Learn How to Pick Locks with this Oversized 3D-Printable Model
Download this oversized 3D-printable model to understand how modern locks and lockpicking work.
I couldn’t tell you why, but people with geeky interests sure do love lockpicking. Go to any tech conference and half the people in attendance will have a lockpick set in their backpack. If you want to join their ranks, you’ll need to learn how to pick a lock and this oversized 3D-printable model can help you understand how modern locks work.
Locks are, of course, difficult to pick by design — they wouldn’t be very useful if they weren’t. Part of that design is obfuscating the internal mechanisms. But the practicalities of manufacturing, installation, and locksmithing result in a simple truth: the vast majority of locks work in a similar way using similar parts. This model makes those parts clearly visible, so you can learn how they interact and how to overcome their efforts to keep you out.
Thorin Oakenshield, a creator I assume to be quite stout, designed this model to function exactly like a real cylinder lock. It is just scaled up by 2.4 times and has a cutaway on one side to expose the springs and pins.
To get started, just download the files from Printables, make them using your 3D printer, and assemble them according to the instructions. Other than the 3D-printable parts, you just need springs and screws. Then you can use the included 3D-printable key, or lockpicks, to open the lock.