The Saga of Mr Mullet!!

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Doesn't netiquette require people to post a "Put your coffee down BEFORE you read this" type of warning when they're posting stuff that funny!

Actually we have a long-standing rule that has survived Rap's midnite munchie spells . .

#1. Don't eat or drink anything while reading the posts on CS

I don't think anyone has been keeping a running tab of how many monitors and/or laptop screens get regular baths - but maybe we should (especially since we've got the IPF Ruined Christmas scorecard.)

[Emrld]

I saw on a TV show a new keyboard that is "washable"
now back to mullet meet carhood discussion in progress

[PepperElf]

well i do disagree... there is ONE mullet out there that's OK... cos it's on MacGyver's head. but then again... Mac wouldn't be getting kicked out in the first place so that's a moot point

tho i am curious... is it legal to sell the locksmith tools to Mr. Mullet, knowing he's going to try to break in illegally with them?

[Crazeyal]

Why would Mac need tools? A stick of chewing gun and a paperclip would do just as well!!

[gaspode]

I saw on a TV show a new keyboard that is "washable"
now back to mullet meet carhood discussion in progress

I could get one one for my next door neighbour,who actually did wash her keyboard and then asked why it didn't work(yes they are really that thick in walsall)

[It shouldn't]

tho i am curious... is it legal to sell the locksmith tools to Mr. Mullet, knowing he's going to try to break in illegally with them?

Well, you can buy them on the internet "for demonstration purposes only" (and for 4x the price)

Buuuttt........
if the cops catch ya with them, you go down for posession of criminal tools.


And CrazyAl... make that 5 monitors .....

Now, how to explain the chochlate milk in the cracks of the monitor to the boss.

[Crazeyal]

Sorry for the unclear information. "MM" was sold a SCREWDRIVER and doorknob installation tool. The tool is basically just a round strip of metal with a nub on the end to depress a spring loaded latch. You still need the key to get in the door to remove the existing set. Most locksets come with this type of tool, though. The guy had plenty of hand tools, he didn't really NEED these, they were just to calm him down.

Ira knew the guy WASN'T getting back in the house. The girl was tired of this guy, apparently he was on drugs and got mean when taking them. He sold him the new locks pretty much to be a RICHARD to this moron. I didn't like Ira much... but I hadda shake his hand for giving this idiot one last stab in the wallet.

[taxguykarl]

Ira knew the guy WASN'T getting back in the house. The girl was tired of this guy, apparently he was on drugs and got mean when taking them.

That would explain a lot.

[protege]

The guy had plenty of hand tools, he didn't really NEED these, they were just to calm him down.

At least he's in like company now

[Chromatix]

Funnily enough, I still have the original locks from the house I had in England. It's always a good idea to change the locks as soon as you buy a house, just to make sure nobody has the keys to them lying around.

But Finns don't seem to use this kind of lock - they're old-fashioned mortice locks, whereas the local lock manufacturers have their own fancy type that gets used everywhere. So if I ever get around to buying my own house again over here, these will be a pretty good form of insurance. Almost nobody will know how to pick them - the only possible downside is that even the locksmith might not know!

I'm surprised though that British insurers consider a mortice lock to be more secure than a Yale. Okay, a Yale can be picked with a piece of wire, a screwdriver and some patience (or so I'm told), but the mortice lock is even simpler and *should* be easier in theory to deal with. As I understand it, there's a special "skeleton key" for each type of mortice lock, which has sprung pins in place of the usual key blade and thus fits every lock.

Can anyone shed light on this mystery?

[Crazeyal]

Well, "Mortice" simply means a hole cut into a plate. Most locks are that style, but the most commonly used ones are built into cylinders that replace the plate. Most of the doorknobs with keys in them are "Cylinder" chambers.

Try the Wikipedia page and see if it helps.

[Chromatix]

This is what I'm referring to.

I think it's a specific form of this. I hadn't realised there was an overtravel detection feature on it - the diagrams I'd seen before were highly simplified.

[Crazeyal]

Yup, that's the type of lock that a skeleton key works with. And yes, picking them is extremely easy if you know what to look for. Then again, people have worked out how to pick the "unpickable" Medeco lock...

The problem with those locks is finding craftsmen who can actually work on them. You'd likely fine more help with artisans than Locksmiths. I actually worked on this type when I went to school for it, but only because it's a VERY basic lock type, and they had TONS of them. The class would break them, put them back together until the old brittle parts literally disintegrated. Then the Instructor would walk into a room with HUNDREDS of them and pull another out. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't.

If you have any sort of metal-crafting skill and at least one working model, you can remake any of these locks. Best to take a digital picture of the inner workings BEFORE you take anything apart, because worn parts can be like a Jigsaw with pieces missing.

[Chromatix]

On the contrary, these locks are still mass-produced today, and you can buy them in any good British hardware store. I think it must be the overtravel-detection feature - which isn't present on Yale (cylinder) locks - which makes them attractive to insurers. It's that feature which prevents the simple sprung skeleton key from working.

It is an old design, but it's a sound one.

[Crazeyal]

I was talking about the specific models that are 30 + years old. Also, being as I'm in the states, there are much more older properties being maintained than over here. But I agree with you, it works just great!