Picking a lock

[Ed]

Help please. I have lost the ket to the garage door - not the up and over, I mean the side door. We only had one given to us when we bought the house, so no spare:(

Do I have to get a lockie in or is there cheap way of unlocking the door? It's a 3 lever thing, from memory.

[Sally]

Kick the b@stard down? :)
useful, and fun ;)

[Jabba]

I've seen locksmiths drill enough of these things to know how to do it. Unfortunately, I'm a long way from you :(

A locksmith shouldn't be that expensive if attending by prior appointment, i.e. not as an emergency call-out.

Cheaper than a new door for sure :thumbsup:

[Jester666]

http://www.wikihow.com/Pick-a-Lock HTH a bit.

[timwilky]

is it the type that uses a eurocylinder insert. they are simple to remove/replace

[Ed]

is it the type that uses a eurocylinder insert. they are simple to remove/replace

A what?

[DarrenSV650S]

Try a similar shaped key (if you can remember what it looked like)
Worked on our old garage when we lost both keys

[Mr Speirs]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/788366/lock_picking_for_beginners/

:)

[Filipe M.]

Get a local chav to do it for a fiver?

*ducks*

[tigersaw]

chisel out the wood on the inside, replace the mortice lock, replace the wood. Add sliding bolts top and bottom on the inside.
Hmm, might be cheaper to get a lockie, but you will probably still need a new mortice lock.

[Ed]

chisel out the wood on the inside, replace the mortice lock, replace the wood. Add sliding bolts top and bottom on the inside.
Hmm, might be cheaper to get a lockie, but you will probably still need a new mortice lock.

Have just called a lockie. Even on an appointment basis it's not cheap. £35 labour and £30 to upgrade the lock to a 5 lever.

[the_lone_wolf]

do you have a photo of the keys? (http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tips/2008/12/30/get_keys_cut_from_a_photograph_in_an_emergency.htm l)

[Ed]

No...

[DarrenSV650S]

Most people have photo's of their keys..... :D

[yorkie_chris]

It'll take more than watching a vid to figure out how to pick a mortice lock.

Also whats the point of upgrading to a 5-lever? Noone else is going to bother picking it, if they want to get in they will use a big bar or boot it.

[MiniMatt]

I can get in most office drawer type locks with a thick-ish paperclip (regular thin ones bend too easy) and a thin flat screwdriver but to be honest I'm too crap at anything made remotely securely.

If it is a crap lock then moderate torsion with the screwdriver (applied in the direction you open the lock normally) followed by gentle probing with a hooked paperclip does the trick - aim is to push up the pins in turn to the correct height with the friction from the torsion keeping them in place until all are set correctly and the lock rotates.

Brute force may well be the cheapest option though - then replace with a couple of bolts (or more dependent on the the local crime stats) and padlocks.

[yorkie_chris]

It's a lever lock not a pin tumbler matt.

[MiniMatt]

yeah just read that :( My youth wasn't quite so mis-spent that I'm any use with those :)

[Dicky Ticker]

If the lock bar is visible try and force it back by using a chisel or good screwdriver[some will some won't] Failing that try and groove it with a hacksaw blade to give additional purchase, but you are still going to have to replace it anyhow so perhaps the locksmith is your best option

[Ed]

It'll take more than watching a vid to figure out how to pick a mortice lock.

Also whats the point of upgrading to a 5-lever? Noone else is going to bother picking it, if they want to get in they will use a big bar or boot it.

My bike's in there!!! I understand where you're coming from though.

[yorkie_chris]

It's a wooden door, easier to unscrew the hinges.

If you want secure then put some strap iron on the back with some propa' hinges, have a mahoosive padlock outside with a box around it made of welded 1/4" plate.
If in doubt weld more steel to it.

Then they will break part of the wall down instead, or go in through the up-and-over door which are as secure as a soggy cardboard box.

[Filipe M.]

It's a wooden door, easier to unscrew the hinges.

