Posted by Kristine-CA on April 26, 2008 at 19:42:43:
We’ve used it on both. We cut the least gnarly (thinnest) one.
A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on April 25, 2008 at 07:52:30:
Got a lock I need to remove from a chain-locked driveway. Its a boarded, vacant property in which the owner can’t find the key.
I know I can hire a locksmith but I’m wondering if there’s a cheaper method. It’s a ‘Master’ brand lock.
I know I might be dreaming but…any (store bought) chemical I might be able to pour into the lock that would render it useless?
Other than that I guess I would have to get a locksmith to break the rusted (but thick) chain.
Thanks in advance.
Ib
Re: A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by ALS
Posted by ALS on February 26, 2011 at 14:28:36:
Call a Locksmith so you don’t hurt yourself. Let someone with the experience necessary do the job. Lock picking is the magic bullet but in most areas of the US lock picks are illegal to USE my unlicensed people. Pad lock removal and general emergency unlocking is getting cheap if you do some research. http://www.morenolocksmith.com
Bolt Cutters best solution - Posted by Ken-Orlando
Posted by Ken-Orlando on April 28, 2008 at 04:20:07:
Invest in a pair of bolt cutters its what schools and other institutions use to remove locks from lockers
Four more methods - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on April 26, 2008 at 21:21:50:
Many or most padlocks have numbers on them. If there is no rush, you can read the number, get a key made from a locksmith and keep the lock. As a kid, a friend of mine noticed all the padlocks of the whole school system were the same number. We both ended up with keys. I used to lock my car in the autoshop parking lot when I went to a “stomp” to keep it safe. I could get into any of the gates any time. We also had fun locking the gates of the elementary school just before school let out. We really enjoyed watching all the teachers come to a screeching halt and then have to wait a long time for a janitor. I don’t do those things anymore, but they did make childhood more interesting.
Second. If you can find the right locksmith, they can become very good at making keys on the spot. My son would lose his arms and legs if they weren’t attached. He lost my car keys that had the only keys to two of my motorcycles. He saved himself somewhat by finding an exceptional locksmith. He came by, wiggled, filed, wiggled, filed and within minutes had keys to both motorcycles.
Third. Master keys. When I was a kid, the manager gave us a different looking key to our condo one week. I noticed it was like all the other keys with most of the middle flattened down. I experimented with that and other types of locks and using my Mattel Powershop ground myself a great set of master keys to many types of locks. I could open almost any bike lock, padlock and many hotel rooms. Fortunately that’s as far as my curiosity pushed it. I was content to be able to open locks and not go any farther. Most locks are more complicated these days.
Fourth. Lockpicking is actually pretty simple to master and comes in very handy in the real estate industry.
Re: A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by NJD
Posted by NJD on April 26, 2008 at 11:29:16:
Bicycle thieves use freon which freezes anything on contact. The idea behind breaking a lock with freon is to direct a stream of liquid freon into the keyhole of the lock. The theory is that the evaporating freon will rapidly cool the cylinder so cold that the metal becomes brittle. A hard blow with a hammer will cause the cylinder to shatter and allow the shackle to release.
bolt cutters - Posted by Rick ¶
Posted by Rick ¶ on April 25, 2008 at 20:34:47:
I have a 24in bolt cutter that goes through them like butter. Costs about $10 on sale at harbor freight (if u have one of their stores locally). Any discount hardware/tool place should be comprable. Definitely a worthwile investment.
Rick
Re: A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on April 25, 2008 at 14:45:17:
Hi IB. I would think you would have encountered this before. We have a
giant set of loppers in the trunk (that’s what I call the long handled
cutters) for cutting chain and/or padlocks. Easy peasey, even I can do it!
Then we go back to the the hardware store to buy another padlock to lock
it back up. Have fun! Kristine
Hand held grinder - Posted by arlan
Posted by arlan on April 25, 2008 at 12:46:33:
A 4" hand held grinder works great if you have electricity.
Re: A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by Wm-Pa
Posted by Wm-Pa on April 25, 2008 at 12:46:10:
I just used my RotoZip rotary tool with the grinder wheel atatchment to gut off a large pad lock. Took me less than a minute to do, cut the u-shaped metal piece in the 2 spots where it enters the lock. Let the lock cool before touching it as it will be hot. I would assume a coardless drill with a grinding wheel would also work.
Wm-Pa
Re: A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by Alan Brymer
Posted by Alan Brymer on April 25, 2008 at 09:20:19:
On a lighter note, I think that pneumatic cattle plunger from No Country for Old Men worked pretty well on locks.
cutting torch - Posted by Kenneth Hocking
Posted by Kenneth Hocking on April 25, 2008 at 09:13:24:
I found that a small cutting torch was a lot cheaper than a locksmith for padlocks…with multiple uses it becomes much cheaper!
Forget chemicals, you need… - Posted by Rick, the Probate Guy
Posted by Rick, the Probate Guy on April 25, 2008 at 08:51:59:
…a master key! Some are larger than others. The right one for you may have three-foot long handles. Some people call them bolt cutters.
