THERMITE and LOCKS

[CrazyGoth666]

Ok, I was watching burn notice and saw a lock being cut off a door with a pop can full of thermite. Is this possible, or was it just that way for TV?

[master lurtz]

I guess its possible, thermite burns at something like 2500 degrees C. It yould just be a case of controling the flow of thermite onto the lock.
Im guessing it was a metal door (havent actually seen the movie) otherwise he would have just bashed it down?

[Delirious]

Burn Notice is a television show not a movie.
It's a pity Channel 10 keeps screwing with its programming. Burn Notice was on for a few weeks, then the writers strike went down, now with the olympics its on a new day each week.
Brilliant.

As far as your question, out of little experience I would assume the answer is yes. Believe it or not, alot of the information in Burn Notice is true. The information has just been doctored for hollywood purposes.

[dannyvdm]

Thermite is usually used to cut or weld metal. As an experiment, a 3lb. brick
of thermite was placed on an aluminum engine block. After the thermite was
done burning, only a small portion of block was melted. However, the block
was very warped out of shape plus there were cracks all through the block.
Ferro-thermite produces about 930 calories per gram.

This was from an unknown source... believe it, don't believe it... i don't care.

[CrazyGoth666]

That's good to know. The only problem I see is keeping the burning thermite on the doorknob.

[xkdjs]

i have used thermite before and different metals take a different time to burn through( it just dosent alaways burn through something but sometimes melts it into a glob) but a good chemical distributor is united nuclear. but play around and experiment your self to find the perfect mix and amount.

[Pyrotechnik]

YouTube - Thermite Experiment
This video explains thermite's destructive nature. It also shows it melting, yes melting, a block of liquid nitrogen and burning through the engine of a Peugot (blehhh French!) and, eventually the gas tank. This confirms the comment regarding the engine block.

PS: If you need a casing, all you do is take an iron, titanium, carbon (very hard to find), or nickel container with an open side and then turn it upside down, pour the thermite into it, mold playdough, clay, or eve tape the open side closed but leave room for a fuse (i.e. fireworks fuses or magnesium ribbons) and then place fuse and then place in direction of lock and then BOOM. directed energy. the reason you use those metals is because they have a higher melting point than thermite's burning point, therefore they can withstand the amount of heat. be careful though cuz they will get really really hot.

PSS: When making casing, make sure you leave room for oxygen to enter the thermite reaction... unless thermite doesnt need oxygen... i dont know honestly but if it does leave small airholes or gaps for oxygen to enter to fuel the reaction. if not do what i said before this

[Beyond]

Locks are primarily brass and aluminum. Bolts can be steel.

You also have copper springs and hardened steel shackels for padlocks and drill inserts for cylinders.

A lot of the lesser manufacturers use pot metal.

Not knowing much about chemistry or burning mixtures, I'll leave the rest to you guys. At least you have an understanding of what the lock is made up of now.

[Bahr]

Burn notice also showed how you can bust a lock with freeon(I think thats how its spelled.) The way he did it was turned a can of freeon key board spray upside down and sprayed the lock till it froze then broke it with a gentel tap of a hammer. My and my cousin tested that one, my cousin works at a heating and air place so he has planty of access to freeon. Theory is you turn it upside down to get liquid freeon. We did that but we used about how much he used on tv and hit it with a hammer one time but it diddent work. Then we used a shit load frezzing the hell out of it for about ten minutes then tapped it with the hameer and It busted into a million pieces. So you cant do it with a small amount but if you have time and enough freeon it does work.

[john lee]

Originally Posted by Bahr

Burn notice also showed how you can bust a lock with freeon(I think thats how its spelled.) The way he did it was turned a can of freeon key board spray upside down and sprayed the lock till it froze then broke it with a gentel tap of a hammer. My and my cousin tested that one, my cousin works at a heating and air place so he has planty of access to freeon. Theory is you turn it upside down to get liquid freeon. We did that but we used about how much he used on tv and hit it with a hammer one time but it diddent work. Then we used a shit load frezzing the hell out of it for about ten minutes then tapped it with the hameer and It busted into a million pieces. So you cant do it with a small amount but if you have time and enough freeon it does work.

I wonder if the stuff they sell in DIY shops will work,it's sold to freeze water pipes while you do a quick repair.May be worth a try!

