I've got a set of bolt-cutters (articulated for increased leverage) but they've never impressed me much. Might try it before I buy the grinder, though. So far, it's only been useful for cutting softer metals.
-- Bobby G.
How can I tell which I have?
It seems, from what I could tell of the rust marks, that water entered the lock through the shackle hole. Most weatherproof locks I've seen don't seem to have any waterproof collar (externally, at least) to prevent water from coming in along the shackle shaft.
I'll be on the lookout for Lockease.
Thanks!
-- Bobby G.
Much more expensive than the angle grinder from HF! (-" It would be nice to have a better set than the one I have now, but I just want the damn lock off and the angle grinder seems to be the solution du jour.
-- Bobby G.
That's pretty odd because the rusty bolt cutters I have fell off a truck, too. They've been "in the family" for almost 50 years since I retrieved them from a Brooklyn, NY street after I saw them bounce off the back of a garbage truck. There's even fancy metal scroll work on the handles. They don't cut worth a damn, though. I'd be very surprised if they cut through a hardened steel shackle considering what they've failed to cut in the past.
-- Bobby G.
Alas, I have no cutting torch. Even if I did, this particular lock is fitted around the end coupling of a Craftsmen rubber hose that's been out front for 20 years. Ever since TWO hoses got ripped off in a row from my house (I used to travel a lot and while the house was alarmed, the hose was not) I used two locks to secure it. One's a padlock, the other a cable lock and both secure the hose to the faucet and the hose has not grown legs since. Now the time has come for a replacement hose and if I damage it I suspect Sears might welch on their guarantee. You'd have to be a real pro to cut this lock with a torch without damaging the hose that fills nearly the entire inside of the shackle ring. I might even damage it with a grinder.
-- Bobby G.
Is that like a roto-zip saw? I got one for Christmas but never opened it. Now might be the time!
-- Bobby G.
And all these "automotive safety tools" they are selling everywhere to smash out a window to get out of a car. Burglary tools - used by kids all over america to break into cars by smashing windows - no rocks or hammers required.
Kids carrying them around being charged with posession of burglary tools?? Nope - the cops are too dumb half the time to realize what they are.
There are lots of hardened hasps out there too - - - -.
At work I have used a similar Bolt cutter. Works fine on most locks. There is one lock I ran across that was hardened and it would not cut it. A very stout fellow at work tried and all it did was put a chip in the jaw of the bolt cutter. We needed to get in so cut the hasp the bolt went through.
Air tools are smaller and lighter than electric tools. The power is back at the compressor. You do need air where you want to use them tho. I have air chucks all over the place and lots of hose.
One good thing if you are working around the water. Nobody got electrocuted with an air tool.
I have a 36" HF bolt cutter I bought on sale that is missing about a half inch of the end of one jaw. It didn't cut a hardened shackle on a pad lock. ;-(
That makes sense. I suppose if you've got air compressors in the shop to begin with, they aren't much of a hassle. It probably makes a real difference in tools that you have to hold all day, like roofing nailers, because they are lighter.
-- Bobby G.
Is that you, Ms. Galore? I knew your sister, Lotta Cun+.
(-:
-- Bobby G.
Air tools are addictive. Once you get a good compressor it is all you want to use. Nail guns are a drug all of their own. I have 5 now, from a big framing nailer down to a small brad gun.
That would be my guess. Mine will go through 1/2" rebar.
Steve
"Robert Green" wrote
They do the "work" for you?
Just a guess.
Steve
wrote
Agreed. Now, just the minimal auto repair requires the 3/8 air ratchet. And I would say cuts the work time in half. After you use a nailer or brad gun, one suddenly develops an allergy to them. What you can do in one fraction of one second with a nailer, and do it accurately is a drop of the addictive potion.
Steve
"Robert Green" wrote in news:jarlvj$duu$2 @speranza.aioe.org:
Dremel. That was my /other/ solution. The one that everybody here
--bizarrely--totally ignored.
Dremel. That's spelled D-R-E-M-E-L. Cheap, versatile, and cuts through some pretty hard steel. Including padlock hasps.
A quote from my original post: "...or Dremel will do just fine, althought it may take you a few minutes to cut through the hasp. I've cut through a few [hasps] with my Dremel and the heavy-duty (gray cap) wheels."
Dremel.
Forget the hacksaw. Hacksaw was only /one/ of /two/ solutions I posted. The Dremel was the other one. Dremel. Not hacksaw.
Dremel.
Dremel.
Got it? Do I need to say it again? I will anyway: Dremel. Not just hacksaw, but Dremel.
An angle grinder, even the cheap one from Harbor Freight has many uses you'll discover when one becomes available. Just today I used mine to cut the ends off of 1-1/2 screws that were used to hold coat hooks to a 1" board.
I've used mine to cut ceramic floor tile. It works swell for lopping off the concrete nails that secured carpet tack strips. You can use it to cut angle iron to the right length (instead of a hack saw). Fitted with a wire brush cup, it makes short work of cleaning hardened concrete off the mixer.
And so on.
Rebar is not hardened. Much softer than a good shackle.
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