I decided to learn the skill of lock picking. I put off learning after I decided to learn for a pretty long time. I procrastinated buying a lock pick set and time just slipped by me. Well for my birthday I got a set and have set out to learn how to pick locks. In fact when I got the set I immediately started trying to pick open my door. I failed and got nervous about possibly damaging my lock. I decided I needed something to learn on that would not damage my door lock or that of my family and friends. I got the idea for my lock picking station from a video I saw from ITS Tactical. So today I’ll show you how to build on yourself to start picking safely.
Lock Picking Station
I simplified the station from the one that ITS made. Though my setup has plenty of room to expand, I went for simplicity. I went to Home Depot and bought a piece of lumber that was 7 inches wide and 1 1/2 deep. I had them cut it for me into 1ft pieces. It was only a few bucks and and and I can use the left over pieces for other projects.
To begin with you will need to cut a hole to mount our lock to. In my case I’m mounting a cheap door knob and not bothering to attach the bolt. The cylinder will still turn and not cutting out a hole for the bolt cuts down the time building. You will need a hole saw to cut out a hole for the lock. I bought a door hole kit because it was cheaper than buying a single hole saw. It worked well enough but I wish the saw had been deeper. I ended up having to chisel out the rest of my hole because the hole didn’t go all the way through and my drill battery died.
After you get the hole for the lock it’s time to mount the lock board to the base board. I used a pen to make where I wanted it to go then screwed it in place. It’s not the best fit and Roy Underhill would not be proud but it good enough for what were doing. You can paint or stain it if you want. I decided to leave it plain for now. I was too impatient to get picking. Since I have extra room I plan on getting a deadbolt with removable pins. It is much easier to learn to pick with less pins to begin with. The lock I have is really tough.
I’ve found that I really enjoy lock picking. I’ve spent hours at my station and not noticed the time flying by. It’s also a hobby I see getting out of control. Buying more locks, picks and shims. Which is fine with me I see the great potential in both disasters and fine times the benefits of lock picking. So get some picks and build a station and get picking.
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Ya got to love Brian from ITS tactical
I spent several years working as a locksmith, but rarely think about it as a “skill”, but it definitely is one. Being able to pick locks has saved my bacon a few times…and made me look like some sort of elite mastermind other times….
If you want to get REAL fancy, learn to impresion a lock – take a file and a key blank that fits the lock, and using nothing more than that, make a key from a lock. Like lock picking, it doesn’t work on all lock types, but when it does work, it looks like pure magic.
I work for a locksmith company, so learning how to pick a lock was not optional.