Very true. Recently I had to borrow my wife’s car on a rainy day and her blades were worse than useless. I stopped at AutoZone for new ones and the trash can outside was overflowing with spent wiper blades.
6:00 My heart kinda sank when I saw you fumbling about with a tape measure when you literally have a cutting board with measurements right in front of you. Lmao.
Best video I have seen. I was about to pay $20 + $10 shipping for multiple Tension wrenches now I just went to auto parts trash can and have 20 Tension wrenches (9.5 x 0.3cm). Thank You for this Great Video!
I've found that the bristles from street sweepers are awesome. If you see a street sweeper in a parking lot at night, spend a few minutes looking around that parking lot the next day and you may find a couple that broke off. They aren't pretty, but are nice spring steel and the dimensions are perfect for tension wrenches. Their thinnest dimension is actually thinner than what you have in this video, and being spring steel, they handle the pressure as well as (if not better than) the thicker stock but give you more room in keyways. I spend a minute or two with high-grit sandpaper to smooth the faces before I start bending or cutting. The grocery store I go to most often has a pretty overzealous sweeping schedule, and over the course of a six month period, I was able to find enough bristles to last me decades _and_ hand some over to some of my locksport friends. All I did was park at the end of the first set of stalls and look on one side of the walkway going in to the store and the opposite side on the way out. I'd choose a different lane each visit and averaged around six bristles per week, going to the store one or two times each week. I have learned to love making the wrenches so they're "bent the other way," so that once bent, the are as flat as the metal is thin. You have to use a torch and get the metal glowing hot, but most metal appropriate for a tension wrench will bend this way beautifully when hot enough. It takes a bit of practice to get a pretty bend, but once you figure it out it's easy. Once bent to the angle you want it, heat it up again and use your pliers to flatten it out since they usually want to twist a little bit. Note that if you make wrenches like these, the body will be pointing vertical, not horizontal.
What I added to the design is that I took a triangular file and with the edge I made some serrations on the sides of one end of an otherwise symmetrical Z-wrench (I copied it from some pry bars). This greatly improves the stability if you use it top of the keyway so it doesn't slip out that easy. If you want to use it bottom of the keyway I like the smooth end better because otherwise it might bind up at the sleeve (and it usually doesn't slip out that easy anyways)
The end of the blade with a groove that you cut and discarded at minute 7:45 is useful to make a pick, other teacher on youtube shows how to do it right.
Sad to hear they are going to a cheaper, more brittle insert in the new wiper blades. If you live in a city, you can find street sweeper blade's on the street, and they work also. Excellent video on the lowly tension wrench buddy. They don't get the Wow factor of a pick, but having the correct tension wrench can make all the difference between wether you get into the lock, or not. You covered everything in detail. I really enjoy watching your videos. It's like I'm sitting in your living room, and you are teaching me how to do something with locks, without interruption. 😁 Because in an actual training situation, questions come up all the time, and it can take forever to finish your lesson. Video instruction, combined with hands on experience, is the way to go. It all depends upon your instructor, and your ability to understand, and implement the material. Don't think something is too mundane to be of interest to anyone. I will watch anything about Lock Picking. You never know when you will learn something very useful. Bravo mate! 👏
William Mancel thank you for watching :-) it's good never to assume knowledge, at some point someone starts from a position of no knowledge and I hope this video covers the bases :-)
Street sweeper machines shed bristles very often. I use them to make picks as well as tension wrenches. A small bit of heat from a handheld propane torch allows you to curve them upwards enough to make some high ended picks.
you can also just pinch the end of the wiper and flex/pull the end towards the middle of the blade. thats what those notches at the end are for(manufacture). you have to over pinch so the notches pass and over flex the middle so the blade shortens enuf to pull out of the tangs. lil safer/quicker not sure you can be trusted with a razor ;)
Great video! I think these were the first tools I made when I started picking 😃 I've never been able to manage making an actual pick from any though, I think because of the width of the inserts (mentioned by Leon's comment)
If the steel breaks when you bend it that means it's good spring steel and you'll have to do some heating to anneal it before bending - then heat it again and quench it after bending.
