrench making part. Didn't turn the sound on though. Of course a guy couldn't make a video if all he posted was a dimensioned drawing and material list.

Frosty The Lucky.

Turning the sound on isn't a bad option; the fellow has a pleasant English accent that's quite relaxing to listen to.

Agreed, he is a pleasant narrator and were I going to take up the hobby I'd watch, listen, study and practice. I'd have to watch I don't know how many different pickers before I found one I clicked with.

I understand the attraction of the craft and how easy it would be to get involved. It's just not my thing.

Frosty The Lucky.

Completely understand. I enjoy watching Lisa knit, but I have no interest in learning the craft myself.

Exactly, so please keep us up to date on your progress. I'll try to control myself.

My Mother learned to knit before the great depression when it was about the only way a person could have a warm, sweater, socks, scarves, etc. and earn a little bit of money for the cookie jar. My Great Grandmother Alice or Mom to us, crocheted and sewed for much the same reason. Her love for fun was needle point and embroidery.

One of my early warm feeling memories is doing whatever in the house except eating and hearing Mother's knitting needles tapping while she carried on conversations, watched TV, played table games, etc. Pure unconscious muscle memory with a sound like someone pulling a large zipper.

When the sound stopped during a baseball game everybody knew she'd dozed off for a nine inning nap. Don't touch that dial though! She'd wake up instantly saying, "I'm watching that!" and the knitting would resume simultaneously. 

Brings back good memories. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, your mom was not napping, she was resting her eyes. 

I went to see my exwife once (she misses me, but her aim is getting better) and her husband was sitting on the couch knitting. Kind of odd seeing some redneck guy knitting. Which also brings to mind the biker in my mom's quilt guild. Big burly guy, leather and a beard. 

But hay what ever you enjoy doing. I use to be quite talented at macramé. I used to sit in Grateful Dead lots holding the strings between my toes tying knots. Selling necklaces, bracelets, and anklets with bells got me to many shows in many cities all across this country. If you ever get the chance to see a concert at the Red Rocks i highly suggest going. 

If you come to one of the social crafting evenings at Lisa's shop, you'll see all manner of folks knitting, crocheting, and spinning -- we've even had a couple of folks tatting and nålbinding -- and quite possibly a couple of guys working on their lockpicking.

I tried tatting, i found it quite difficult. My fingers just are not made for that kind of delicate work. 

Oh yeah, Mother always rested her eyes with her mouth open. As far as I know only one person put something in her mouth while she was resting her eyes. I wasn't there or too young to remember but I understand it was an energetic reaction. 

Hand skills like knitting, tatting, etc. are good for people who do heavy work, it keeps your fingers flexible and helps prevent arthritis.

Dad made jewelry and later Bunka (needle point).

Frosty The Lucky.