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  •  Paging all locksmiths (7+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    claude, SarahLee, rincewind, Spud1, maybeeso in michigan, borkitekt, Leo in NJ

    Years ago, DH and I picked up a few old steamer trunks at auction -- you know, foot lockers with two latches and a keyhole between them. We've always kept them latched not locked (no keys!) -- but my very helpful 4-y.-o. somehow managed to shut the locked bits so that they won't come open anymore. (Sweaters inside, no big deal now, but I will want them this fall). How do I open these damned things?

    IGTNT: Our war dead. Their stories. Read "I Got the News Today."

    by monkeybiz on Sat May 17, 2008 at 08:19:13 AM PDT

    •  Depends on the lock (6+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      claude, SarahLee, rincewind, monkeybiz, playtonjr, borkitekt

      If it is an old-fashioned warded lock (depends on a specially-shaped barrier to keep the wrong key from turning), you may be able to pick it with a bent wire. If it is a more modern pin-tumbler lock, that is more difficult; there are "guns" that move wires up and down to simulate all the possible keys in a minute or three, but it would be hard to find one of the right size for a trunk.

      by Leo in NJ on Sat May 17, 2008 at 08:32:56 AM PDT

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    •  Pick the locks (6+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      claude, SarahLee, rincewind, monkeybiz, playtonjr, borkitekt

      We have one of those.  Mr. Watt picks the locks with an appropriately small screwdriver.  They are trivial locks.

      Well-behaved women rarely make history - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

      by Milly Watt on Sat May 17, 2008 at 09:20:59 AM PDT

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      •  yes, (3+ / 0-)

        Recommended by:
        claude, SarahLee, rincewind

        sometimes you can use needles to move the mechanism around.

        You might also be able to see the locking sys with a light and a magnifying glass  to be able get a better grasp.

        These things are fun to toy with, typically pretty easy to pick.

        If that doesn't work, be sure to check that the screws holding any of the parts are not on the outside- some smart people actually install them that way. Even funnier, one of my old design boards at school had a padlock securing the two/three drawers- the sys holding is all together was a latch which went over one of those screw/hole dealys, screwed into one of the drawers. So, you could basically take the lock and twist it counter clockwise a few turns until it came out. Heh.

        Listen to Noam Chomsky's Necessary Illusions. (mp3!)

        by borkitekt on Sat May 17, 2008 at 10:03:44 AM PDT

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