Older video… but maybe some tips…. Your local scrap yard / junk yard / pick-n-pull yard is a gold mine for these things…. Wiper blades engine dip stick Transmission dip stick Power steering fluid dip stick On the wiper blades, I always take the metal out and leave the rest. Most junk yards want $1 for used wiper blades, but I’ve been given as many as 30 metal inserts for free… at times they’ll charge a quarter. Same with the dipsticks… i take just the ‘stick’ portion…. Other uses for these, beyond tension rods… One is poking clogged sink drains. Another is a hook for getting things out of tight spaces, such as behind furniture, or between car seat and center console. BTW.. another item I love grabbing from older vehicles are the radio antennas… the straight single rods are stainless steel.;; if they are bent, i always get them free.. i just count them as ‘shorter rods’. The gold ones are the ancient retractable ones.. these get me four to six aluminum tubes… I use some of these things in my modeling hobby…
Great Tips... I want to give a go at making some of my own picks. I work in warranty return parts for a major automotive group, and pi[er blades I get a lot back, because they just replace them under the 12 month contract every oil change service... plenty of stock. I'm disappointed you cut that that end off with the notch in it. Had the makings of a good single pick. My inserts do not have that. Just flat stock. Oh, and as I mentioned before, I have a dremel hehehe with hundreds of profile grinders... just getting started, gonna be a fun new hobby.
Made loads of these,they work equally as good as bought ones,I use a 6" shifting spanner to bend them and bend them upwards,My local garage is starting to wonder what the F*** I`m doing though I think lol :D
I used to snip off the end with the notch in it as well, but then I started to just break off the part just after the notch. This way I have a pre-made end for a TOK wrench. I then just file it down to the proper depth so that it doesn't touch the first pin, and add some serrations on the inside of the notch.
Protip if you gonna ask a garage for them: don't underestimate the power of some cookies or cake :D or friday afternoon bring some beers. Think that will bring the success rate as close to 100% as you can get haha
Great info bud ! thanks for sharing, I have bad luck when looking for inserts, the only ones i ever find are the thinnest ones, but the other day while walking home from my doctors office, I finally found the thickest one, lol so i was able to use it to make 2 different width tension wrenches
It had been raining for days. I went for a walk tonight for exercise and passed an auto parts store. Out of curiosity I went and looked. The front trashcan was a gold mine for wiper blades. I must have looked peculiar walking home with a big bundle of used wipers.
The quality of the steel matters less when you perform the bending operations on hot metal. Heated to the low end of red hot the metal will allow you to easily bend it to a crisp 90° corner without snapping. Drop the tool into a shot glass of used cooking oil to quench. Mind your fingers, it's easy to get burned when hot fabricating. A gas station jet style lighter would suffice as your heat source.
My brother in law works at an auto parts place. He got me a dozen old wipers. I disassembled them and all of the inserts are approximately .247 wide .040 thick. Now I did find some metal stock suitable for tension tools. I used brazing rods. Copper, phosphorous, silver alloy. .124 wide and .050 thick
Great first homebrew wrench video mate. I have done a couple of tutorial videos years ago and love and still use the ones I made as you can play to your hearts content and add twists too. Funny enough I was playing with a closed shackled Legge padlock yesterday and used a wrench I made for middle of the keyway. It was a bit of wiper insert I had left and thought I would just add twists here and there and is great.
I think it's a good idea to smooth the edges of the wiper blade before you cut and bend it - it's just easier to do when it's in one long strip. You can then round the ends after cutting. Also, the notch at one end might be useful to make a top of the keyway wrench that has a narrower tip than the rest of the wrench. - just cut it off somewhere along the notch rather than cutting the notch off and throwing the end away.
i just want to mention that the notch that you cut out could work really well for top of the keyway tension if you trimmed it leaving about half a centimeter of the thin part on the end so in theory you could have the best of both world with minimal effort
very nice video buddy great info.the new type of wiper blades on modern car is not that good it spits and cracks easy the old style ur useing now is much better and getting harder to get a hold of.im a machanic we dont order the old ones anymore so get them wile u can😊👍👍👍😊
Leon's lockpad I keep a lookout for wiper blades from larger trucks to see if they have any wider/thicker inserts (so far not much luck). At work we do a lot of our own maintenance so I've got a pile of the new style.
