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Picking Pressure
This
exercise will
teach you the
range of
pressures you will need to
apply with a
pick. When you are
starting, just
apply pressure when you are
drawing the pick
out of the
lock. Once you have
mastered that, try
applying pressure when the pick is
moving inward.
With the
flat side of your pick, push down on the
first pin of a
lock. Don't apply any
torque to the lock. The amount of pressure you are applying should be just enough to overcome the
spring force. This
force gives you an idea of
minimum pressure you will apply with a pick.
The
spring force increases as you
push the pin down. See if you can
feel this
increase.
Now see how it feels to
push down the other
pins as you pull the pick out of the lock. Start out with both the pick and
torque wrench in the lock, but don't
apply any
torque. As you draw the pick out of the lock, apply enough
pressure to push each pin all the way
down.
The pins should
spring back as the pick goes past them. Notice the
sound that the pins make as they
spring back. Notice the
popping feel as a pick goes past each pin. Notice the
springy feel as the pick pushes
down on each new
pin.
To help you
focus on these
sensations, try
counting the
number of pins in the lock.
Door locks at
MIT have
seven pins,
padlocks usually have four.
To get an idea of the
maximum pressure, use the
flat side of your pick to push down all the pins in the
lock.
Sometimes you will need to
apply this much pressure to a
single pin. If you
encounter a new kind of lock, perform this exercise to
determine the
stiffness of its springs.