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#121
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Cutting padlocks
"Robert Green" wrote in
: "Bob F" wrote in message ... Robert Green wrote: 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. If you have a standard rotary "skill" saw, a $2 metal abrasive cutoff blade in it will do the job. Or, at least try the dremel ith the appropriate abrasive blade. Is that like a roto-zip saw? I got one for Christmas but never opened it. Now might be the time! Uhhh, yuhhhh!! Open the f'n thing! Yer done...even though there 50 k more replies below. -- Bobby G. |
#122
Posted to alt.home.repair
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Cutting padlocks
wrote in message
... On Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:36:08 -0600, "HeyBub" wrote in message stuff snipped You need the right cutoff wheel though - or about 2 dozen of the wrong ones. You really need the fiber re-enforced ones. Followup - It took about 5 minutes and two battery packs for my Dremel to cut through the shackle of my "weather resistant" (HAH - NOT!) Popular Mechanics lock. I had to set up a little garden stool to sit on so I could keep the blade steady on the work and a wood shim under the shackle so I didn't cut the hose by accident. Used very thin 1.25" reinforced cut-off wheel. An A/C powered Dremel would have done it in half the time - my battery units cut fine for a minute or so, then the blade tended to get stuck in the kerf and it was obvious that the tool was losing torque. My buddy seems to think the battery unit's low torque prevented the cutoff wheel from shattering when it got jammed. Could be. Of course, he was the one trying to loosen the wrong lock (the one on the hose bib) with a cold chisel and a sledge hammer while I was still in the house. I ran outside screaming "stop hitting the pipes!" when I heard the booming noise throughout the house. The last thing I needed was to turn a simple lock removal into a hose bib replacement. Experience has taught me seventy-year-old plumbing does NOT like to be knocked around very hard. So, no Harbor Freight angle grinder for me, even though I heard its siren song calling to me. Now it's off sale, so there's even less incentive to buy it. (I still want one, though!) I also was unable to determine whether the shackle was hardened in any way. It's been about 40 years since I had access to a Rockwell hardness tester at the metallurgy shop at Brooklyn Tech. I assume I could make a rough estimate by taking my spring loaded centerpunch and looking at the depth of the pock mark it leaves on various metals, but it would be a rough estimate not good for much of anything. Left the lock around the hose bib intact (although rusted badly) so that I can get a REAL weatherproof lock to attach to the replacement Craftsmen hose. Now it's time to shut the outside faucets from inside to prevent them from freezing even though we've had months of unusually warm weather in the 50's and 60's. I'm not complaining, though. The heating bill has been remarkable low for October and November here in Maryland. FWIW, the hose sat outside for over 20 years without any problems until just recently. Some years it would even freeze before I had a chance to drain it. Never burst, though. Although I am NO friend of Sears, I have to admit their hoses can take a real beating. -- Bobby G. |
#123
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Cutting padlocks
"Robert Green" wrote:
So, no Harbor Freight angle grinder for me, even though I heard its siren song calling to me. Now it's off sale, so there's even less incentive to buy it. (I still want one, though!) HF rotates their stock through sale quite fast. Keep an eye on their flyers and it will likely show up within a month or two. |
#124
Posted to alt.home.repair
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Cutting padlocks
So, no Harbor Freight angle grinder for me, even though I heard its siren song calling to me. Now it's off sale, so there's even less incentive to buy it. (I still want one, though!) HF cheapo, or a good one, they are a very handy tool. Steve |
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