My friend gave me a couple wiper inserts he had. I didn't realize how much thicker they were than the ones I pulled out of my wiper blades until I was actually working on them to form tension wrenches. I kept saying to my wife, that I must not be feeling well because I don't remember having such a difficult time bending and twisting the metal before. It wasn't until the next day when I compared my tension wrenches to the new one I just made. LOL.
not sure where you're getting the 3mm wide pcs from....i just got 6 blades from auto parts trash and the thin stainless in those was only 2.5mm. We'll see how they work. Good video.
Do tapered edges give an advantage to parallel edges? Do you use the ends (with the cut-outs) to make TOK tools? Why are L and Z tension tools included in every kit, its as bad as hex keys in socket, spanner and wrench sets?
Nice tension wrench making tutorial :). I have experienced a lot that when you bend them over a sharp edge of the pliers, they break easy. So bending them only a little and the rest with the hand (and a little more rounded) is sometimes better. Also not that easy to find them, many new are these flexy one bladed and even the traditional ones often are complete plastic inside the rubber :(. I file the edges round in the vice before bending ;), it's a little more easy :).
redcatimaging Hey, I am interested in getting a pinning shoe and a front loader from you. I know a few people who have gotten them from you and your products are great for 3d printed tools. Here is my email: drewestes2010@gmail.com please contact me and we can arrange something!
Most diagonal cutters are made for copper so you’re eating into the life/sharpness of them by using them on SS. They have to play a balancing act with hardening and tempering the tool steel and, being designed for copper, they are going to be tempered back a bit. Looks like it worked okay though. You can also “cut” the inserts by gripping them tightly with locking pliers and flexing them back and forth until they snap.
Lock Noob they work pretty well! The ones I got are quite thin, so they spin in the jetway a lot, but the TOK part is perfect. Just need to buy some better tok tensioners soon
Check Auto Inspection places if they are required in your area. These people try to find things wrong with your car and wiper blades are constantly being replaced, raining or not. Also, if you go to junk yard, oil dipsticks are great and usually a thicker gauge.
Hello, don't be tired, if it is possible for you to teach how to make a buffer and different types of tools, such as the diameter and type of metal, please specify.
I have some OEM subaru like that which WERE spring steel. Some stock is better than others. I also do some home gunsmithing and one can never have enough variety of spring stock!! The only way to determine the quality is to test it. Some that breaks has a higher carbon content and needs to be heated. Some is just cheap garbage.
My local Halfords (UK) was more than happy to let me take a handful of old wipers for nothing. Don’t know if they will all let you but it’s definitely worth asking nicely. Some were to brittle and snapped when trying to bend but only 2 out of the 15 or so I picked up.
The reason they can break is because there are different grades of stainless depending on the amount of chromium content, usually bent cold. heat till buff red electro polish it.
Whenever I watch your videos, I always think I'm watching Frankie1080p's gaming videos... your voices and speaking mannerisms are very similar. Anyway, cool video, thanks for sharing! :)
♻US - North East. The local auto parts store (AutoZone) has a bin right outside the entry/exit doors just for old wiper blades for when ppl replace them in the parking lot. Keep an 👁out.
Measuring tape - just seems awkward considering your cutting pad already has centimeters laid out on it. Like others have said - make your bends before cutting. If you’re buying a new wiper blade, why not get one for your car and then use the old one 🤦♂️
initially I did too, but it's too thin, so it needs to be a little wider, its not so good, yesterday i make some from a tweezers, I cracked and I managed without any other tool to break a lock just by tension and vibration at the same time..first time in my life, I think it took me 20 seconds. Then in the evening with a safety pin and a hairpin I broke a yala. I don't want to film because in my country the police are a bit idiotic.
@@Clr-Clr So Sorry... Might need to get you one.. best little micro tool on the planet. I use mine all the time, and make short work of new picks. They all have gritty edges. I have already used one Buff so much it has a nice special groove in it, just for my picks, to touch and polish up. Only used for that reason only.
I hope this clears up any mystery for beginners :-)
massive help, i will make a few top of the keyway tension rods from wiper blades tomorrow
Yeah, I think this’ll work loads better than the paper clip I’m using right now.
