There are few more satisfying moments than the first time you pick a lock. No matter that it’s a dollar-store padlock that you opened with a pick from a $10 eBay kit, the magic of something that should be secure clicking open in the palm of your hand is hard to beat. Pin tumbler locks are surprisingly simple devices, and to demonstrate this [Farmcraft 101] has produced one at 10x scale to demonstrate their operation on the bench.
The video is a delightful exercise in wood-shop voyerism, as we see him construct the various parts of the lock using his lathe and other workshop tools. A key of the size usually reserved for Freedom Of The City is made, but this one really does slide into the keyway and operate those pins. At the back is a latch mechanism, and the result is a fully-functional model that anyone should be able to use to figure out how the lock works.
Thelock itself isn’t the whole story though, because given the date he’s used it as the basis for a cracking April Fool in which he sends up the [Lock Picking Lawyer] and proceeds to demonstrate the glaring insecurities in his creation. Both videos are there for your enjoyment, below the break. And if you can’t wait to have a go at a lock or two, don’t forget you can always make your own tools using paperclips.
[Ed note: streetcleaner bristles. Thank me later.]
Thanks [Sebastian] for the tip!
Wow, that’s a sad April fools joke, but you got me! Just the same, I don’t like the video and won’t subscribe. But I think that novelty lock is very cool!
I remember seeing something like this ages back, but for a combination lock, not a keyed one. This is the first time I’ve seen a keyed wood lock! (Enormous, too).
His shop looks fantastic!
If anyone’s interested – here’s the combo-lock I first saw:
https://woodgears.ca/combolock/index.html
And here’s a version I made of it, back in 2013:
https://nitkin.net/project/wooden-lock
https://youtu.be/m89FH0XOCDM?t=15
This is a very impressive build when you realize he did it almost entirely by eye without the kind of precision guides you’d have on metalworking tools.
Interesting. That is a neat build.
Love it! Very satisfying to watch as I am a Locksmith by trade and this was a very accurate representation of a simple pin tumbler lock. I especially liked the moment you pulled the core out and all the driver pins fell into the housing. A common mistake when pulling apart a cylinder for a recode and just not paying attention to the core orientation. If the springs were in play this could have caused hours of grief trying to fix 🤪. Awesome video, thanks.