If you want secure then put some strap iron on the back with some propa' hinges, have a mahoosive padlock outside with a box around it made of welded 1/4" plate.
If in doubt weld more steel to it.

Then they will break part of the wall down instead, or go in through the up-and-over door which are as secure as a soggy cardboard box.

Might as well leave the bike outside with keys in the ignition then... :smt040

[hovis]

Get a local chav to do it for a fiver?

*ducks*

i dont think they have chavs where ed lives

[yorkie_chris]

Yeah we did that with my mates bike once just for a laugh in a very scratty area.

Paintball guns are really good fun.

[Ed]

i dont think they have chavs where ed lives

We do but they live on the other side of the Rea Brook. When the area was being developed in the 1950s the council wanted to build a road bridge across the brook but there was such a local uproar at the time (NB - before I was born!!) that the council backed down. So as a result there is only a footbridge and we don't get Novas driven at high speed:-D

[Ed]

Lockie came this morning. I was shocked at how quickly he got the old lock out, and inside it was rusted badly. I've had to replace a lot of stuff and this would have failed soon. Bill not bad, £35 plus the cost of the new lock. Unlikely that many on here would want a locksmith in Shrewsbury but I can definitely recommend one now!!

[flymo]

do you have an up and over door also? if so then enter that way and remove the lock from teh inside

[Drew Carey]

do you have an up and over door also? if so then enter that way and remove the lock from teh inside

+1, thats what we did when the cable snapped. Got a claw hammer and wrenched the piece of wood off the top beem. Which then made me realise how damn easy it is to get into those types of garages!!!! We then put in as many deep screws as possible when re-fixing and ground the heads down, should stop someone doing what we were doing next time!!!!!

[kwak zzr]

could have saved u £35 Ed, my missus can shout them open lol

[Dangerous Dave]

Find the weakest point, whether the hinges or the lock, and blow them off. Always works.....

[yorkie_chris]

Find the weakest point, whether the hinges or the lock, and blow them off. Always works.....

Explosives, if they're not working, you're not using enough.

[Dangerous Dave]

Explosives, if they're not working, you're not using enough.
Exactly.

[punyXpress]

i dont think they have chavs where ed lives
But one of his pikey friends would have done it for nowt.

[Filipe M.]

Explosives, if they're not working, you're not using enough.

Just like the size of the hammer, then. If it doesn't work, it's not big enough.

[yorkie_chris]

Exactly.

Would need a pretty good locksmith to repair that in 5 minutes though :mrgreen:

[Lozzo]

Most simple barrel locks are easy to pick. When I was 13/14 I used to pick the door and ignition locks on my dad's Moggy Minor and take it for a spin round the village.

[vardypeeps]

Proper locksmith shouldn't just drill the lock!

[Ed]

Proper locksmith shouldn't just drill the lock!

I don't think he did. But I wasn't watching him. He turned up at 7.40am - so I sat indoors with a bowl of FnF and left him to it.

[vardypeeps]

Ahh good stuff. Just reading the comment from earlier about drilling them. It was on telly not so long back that a lot of rogue locksmiths just drill the locks out and charge you silly money when they could have been picked!

[embee]

If you can get to the inside, I've used a very thin disc grinding blade, 1/16" for stainless steel, and cut through the bolt. there's usually enough clearance between door and jamb to do it.

Having said that, your lockie sounds like pretty good value and hardly worth the bother of DIY.

All you have to do now is deal with the aftermath of the FnF. :bom:

[Dave20046]

Help please. I have lost the ket to the garage door - not the up and over, I mean the side door. We only had one given to us when we bought the house, so no spare:(

Do I have to get a lockie in or is there cheap way of unlocking the door? It's a 3 lever thing, from memory.
Youtube is your friend :) You need an alan key for a rake and a small screwy for a pick

[yorkie_chris]

Bit late...

[Dave20046]

Bit late...
Doh, just posted it on my way out.