Can you heat-treat these to make them stiffer?
Why don't you use the end of the stainless beam as a rake? It works with some tapering modifications.
@@benjaminmiller9554 Stainless beam?
Here's a tip: Bend the end first before you cut it to length in case it breaks when you bend it.
FYI we can get all the free wiper Blades you can want by going to any auto parts store trash cans on a rainy day. Walmart too!
Great advice! :-)
I can confirm this... as I am at an auto parts store most rainy days.
Can confirm this. I used to work at an auto parts store. Trust me, they won’t mind you cleaning out the trash cans for them.
Very true. Recently I had to borrow my wife’s car on a rainy day and her blades were worse than useless. I stopped at AutoZone for new ones and the trash can outside was overflowing with spent wiper blades.
Yes, then when you have made your locksmith tools you can rob all the new parts at night when everybody's sleeping 😁 win win
6:00 My heart kinda sank when I saw you fumbling about with a tape measure when you literally have a cutting board with measurements right in front of you. Lmao.
Best video I have seen.
I was about to pay $20 + $10 shipping for multiple Tension wrenches now I just went to auto parts trash can and have 20 Tension wrenches (9.5 x 0.3cm).
Thank You for this Great Video!
Made me a couple of these. Very satisfied with rigidity. Easy to implement torque but still bends enough to feel feedback from the core. Thanks!
I've found that the bristles from street sweepers are awesome. If you see a street sweeper in a parking lot at night, spend a few minutes looking around that parking lot the next day and you may find a couple that broke off. They aren't pretty, but are nice spring steel and the dimensions are perfect for tension wrenches. Their thinnest dimension is actually thinner than what you have in this video, and being spring steel, they handle the pressure as well as (if not better than) the thicker stock but give you more room in keyways. I spend a minute or two with high-grit sandpaper to smooth the faces before I start bending or cutting. The grocery store I go to most often has a pretty overzealous sweeping schedule, and over the course of a six month period, I was able to find enough bristles to last me decades _and_ hand some over to some of my locksport friends. All I did was park at the end of the first set of stalls and look on one side of the walkway going in to the store and the opposite side on the way out. I'd choose a different lane each visit and averaged around six bristles per week, going to the store one or two times each week.
I have learned to love making the wrenches so they're "bent the other way," so that once bent, the are as flat as the metal is thin. You have to use a torch and get the metal glowing hot, but most metal appropriate for a tension wrench will bend this way beautifully when hot enough. It takes a bit of practice to get a pretty bend, but once you figure it out it's easy. Once bent to the angle you want it, heat it up again and use your pliers to flatten it out since they usually want to twist a little bit. Note that if you make wrenches like these, the body will be pointing vertical, not horizontal.
What I added to the design is that I took a triangular file and with the edge I made some serrations on the sides of one end of an otherwise symmetrical Z-wrench (I copied it from some pry bars). This greatly improves the stability if you use it top of the keyway so it doesn't slip out that easy. If you want to use it bottom of the keyway I like the smooth end better because otherwise it might bind up at the sleeve (and it usually doesn't slip out that easy anyways)
Nice tips :-)
The end of the blade with a groove that you cut and discarded at minute 7:45 is useful to make a pick, other teacher on youtube shows how to do it right.
Thanks :-)
One of them here. Needs some handles though. ua-cam.com/video/jNAhnFAO7Tc/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for this. I too, heard the "make 'em out of wiper blades" referenced in several video's and was clueless.
Thanks 😊
Cracking me up! The cutting mat has CM marks and would be easier to measure using it than a tape! LOL
Sad to hear they are going to a cheaper, more brittle insert in the new wiper blades. If you live in a city, you can find street sweeper blade's on the street, and they work also.
Excellent video on the lowly tension wrench buddy. They don't get the Wow factor of a pick, but having the correct tension wrench can make all the difference between wether you get into the lock, or not. You covered everything in detail. I really enjoy watching your videos. It's like I'm sitting in your living room, and you are teaching me how to do something with locks, without interruption. 😁 Because in an actual training situation, questions come up all the time, and it can take forever to finish your lesson. Video instruction, combined with hands on experience, is the way to go. It all depends upon your instructor, and your ability to understand, and implement the material.
