Safecracking open a safe with magnet

 Opening a safe with a magnet

You're like Felix the cat with your bag of tricks!

Push-Push Cardioid Curve Latch

 

Just made a Cardioid curve push push latch with my new milling machine and drill press. The straightaway is lower than the diagonal path so the pointer can't go up the diagonal, only down it on the return.

Scrap aluminum, wd-40 as cutting fluid. Little Machine Shop manual mill.

Angles milled by just turning the rotating base machine vise and locking it down again for each angle. 

I saw This Old Tony make a similar one (though he used a CNC machine) and figured if I changed the return curve to a properly angled diagonal I could make it with my manual mill. So I did!

There is less friction that way so I could use a weaker spring.

Cardioid = heart-shaped

I did this while avoiding a cardio-workout of snow shoveling.

Happy Valentine's Day 2022!

Supra Advantage Express II real estate lock opened

 Supra Advantage Express II 

Real Estate Lock Opened 

These locks have: a big shackle to attach the lock, and a small drawer that opens and gives the real estate agent a key to the house so they can show it to potential buyers.   

These locks are digital, and though they have a removable keypad you need to update a PAID subscription service to get the keypad to actually interact with the lock. There are cool reporting functions (what agent got the key out, when they did, when they put it back, etc.). 

I have the manual, the keypad, a new odd battery for the keypad and the actual lock. No good. This is a bypass...with a hammer. 

 The lock still functioned (locked) afterward and I can do this over and over and still lock the shackle. It take a good wack or three on the side of the lock, near the top to open the shackle because it is spring retained. 

I was using a lead hammer, but one of the transparent yellow plastic headed hammers would probably work better since you're trying to basically vibrate the metal components against the spring tension to pop it open. 

Below is the mechanism for the house-key compartment at the bottom of the Supra Advantage lock. 

It is basically two metal pins (on at each end) and a winding of red lacquer-coated magnet wire. Power (probably 12 to 24 volts DC) goes through the wire and it pulls in both pins. That releases the little drawer in the bottom of the lock so you can get the house key out. 

Here is video of just about 9vDC making the pins go in and out. Higher voltage would make them go inward farther/longer time allowing the drawer to spring open.

This little drawer can be defeated by hitting the lock, near the bottom (but on the side) with a plastic headed hammer. 

One of those with the transparent yellow heads. This can for the pins (and the springs that hold them outward/locked) to jiggle around and the drawer will fall open. Or it will jam. 

There are 3 hollow split pins at the bottom edge of the lock. All those do is keep you from slamming the drawer too far shut. They have zero value when physically trying to break the lock open.

 

Padlocks, Bump Keys, Hammer loosening

I was down to a few padlocks I couldn't pick, so I tried bump keying them. Place a key inside with an orange o-ring and hit with a black plastic hammer.

I didn't have an actual bump keys (cut zig-zag with highest and lowest cuts alternating) for these particular locks, but used random keys that happened to fit in each lock.

The first was an immediate success! Another "Best" padlock opened in seconds. Tap, tap, tap and open.

The next two locks failed to open while bumping, but I must have jiggled some rust loose or something because they both opened on the first try of picking. This is after two weeks of trying to pick these locks! They're both Master Locks. 

The red one was very "crunchy" while opening. You can see the simple pick I used. After two weeks of trying, then banging with a bump key and hammer--it opened. This red one was last in line because it felt like it only had two pins (the others were stuck apparently).

If you ever have a lock you can't pick--try tapping it with a hammer (and lubricating it). It may just be rusted shut a little. If a padlock is hard to open with a key, then it's going to be impossible to pick open. If you don't have a key (like me) then you can't assume a lock is functioning well enough to be picked.

American Padlock Sparrows Bypass Driver

 

The Sparrows Padlock Bypass Driver is $7.99 as of 2020. The one named “Sparrows” is actually for American Padlock Company locks.

 

Specifically for the 700 and 1100 series. This is the Generation 2 version which is slightly better at also opening Series 10 locks.

 

The video shows how to use it to open a Series 40 lock!

 

With the pins at the bottom, insert the bypass with the “golf club head” pointing upwards. Right down the center of the keyway. It actually goes through the entire mechanism (bypasses it). Then if you angle the handle downward ever so slightly you can turn the driver clock-wise and the lock will spring open.

 

Newer American Padlocks have a disc/wafer thing at the end of the keyway that prevents a bypass driver from getting to the mechanism. You just have to try and see what you’ve got.

 

You can buy 10 of those bypass-prevention discs for like $6—and it’s worth it. These padlocks are great! They’re heavy, and are chock-full of serrated pins.

Speaking of hard to pick padlocks: the "Best" padlocks are extremely similar. I finally gave up, found a key that fit into it (but couldn't unlock it) and bumo keyed it.

Once I put a rubber o-ring on tbe key and put it into the lock I tapped the key sort of hard while tensioning it. Tap, tap, tap and it turned, turned, turned and the lock popped open.

I have another unpickable Best padlock. I'll hunt down a key that fits inside and bimp that one too.

They make specific keys that make bumping easier, but the key I used for this padlock was just some random key! That's a good reason to keep keys you don't have locks for (bump keys) and also locks you don't have keys for (picking, shimming, bypassing and bumping practice).