[GuyFawks]

Originally Posted by dannyvdm

Thermite is usually used to cut or weld metal. As an experiment, a 3lb. brick
of thermite was placed on an aluminum engine block. After the thermite was
done burning, only a small portion of block was melted. However, the block
was very warped out of shape plus there were cracks all through the block.
Ferro-thermite produces about 930 calories per gram.

This was from an unknown source... believe it, don't believe it... i don't care.

Or in South Africa you knock on the door, have a gun and your in. /rant

That said yes it should work. But you would think the light, smoke, noise etc would alert people?

[john lee]

In Explosives and Pyrotechnics under the thead "Good e-book for making chemicals" it says that you can mix thermite with play-doh to make a kind of plastic thermite,i wonder if it will work on locks,i've not tested the comp yet,but will soon.
My partner used to make play-doh for the kids.
1 minute playdough recipe!
1/2 cup of salt
1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of oil
1 cup of boiling water
food colouring (optional)
mix all ingredients with the hot water
Store in a plastic bag

Four parts finished thermite with one part clay or play-doh.Knead it in well. I have no idea if this works.John.

[Beyond]

Look guys, you are all delving to serious into this when it's incredibly impractical.

Locks are primarily designed for aesthetic values (with a few exceptions). Smooth curves, minimal parts outside of the door, etc.

If you could some how manage to get the thermite on a deadbolt, which usually carries this shape, you're not going to "unlock" it. You're going to destroy the cylinder and cylinder housing and depending on how much "slag" you leave behind, you're still going to have to get access to the bolt to unlock it.

The same is true with knob sets and lever sets.

It's just far to impractical compared to other destructive entry methods. Using a hacksaw, which is pretty impractical in itself, makes much more sense than thermite.

Thermite will work but you're looking at a big mess, a lot of unnecessary time wasted, and even more hassles if the thermite doesn't hit the key parts.

Theoretically possible, but impractical.

[john lee]

Originally Posted by Beyond

Look guys, you are all delving to serious into this when it's incredibly impractical.

Locks are primarily designed for aesthetic values (with a few exceptions). Smooth curves, minimal parts outside of the door, etc.

If you could some how manage to get the thermite on a deadbolt, which usually carries this shape, you're not going to "unlock" it. You're going to destroy the cylinder and cylinder housing and depending on how much "slag" you leave behind, you're still going to have to get access to the bolt to unlock it.

The same is true with knob sets and lever sets.

It's just far to impractical compared to other destructive entry methods. Using a hacksaw, which is pretty impractical in itself, makes much more sense than thermite.

Thermite will work but you're looking at a big mess, a lot of unnecessary time wasted, and even more hassles if the thermite doesn't hit the key parts.

Theoretically possible, but impractical.

I've looked at the locks and thermite will burn through them with not problems,it's just finding a way to burn the thermite over or ontop of the locks or deadbolt,but there will be a problem with wooden doors/frames.I've a friend that clears rubbish,i'll ask him to take the locks of old doors and collect any locks he can find and do some tests .I think thermite would be better for padlocks and not door locks,but it's still worth a try.

[Beyond]

Originally Posted by john lee

I think thermite would be better for padlocks and not door locks,but it's still worth a try.

Even then, position is everywhere. Why even bother to burn through the padlock when you can just burn through whatever the shackles attached to?

[john lee]

Originally Posted by Beyond

Even then, position is everywhere. Why even bother to burn through the padlock when you can just burn through whatever the shackles attached to?

Good point,the locks usless if it's on/in wood.
SIDE NOTE
I'm not into lock picking,but found this on youtube,it looks to easy to me.
YouTube - How to Hack a Lock Using a Soda Can!

[Beyond]

That's called "shimming" and it is a popular attack on padlocks. I'll start an entire thread on that right now, matter of fact.

[john lee]

That's what we need,more threads.
The explosives and pyro needs more threads on the pyro side,it's mostly about explosives and there's a huge amount of infomation that is missing.shame as there's more fun in making your own fireworks than just making an explosive!

[Beyond]

Originally Posted by john lee

That's what we need,more threads.
The explosives and pyro needs more threads on the pyro side,it's mostly about explosives and there's a huge amount of infomation that is missing.shame as there's more fun in making your own fireworks than just making an explosive!

Trust me, I've got an amazing article coming out in the next week or so.