Don't think something is too mundane to be of interest to anyone. I will watch anything about Lock Picking. You never know when you will learn something very useful. Bravo mate!
👏
William Mancel thank you for watching :-) it's good never to assume knowledge, at some point someone starts from a position of no knowledge and I hope this video covers the bases :-)
Oh my friend... it is good free stuff, but if you are serious about the good stiff, order you some shim stock. in bulk... you will be in heaven...
Street sweeper machines shed bristles very often. I use them to make picks as well as tension wrenches.
A small bit of heat from a handheld propane torch allows you to curve them upwards enough to make some high ended picks.
Gd tip!
Yep, they are great.
Band saw blades also works nicely, if you grind off the teeth and grind them down to a suitable width.
My dad told me to become a locksmith, he said it will open so many doors for me
Lol :-)
🤣😛🤣
Oh my
you can also just pinch the end of the wiper and flex/pull the end towards the middle of the blade. thats what those notches at the end are for(manufacture). you have to over pinch so the notches pass and over flex the middle so the blade shortens enuf to pull out of the tangs. lil safer/quicker not sure you can be trusted with a razor ;)
Great video! I think these were the first tools I made when I started picking 😃 I've never been able to manage making an actual pick from any though, I think because of the width of the inserts (mentioned by Leon's comment)
LockPicking Patrolman thank you :-)
If the steel breaks when you bend it that means it's good spring steel and you'll have to do some heating to anneal it before bending - then heat it again and quench it after bending.
I wonder if a dip stick might be a good source for metal for these. You can get those for practically nothing at the junkyard also.
Thats a good Idea, thanks!
@@LockNoob I tried a few yesterday and they were really bendy. Not sure if it is just because they are so long. I haven't cut one down to size yet.
Is that a soldering mat! You're multi talented! I've honestly never made a turning tool from a wiper insert, and this was pretty good! Love these!
Thanks friend!
Love your videos, my friend. I've learned so much from you.
I appreciate that!
Older video… but maybe some tips….
Your local scrap yard / junk yard / pick-n-pull yard is a gold mine for these things….
Wiper blades
engine dip stick
Transmission dip stick
Power steering fluid dip stick
On the wiper blades, I always take the metal out and leave the rest. Most junk yards want $1 for used wiper blades, but I’ve been given as many as 30 metal inserts for free… at times they’ll charge a quarter.
Same with the dipsticks… i take just the ‘stick’ portion….
Other uses for these, beyond tension rods…
One is poking clogged sink drains.
Another is a hook for getting things out of tight spaces, such as behind furniture, or between car seat and center console.
BTW.. another item I love grabbing from older vehicles are the radio antennas… the straight single rods are stainless steel.;; if they are bent, i always get them free.. i just count them as ‘shorter rods’.
The gold ones are the ancient retractable ones.. these get me four to six aluminum tubes…
I use some of these things in my modeling hobby…
Calling Wilko a hardware store is the biggest compliment ever.
I used the wire from my wife's old bra. Made quite a few. They fit really nice in most euro locks
I do the same :-)
That's a great idea
Same here, I've yet to try the wiper blade method, I just love how the curved edge toward me feels on the finger for tension.
Great Tips... I want to give a go at making some of my own picks. I work in warranty return parts for a major automotive group, and pi[er blades I get a lot back, because they just replace them under the 12 month contract every oil change service... plenty of stock. I'm disappointed you cut that that end off with the notch in it. Had the makings of a good single pick. My inserts do not have that. Just flat stock. Oh, and as I mentioned before, I have a dremel hehehe with hundreds of profile grinders... just getting started, gonna be a fun new hobby.
It will be a fun new hobby for sure! :-)
wow. you just opened my eyes, i'm making my own tension tools from now on
Cool go for it!
Made loads of these,they work equally as good as bought ones,I use a 6" shifting spanner to bend them and bend them upwards,My local garage is starting to wonder what the F*** I`m doing though I think lol :D
Lol it’s nice they give them to you :-)
Nice tutorial bud! That is the best way to get cheap tention tools.
