Baseball Bat Steering Wheel Locks

[JonnyBoy]

Nobody buys the bats as a lock anyway. They're a thinly-disguised offensive weapon and its just an added bonus that you can clamp it to your steering wheel and deter the casual TWOCer.

I bought mine simply to t*at stuff

 

[chaos]

I didn't break it off - I removed it. The design of my clutch lock was similar, but I managed to kick it up into the dashboard - may have been the design of the clutch pedal.
Any way, given that your lock is old, dr_pepper, then I would guess the steel's not hardened - junior hacksaw and less than a minute would sort it out. I could also hacksaw the padlock.
I recently had to cut off a 2 month old combination padlock after the combination got changed accidentally and none of us knew the new combo. That was supposed to be hardened, and 30 seconds was all it took.

 

[chaos]

Jonnyboy why didn't you just buy a normal baseball bat and get a decent krooklock?

 

[The Negotiator]

No way, in my life I have had to cut a fair bit of metal, hardened or not, metal that is badly braced (i.e. not solidly fixed, difficult to manipulation your position (ever tried using a full size hack saw towards the dash, you lack room and length of the stroke))isn''t quick and easy to cut.

Also, carrying around a full size hack saw is a little difficult and a junior hacksaw you would be still doing it for 3 weeks.

 

[Dr_Pepper]

As Paul says I'd be seriously impressed if you could get through it anywhere near that quickly, especially with a little hacksaw. BUT anyway all this is totally irrelevant so end of discussion.

And I think Jonnyboy was joking as far as I know he's actually not an out and out thug...

 

[arseofbox]

he steel's not hardened - junior hacksaw and less than a minute would sort it out. I could also hacksaw the padlock.
I recently had to cut off a 2 month old combination padlock after the combination got changed accidentally and none of us knew the new combo. That was supposed to be hardened, and 30 seconds was all it took.

I get the impression that hardened steel isnt all its cracked up to be. Cos I recently had to cut through a small hardened steel padlock with a hacksaw...It was going with no problems until the technician in the lab suggested we drift it out

 

[chaos]

No way, in my life I have had to cut a fair bit of metal, hardened or not, metal that is badly braced (i.e. not solidly fixed, difficult to manipulation your position (ever tried using a full size hack saw towards the dash, you lack room and length of the stroke))isn''t quick and easy to cut.

Also, carrying around a full size hack saw is a little difficult and a junior hacksaw you would be still doing it for 3 weeks.

I removed a steering wheel from a mk 3 escort last summer (for a buggy project). I cut through the steering column with a full size hacksaw - took me 10 minutes of lying down across the seats!
It would be easy to maniplute a full size hacksaw on a clutch crooklock - sit in the passenger seat!

I am the master of destruction - there's not a lot that I can't break.

You wouldn't need to go completely go through the metal - just enough to bend the bar, with the aid of a size 13 boot.

A junior hacksaw would take less time - adrenaline would make you go manic and you'd go through it quicker than you think.

ArseofBox, what do you do in your labs to be cutting off padlocks?

 

[chaos]

Jonnyboy why didn't you just buy a normal baseball bat and get a decent krooklock?

I didn't say he was a thug, you could have a decent crooklock and be able to play ball for more or less the same price.

 

[The Negotiator]

JB is a thug so I am told

Nah, with a junior hacksaw you would be at it all day, as quick as you can go the stroke is a maximum of approx 12cm, most likely when used rapidly less than 8cm, that's cutting stroke it nothing. The only thing in favour is the typically thinner blade and the fact you don't need as much room.

Good hardened steal, especially circular, with a hacksaw is pretty difficult even to get a groove into before you start the proper cutting. You could need to cut through approximately 75% of it before you had a chance with a decent kick, which you would find difficult to get a good angle on given your sat down on a car seat!

The people who can remove these in seconds/minutes are pro-lock smiths most of the time, the people who can be in your house and beat a 100000 lever lock on your front door quicker than you can with your key. THe mass majority of Fiat stealers aren't up to this.

This is why most car crime currently is smash and grab, modern cars are difficult to steal and a crook lock is a good visual deterent.

WHy? Two identicle cars next to each other, one with a lock, the other without. Which would you chose?

There's not a lack of cars around to nick, they would always choose the easiest.

 

[Stu DemonD]

WHy? Two identicle cars next to each other, one with a lock, the other without. Which would you chose?

Er, I would chose neither and jump into my car instead

 

[The Negotiator]

Me too, after 1:30pm tomorrow (when my insurance starts )

 

[Stu DemonD]

Dare you to jump in it at 1.29pm?

 

[gaz.d]

i tried swinging round a steering lock in my car once, nearly shattered the sunroof, passenger window and windscreen

 

[The Negotiator]

Nope, but I won't be home by then

Should finish lecture @ 12pm, skipping labs, 12:42 train (I think), Nottm by 2:42, home by 3:15, in car and away

Set it earlier incase the IT lecture finishes early.

 

[chaos]

So what if you had a standard concours car (say a RS turbo Escort)? You have to stick to what the factory supplied. A thief would find your car easy prey if they found a cheap crooklock on it!

 

[The Negotiator]

But it would be better than without....anyway, the average Fiat isn't as desirable as a RS turbo Escort.

 

[JonnyBoy]

JB is a thug so I am told

Thug? Moi? I prefer the word "vigilante", thankyou... or I'll send the boys round ;P

Jonnyboy why didn't you just buy a normal baseball bat and get a decent krooklock?

I've got a normal bat, it lives under me bed but if I got caught with it in the car I'd have some explaining to do as it hasn't been used in a game of baseball since 1996
And I'm not to bothered about the "krooklok" aspect of it, it's a deterrent to the casual TWOCer who'd nick a Punto for joyriding, I can't see any organised car thieving gangs targeting a car thats worth less than it's alloys and stereo!

 

[JonnyBoy]

But it would be better than without....anyway, the average Fiat isn't as desirable as a RS turbo Escort.

That depends on the Escort... a mint Series 1 yes, but a boy-racer'd, thrashed and abused S2 is a different matter.

 

[chaos]

I'm just sceptical of any lock where I can see a weakness - you would too if 2 of your last 5 cars were nicked (1 got nicked twice) - out of a locked garage. Both cars got written off - the first got joyridden and set on fire on a friend's farm. The car we replaced it with got nicked and was missing for 3 weeks. We found it smashed up - needed new wheels, new bumpers and a fair bit of paintwork and touching up. This car then got nicked a second time and it was wrecked beyond repair on some wasteland.
For the record, I have cut solid 3/4 inch pipe with a hacksaw - normal at first, until the blade snapped and then I had to finish it off with a junior. i had to cut another 4 pieces with the junior - so it can be done a lot quicker than you anticipate Paul.

 

[JonnyBoy]

I suspect your cars were slightly more desirable/valuable than mine though!

The Capri is worth pinching, but thats got an old-skool Crooklok round the clutch and stering wheel, and I take most of the ignition system out when I park it up.