Alternatively, you can rent a hydraulically-operated cutter, sort of like the jaws-of-life that fire depts use. Most equip rental places have them, maybe even Home Depot or Lowe’s rental depts.
Just so you don’t think that I’m kidding around with you, I really do have a mighty big handle cutter in my pickup truck for special occassions.
However, I once arrived at a boarded up probate house that I took over a while back, along with my broker friend (a very practical Australian). He looked at the lock, then my “master key”, then pulled the biggest, meanest-looking bolt cutters out from the trunk of his Mercedes.
I felt inferior.
The master key may cost less than the cost of a locksmith’s service call.
Got to have the right tool for the right job.
Useless… try Super Glue - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on April 25, 2008 at 08:41:45:
That will screw up the tumblers in any lock…
But I thought you wanted it removed… not rendered inoperable… Teh super glue shot in the key hole will render the lock unopenable, but it you wanted it removed I would do that with a massive pair of bolt cutters… Master locks are hefty and will take a pretty good pair, not some 10 dollar cheapies…
We all know that shooting the lock won’t open it because we have seen that every year on the Super Bowl ad… lol
Now if the master lock proves too daunting maybe you would have an easier time cutting the chain and then repairing or replacing the chain once altered… depends on the set-up.
Good luck IB. I’m not much of a criminal mind, so my breaking and entering skills are limited. My best technique is opening vacant house doors with my med ins card. Works almost as good as key.
JT
Like Kristine said… - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on April 28, 2008 at 16:25:31:
“easy peasy” as the 24 inch bolt cutters did work.
Kristine, I’m now thinking that there probably was a padlocked door or two I couldn’t get in and either found another way in or simply didn’t get in (it may not have been a good deal anyway).
Thanks again everyone.
Ib
Re: Stupid kid games - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on April 27, 2008 at 08:24:28:
Thanks John. Your school padlock story reminded me of a phone game me and a friend of mine used to play (when we were teens) before the invention of all these new phone features like *69 and caller ID. However, 3 way calling had just been invented.
It would start by he and I being on the phone together. I would then use my 3 way feature and call a stranger and say “Yes this is phone company, please hold”. Then I would click back in while my friend called his stranger. He would wait for his stranger to answer and then click back in at just the right time. My stranger would hear someone say “hello” then my stranger would say “yes hello”.
My friend’s stranger: “Yes who are you looking for?”.
My stranger: “Excuse me”?
Mr friend’s stranger: “Yes who do you want?!”
My stranger: “Motherf^%$ you called me”!
And the fun would begin with the curse outs!
Whew! What fun life was when we were young, dumb and dumber.
I’ll look on the lock and see if there’s a number there. Thanks again.
Ib
I thought we were all pretty weak… - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on April 26, 2008 at 14:10:58:
With our answers, meaning that this is such a lawy abiding group. Knowing full well that there would be many choices that the criminal element would/could have listed that we didn’t. (No reflection on you Dave as being part of that element).
An interesting concept using the freon, and it no doubt produces the desired result. I’m sure there are more techniques as well.
Thanks Everyone… - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on April 26, 2008 at 07:11:35:
Some very interesting suggestions. I’ll think I’ll go with 24-30 inch bolt cutters.
Yeah Kristine, I’m surprised I haven’t come across this issue in the 7 years I’ve been dealing with these properties. I think it’s because the lock is on a gate and most of the properties I deal with aren’t gated. I’m still confident that there’s no front or back door that can keep me out…
Ib
Re: A magic bullet to removing a padlock? - Posted by AlexCO
Posted by AlexCO on April 25, 2008 at 15:22:33:
I had thought “Master” brand pad lock was made of a special metal that was very hard to cut (at least, an old TV commercial made me think so), until I cut one with a regular hack-saw with a metal-cut blade ten years ago, which was left locked on one of the garage doors (the one not used for car parking space) of my own home by a previous owner. Yes, it took me 30 minutes or so, and a few rests for my tired hand.
RotoZip is good. But, Dremel is my favorite. Especially a cordless one. It is small, light, requires no power cord (except when charging a battery, of course). And can be used for lots more than cutting a pad lock.
Recently, I had to cut the bicycle combination chain lock in less than 30 seconds with my Dremel cordless rotary tool because my son forgot the combination and, after spending a couple of hours with all the possible combinations (we thought we tried all), we were still unsuccessful.
“Let the lock cool before touching it as it will be hot.” warning is very true, though.
The one we still talk about - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on April 27, 2008 at 15:42:51:
That brought to mind my favorite. A local radio station was having a contest with a rock hidden somewhere with their initials on it and a big cash prize. “KRSP the Rock of Salt Lake”.
I had a friend that was following all the clues. It occured to me that no one really knew what the rock looked like and I had lots of paint in my garage for my motorcycles (they didn’t like us riding in the hills - I used to change the color every week).
We painted up about 20-30 rocks and hid them in locations matching up to some of the clues and in friend’s yards, the high school, etc. We had a great time watching friends and others discover the rock and become instantly wealthy in their mind. One we planted on a busy street almost resulted in a problem when a guy got so excited he was dancing around and almost was run over.
The radio station DJ came on the air and begged us to quit.