TheAvidPicker 1 thank you :-)
I used to snip off the end with the notch in it as well, but then I started to just break off the part just after the notch. This way I have a pre-made end for a TOK wrench. I then just file it down to the proper depth so that it doesn't touch the first pin, and add some serrations on the inside of the notch.
Matthew Wilson good idea! :-)
Protip if you gonna ask a garage for them: don't underestimate the power of some cookies or cake :D or friday afternoon bring some beers. Think that will bring the success rate as close to 100% as you can get haha
Lol for sure!
Great info bud ! thanks for sharing, I have bad luck when looking for inserts, the only ones i ever find are the thinnest ones, but the other day while walking home from my doctors office, I finally found the thickest one, lol so i was able to use it to make 2 different width tension wrenches
Rookie Lock I'm lucky that a friend gave me a load of cut lengths of the good ones... the metal in the wiper blade on this video was pretty poor!
It had been raining for days. I went for a walk tonight for exercise and passed an auto parts store. Out of curiosity I went and looked. The front trashcan was a gold mine for wiper blades. I must have looked peculiar walking home with a big bundle of used wipers.
Awesome!
Use the scale on your mat m8 :)
Wondered why that tape measure was out....
Was about to say the same LOL
Thank you!
Great vid, very instructive and informative, loved the showing how to strip down a wiper blade.
Pete Restall thanks :-) when I started picking, I had no idea what a wiper blade insert was lol
Very informative indeed.
(Says a person who doesn't have a car, that's me)
i used a mini lighter torch to heat them red hot, and then twist the handle
feels much better imho
More flexible for sure 👍
I make them with a really short section like the one you did. they are perfect for wafer locks.
robg109 yeah, they are really useful :-)
To avoid it breaking under stress, would it be worth heating the area you're wanting to bend?
You can, but in my experience, a good quality steel should bend ok cold. I have had dove brittle ones crack in the past
The quality of the steel matters less when you perform the bending operations on hot metal. Heated to the low end of red hot the metal will allow you to easily bend it to a crisp 90° corner without snapping. Drop the tool into a shot glass of used cooking oil to quench. Mind your fingers, it's easy to get burned when hot fabricating. A gas station jet style lighter would suffice as your heat source.
My brother in law works at an auto parts place. He got me a dozen old wipers. I disassembled them and all of the inserts are approximately .247 wide .040 thick.
Now I did find some metal stock suitable for tension tools. I used brazing rods. Copper, phosphorous, silver alloy. .124 wide and .050 thick
Pro tip: the mat has a ruler on the edge.
Thanks for the tip mate.
Thank you 🙏
i would torch heat the metal before bending, not too hot, a lil red, let it cool, bend.
For thicker stuff, yeah!
Great first homebrew wrench video mate. I have done a couple of tutorial videos years ago and love and still use the ones I made as you can play to your hearts content and add twists too. Funny enough I was playing with a closed shackled Legge padlock yesterday and used a wrench I made for middle of the keyway. It was a bit of wiper insert I had left and thought I would just add twists here and there and is great.
waddac2 thanks :-)
Yes wiper inserts work for smaller tension wrenches. If you want wider tension wrenches use underwire in women's bras.
You’re doing a great job Noob.
Thanks 🙏
Great tension tool and tip, 👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌😊
Thanks 🙏
Thanks
Glad you said to be very polite, I was gonna just walk into a service center and say "give me your f'ing wiper blades you f'ing c#nts!"
Great idea!! Will be making a few of these for myself :)
You've just given me an idea, I can glue one of these strips on the end of a electric toothbrush and make an electric bump gun.
I think it's a good idea to smooth the edges of the wiper blade before you cut and bend it - it's just easier to do when it's in one long strip. You can then round the ends after cutting.
Also, the notch at one end might be useful to make a top of the keyway wrench that has a narrower tip than the rest of the wrench. - just cut it off somewhere along the notch rather than cutting the notch off and throwing the end away.
i just want to mention that the notch that you cut out could work really well for top of the keyway tension if you trimmed it leaving about half a centimeter of the thin part on the end so in theory you could have the best of both world with minimal effort
Maybe! :-)
this video is my 1000th liked video and I wanted to save it for a really good video and this is one of the best videos on yt!
Thanks!
