How to Cut a Lock With a Cutting Torch

A cutting torch can open a stubborn lock.

A strong lock can help keep your belongings safe from thieves but, should you lose the key, the lock will keep you out as well. Although you can sometimes cut thinner locks with a pair of bolt cutters, a cutting torch is necessary for thick, high-quality locks. Cutting torches, also known as "oxygen acetylene" torches, use high temperatures combined with acetylene and a stream of oxygen to weaken and slice through different types of metal.

Things You'll Need

• Goggles
• Gloves
• Cutting torch
• Striker

Instructions

1. Put on your protective goggles and gloves. Remove any potentially flammable materials from the vicinity before you begin.

2. Turn both the oxygen regulator knob and the acetylene knob on the cutting torch to neutral.

3. Hold the concave side of the striker approximately 1 to 2 inches away from the stream of acetylene and oxygen. Squeeze the metal bands of the striker together to light the flame.

4. Turn down the oxygen level until your flame is small, white and almost translucent. At this point, your flame should extend no more than 3 or 4 inches from the end of the torch. This is the preheating flame.

5. Pass the preheating flame quickly across the part of the lock you intend to cut. This initiates the oxidation process--making cutting easier--and also provides you with a line to follow when cutting. Do not press the trigger on your cutting torch when preheating the lock.

6. Place the preheating flame against the lock. Press the trigger and move the flame slowly across the metal, following the mark made by your preheating flame, until the lock breaks.

Tips & Warnings

• Cutting torches are dangerous tools with a significant potential for injury. Always keep these and other tools out of the reach of children.

References

• ESAB: Manual Cutting

Resources

• Health and Safety Executive: Safety in Gas Welding, Cutting and Similar Processes