Improvised Shim from Soda Can

Here's how to make a padlock shim using a very special hacker tool...  A soda can.

Before you get started you should probably know EXACTLY what a retail shim looks like, since that is what you are essentially going to build. We have taken some close up pics to help show you what you are going to build.

1. Cut a beer can vertically down the side, then cut off the top and bottom portions in order to spread out the majority of the metal in a large sheet

2. Cut this sheet into strips about one inch in width. (a tall boy can like this PBR Pounder or a Guiness Draugh can produce half a dozen such strips)

3. Now that the aluminum is flat and even, take this time to clean up any rough edges that were present on the original disassembly cuts.

4. If you're working with metal from a 16 oz. can, cut this strip in half. ultimately, you'd want to be working with a rectangle of aluminum that is about one inch by three inches.

5. A tall boy can turn into a dozen of these strips. if you're using a regular 12 ounce can, you might get about ten potential shims.

6. Visualize (or mark with a sharpie) the strip of metal in four equal sections, divided along the long dimension.

7. Mark what i like to call the "M" outline. see how the points on the "M" roughly corrospond to the piece of metal being thought of in fourths along the other dimension.

8. Cut out the "M" section of the metal. do the best you can to curve the cuts around the corners as opposed to meeting two separate cuts together at a point. meeting cuts together can lead to tiny tears which will potentially weaken the shim.

9. You are now going to fold the metal along those first lines that you drew/visualized. along the long dimension you will fold the metal three times.

10. Start with the "upper" portion, in the perspective of the images accompanying this description. Fold it in toward the mid-line of the metal.

11. Next, fold up the outer sides of the "M". make the folds from the mid-line, so that the pieces fold up and extend past the fold you made in step ten.

12. Continue folding those extended bits in the same direction... over and around. Do not fold them back down "toward" you in the perspective of these photos) but over and "away" from you. Currently, there is a ridge of metal facing you (in the perspective of this photo) from the fold made in step ten. You'd want this ridge of metal AWAY from the padlock shackle when you wrap the shim around the lock.

13. Observe how flipping this metal over now gives you a nice, smooth surface down the middle with no ridges. this is the surface you will press against the metal shackle of the padlock. (or, before using on a padlock, press it against a screwdriver or bic pen in order to make the shim into the appropriate "rounded" shape)

14. Shaping the metal will make it almost the same size as a commercial shim. this size, with nearly a full inch of width from the tip of the point to the top, is approximately a size D shim (shims come in sizes A through D... with A being very tiny... used on baggage locks etc and D being huge... used on very massive padlocks. most standard locks open with either a B or C shim... you may want to cut down the "point" of your shim by anywhere from 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch if it's not inserting into the lock all the way)

15. Another photo showing the final, shaped shim (and showing how large it is and why you may want to trim down it's point. Keep those nice, rounded edges in mind if you do any trimming.

Using your newly created shim...

Enjoy! =)

* Thanks Sparky for the video

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