OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer
Posts: 4412
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:16 am
Location: Michigan
Re: Safe Chronicles, Part II - Beyond the Lockroom
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Someone had tried to forcibly open her safe some 20 yrs ago. And it's still packed with her belongings.
They had attacked both the handle & the dial. She assured me though, albeit rough, the dial does turn.
It didn't sound all too promising but it was worth some further dialog. Unable to take a photo, let alone
text or email it to me, the next best thing was to get her in front of the safe for a minute while we talk.
But I couldn't coax her to walk into the garage - she said it "was cold out there". Waitaaa...what?! lol.
Don't get me wrong; she turned out to be a real pleasure to visit. But what's wrong with this picture?
Here I am, possibly willing to drive a couple hours...... yet she's unwilling to take a couple steps. lol
Having no clue as to the make/model of the safe or the extent of damage to it, there were plenty of
reasons to pass on this one. But I thought "What the hell else I got to do on a Friday afternoon?!
Besides, might be a nice surprise opposed to my usual pre- prep/research rituals. Who knows.
Ok, lol... so it didn't turn out to be the spectacular safecracking surprise trip I had hoped. Another old Sentry.
I've run into several of these this winter now. I still dunno the exact model# for these (if there was one),
but I suspect they were all made 50-70 years ago and apparently were quite popular at the time.
The lower hinge is broke, half a handle remains, and the dial was pried on in a couple areas around the edge.
Definitely on its' way out. As nasty as it is, everything was functioning just fine - so I had no trouble opening it.
The door, nearly ready to fall off anyway, came home with me. The rest is destined for the junk yard.
Home in the lockroom, thought I'd take a couple pics for you guys - so you can see the appearance of a gate.
The reading goes up 3 lines (a massive 3/4" jump). Keep in mind that this happens to be a fairly drastic one.
Some indications will be more subtle. But even the smaller fluctuations will still normally be 1 or more lines.
HERE'S a couple others. You'll notice some slight design variations between the three (mostly exterior).
But the locks are all basically the same: 3-wheel (2 wheels + drive wheel) for a 3 number combination.
Proper dialing for these is LRL I believe. The drive wheel has no false gates and is easily determined.
With no false gate on the drive wheel, it's worth briefly exploring wheels 1&2 through sound & feel:
AWL & AWR. If nothin' - park w1 quarterly, each time bringing 2&3 around. Still nothin' - laser time.
As mentioned earlier, there's no need for extended beam travel with these. Positioning a graph
on the face/edge of the safe allows approximately 10" of travel and provides sufficient fluctuation.
Also no need for a magnet & spring setup for consistent handle pull - manually turning it is just fine.
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