@@LockNoob can you make a video on vises?
well I'm excited now too!
Awesome :-)
Great tutorial!
LockTest thank you :-)
good video on making tension bars like to see one from u on pick making I like to see how different people make them can always learn a new trick
Keith Rutherford thanks :-)
Great job! very informative.
Gantry thank you :-)
very nice video buddy great info.the new type of wiper blades on modern car is not that good it spits and cracks easy the old style ur useing now is much better and getting harder to get a hold of.im a machanic we dont order the old ones anymore so get them wile u can😊👍👍👍😊
Leon's lockpad I keep a lookout for wiper blades from larger trucks to see if they have any wider/thicker inserts (so far not much luck). At work we do a lot of our own maintenance so I've got a pile of the new style.
My friend gave me a couple wiper inserts he had. I didn't realize how much thicker they were than the ones I pulled out of my wiper blades until I was actually working on them to form tension wrenches. I kept saying to my wife, that I must not be feeling well because I don't remember having such a difficult time bending and twisting the metal before. It wasn't until the next day when I compared my tension wrenches to the new one I just made. LOL.
Can you show how to put a 90 degree twist (or even better, two twists) in the wiper blades?
Just use 2 pairs of vice grips and go slowly
could the starting peace be used as a extractor for broken keys?
Your cutting mat has centimeters marked on it
Ah, but does it? Yes. Yes it does...
Lock Noob haha I’m sure you knew. I find your content very useful and have been making my own tools.
Trip to the local car scrap yard when lockdown ends :)
👍
Use a lil heat shrink for the bottoms for padding
It’s a nice idea :-)
not sure where you're getting the 3mm wide pcs from....i just got 6 blades from auto parts trash and the thin stainless in those was only 2.5mm. We'll see how they work. Good video.
why don't you just use the measurements that are printed on the cutting board rather than fumbling with the tape?
Because reasons 😩🤔
@@LockNoob Good answer.
is it better to put a twist near the end or in the centre?
The end, but i never do, it makes it too flexible fore my tastes
Do tapered edges give an advantage to parallel edges? Do you use the ends (with the cut-outs) to make TOK tools? Why are L and Z tension tools included in every kit, its as bad as hex keys in socket, spanner and wrench sets?
No.sometimes. You can never have too many
Nice tension wrench making tutorial :). I have experienced a lot that when you bend them over a sharp edge of the pliers, they break easy. So bending them only a little and the rest with the hand (and a little more rounded) is sometimes better. Also not that easy to find them, many new are these flexy one bladed and even the traditional ones often are complete plastic inside the rubber :(. I file the edges round in the vice before bending ;), it's a little more easy :).
redcatimaging Hey, I am interested in getting a pinning shoe and a front loader from you. I know a few people who have gotten them from you and your products are great for 3d printed tools. Here is my email: drewestes2010@gmail.com
please contact me and we can arrange something!
I will do ;).
redcatimaging thanks for watching :-)
Street sweeper bristles
They work good too of they are in good condition :-)
Why did you round the end off ?? Wouldnt it grip/bite better in the keyway and not slip if it was sharp on the end and NOT rounded?
It would be much better if everything talked about was shown in camera view!
great video. it's criminal you used croppers/side cutters to cut the metal and not tin snips though!!!
I just don't have tin snips, that's all :-)
Most diagonal cutters are made for copper so you’re eating into the life/sharpness of them by using them on SS. They have to play a balancing act with hardening and tempering the tool steel and, being designed for copper, they are going to be tempered back a bit. Looks like it worked okay though. You can also “cut” the inserts by gripping them tightly with locking pliers and flexing them back and forth until they snap.
So exciting
Very useful information!
Glad it was helpful!
Needed to go to Wilko anyway - guess i have something else on my shopping list now :)
Lol
Lock Noob they work pretty well! The ones I got are quite thin, so they spin in the jetway a lot, but the TOK part is perfect. Just need to buy some better tok tensioners soon
Check Auto Inspection places if they are required in your area. These people try to find things wrong with your car and wiper blades are constantly being replaced, raining or not. Also, if you go to junk yard, oil dipsticks are great and usually a thicker gauge.
