wrote


These days you can buy a side grinder at one of the Chinese outlets
like Harbor Fright for $20. Once you see how fast that takes a lock
off you might reconsider locks as a deterrant.

We do HOA property assessments. Part of the deal is to get into the pool
areas and pool equipment areas to photograph and assess equipment. A lot of
people do not give us keys or the proper keys. So, I have made myself a set
of picklocks. It is amazing just how easy it is to get through some of
these "security gates". Part of our report is a section on how sufficient
we think their security systems are.

Most of the passage gates can be opened with a credit cards. Deadbolts
require a picklock and any pro would be in within two minutes. Padlocks are
a different matter, as grinders make too much of a fuss. But they are no
match for good bolt cutters.

I have a set of bolt cutters that I bought at a police auction on
confiscated and unclaimed goods. They are American made and are every bit
of 4' long. I have yet to see any round rod they will not cut.

When I was a welding contractor, I cut a lot of locks off for storage
companies. They were a piece of cake except the ones shaped like a hockey
puck. They were tougher, but a die grinder with a very very thin blade did
it for those. Most of them I did with the big bolt cutters, as grinding
caused a lot of sparks and fire hazard. A cutting torch was out of the
question.

HTH

Steve