On Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:58:31 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Steve B" wrote in message
.. .

"Robert Green" wrote in message
...
I've got a padlock that's been outside too long. The key won't turn
(although after copious amounts of WD40 it does, finally, enter the
lock)
and it's in a rather hard to reach spot. I'm heading off to Harbor
Freight
this weekend, so I was thinking that the best way to remove the lock
would
be to buy an angle grinder and the appropriate cutoff wheels.

Go to the hock shop and look for a Makita or Dewalt or other major brand.
Buy by color brightness. The more crisp and new the color, the better
shape. Also look at where the cord enters the body for a nice looking
cord.
Don't buy anything with a cracked protector there, as that is an indicator
of age. You should be able to get one for what you will pay for a HF
brand,
and have one that will last longer. The cutoff grinder will find
countless
other uses, might as well get a stringer brush and cup knot variety, too.
(Caution $20 per item)

If this was more than a one shot tool, I might take you up on that. The
units that they use on TV to cut storage lockers open is a pretty hefty tool
compared to the HF POS. But I think the $15 I spend on the HF tool and
cutoff wheels will do the job and possibly the next two locks I need to cut.
Since I haven't needed it for 25 years, I assume that I will be long dead
before I need it again. Hence the HF route.

I cut off a ton of these when I had my welding business. I had about six
storage places that would call, and I'd pop by and for $20 pop it off.
Paid
for lunch for me and my helper. I used an electric Makita 4" grinder.
Then
I bought the largest pair of bolt cutters I have ever seen, got it at a
police evidence auction. They are four feet long. Damn near a two man
operation, but it shortened a five minute job to a fifteen second job.
The
"hockey puck" locks were the same, and I used a Makita die tool with 14k
rpm
very thin disc. Not much room to get in there the way they have those
configured.

This lock's at an awful angle around a delicate object in an awful location
to get at. I will, in order, try the key again. Hit it with a hammer some,
try the key again, and again with a pair of Visegrips to hold the key. Then
I will try my battery Dremel with a small cutoff tool, then I will head to
HF to buy the angle grinder.

As for weatherproofing, I can't offer much there except to protect the
lock,
maybe make a little cover out of sheet metal. For a new one, I'd shop for
some brand name that has some weather resistant features. Tying a plastic
zip lock on there with a rubber band might help, but then it tends to
condense and rust.

I think most modern plastic bags are designed to degrade very quickly in
sunlight. I've tried that on some other things without much success. The
bag rots in very little time. I think a few dollops of silicone on the
shackle where it enters the lock and the key hole will protect the lock a
hell of a lot better than just leaving it naked. We'll see.

Good luck.

Thanks. I'll try to take some photos and report back on how the 2011 "hose
lock" problem resolves.
Just put a ball of axle grease on the whole lock. In 20 years it
might take a can of carb cleaner to get enough off to get the key in.

Or use cosmolene.