Hello, don't be tired, if it is possible for you to teach how to make a buffer and different types of tools, such as the diameter and type of metal, please specify.
I have some inserts that are only 2mm wide. Do you think they'll still work out for TOK tension?
The only real answer I can give is that there is always a lock that it would work on, but it does seem a little thin for most applications :-)
6:10 use your mat ^^
😣
I just got a set of wiper blades & took them apart and the inserts were twice as wide & dark not shiny, is their anything i can do with these ones?
Those are cheap, this spring steel... you can make picks from them, but they are not too strong :-)
I have some OEM subaru like that which WERE spring steel. Some stock is better than others. I also do some home gunsmithing and one can never have enough variety of spring stock!! The only way to determine the quality is to test it. Some that breaks has a higher carbon content and needs to be heated. Some is just cheap garbage.
My local Halfords (UK) was more than happy to let me take a handful of old wipers for nothing. Don’t know if they will all let you but it’s definitely worth asking nicely.
Some were to brittle and snapped when trying to bend but only 2 out of the 15 or so I picked up.
That’s a great tip :-) some of those inserts can be really brittle, as you say :-)
Why not keep the narrow profile at the end? Why snip it off?
would never thought
windshield wipers
👍
No way, was wondering where I could get the wipers from I live right next to wilkos
Try a garage and get free second had ones :-)
How very English of you to give advice on how not to annoy the mechanic that you ask for wiper blades from.
lol
what's the thickness of these wiper blades?
It ranges a lot. I like to get as many as I can and choose the width and thickness that works best for the job
Width is 2.2mm , how about the thickness ? Can you please tell
Nice one...
Thanks :-)
He's good for cross lock ?
The reason they can break is because there are different grades of stainless depending on the amount of chromium content, usually bent cold. heat till buff red electro polish it.
Good tips :-)
Whenever I watch your videos, I always think I'm watching Frankie1080p's gaming videos... your voices and speaking mannerisms are very similar. Anyway, cool video, thanks for sharing! :)
Yetis4Life Yetis4Life thanks :-) he has a few more subscribers than I do lol
You'll get there eventually :-D
wow, i haven't heard that name in years
♻US - North East. The local auto parts store (AutoZone) has a bin right outside the entry/exit doors just for old wiper blades for when ppl replace them in the parking lot. Keep an 👁out.
I've found that the underwire from an old bra will work fine as well and give you a nicely curved handle.
Best to take it from both sides though otherwise the missus gets upset ;-)
@@LockNoob lol
Another thing that I will try making, just for the fun of it!
DClaus
Once you do, you’ll never buy a tension tool again :-)
Measuring tape - just seems awkward considering your cutting pad already has centimeters laid out on it. Like others have said - make your bends before cutting. If you’re buying a new wiper blade, why not get one for your car and then use the old one 🤦♂️
initially I did too, but it's too thin, so it needs to be a little wider, its not so good, yesterday i make some from a tweezers, I cracked and I managed without any other tool to break a lock just by tension and vibration at the same time..first time in my life, I think it took me 20 seconds. Then in the evening with a safety pin and a hairpin I broke a yala. I don't want to film because in my country the police are a bit idiotic.
Trip to wilkos for me 👍
I’m not a fan of the steel in this wiper. A local garage or scrap yard might be able to sort you out :-)
@@LockNoob anythings better than the cheap Chinese garbage the wife's hair grips have made it to my kit before
excellent tutorial, i'll have to go out of the way and hit the auto parts store one day when its raining.
Try a garage or somewhere that has old wiper blades - you might get some for free if you are nice :-)
Screwdriver
Hammer!
Wrench
if not careful with heating the temper is lost, in the us we make these all the time, because of cost and flexibility
True, but they don’t need to be particularly hard IMO :-)
Noob... dang buddy, we have Dremel tools for that sort of stuff hehhe, makes short work of it, and polish the craziness right out of it
I might not have had a Dremel at that point :-) old vid :-)
I don't have a dremel
@@Clr-Clr So Sorry... Might need to get you one.. best little micro tool on the planet. I use mine all the time, and make short work of new picks. They all have gritty edges. I have already used one Buff so much it has a nice special groove in it, just for my picks, to touch and polish up. Only used for that reason only.