Thanks so much guys. I gotta say... it
really is nice to have a few of you to share this stuff with and "talk shop". There's not many people I know around me that care all too much. And of the ones that do, they just wanna hear 'cool stories', which for me gets old quick. Not to mention, I really
don't have any 'cool stories'! lol. So again, I appreciate the interest and I hope some of my experiences will prove useful to your work in the field. If nothing else, I'm sure some of my photos are just fun to browse.
tarboxb wrote:Good stuff as always Oldfast! You need to start taking door bolt position measurements, etc. for us which may be pulling out the power tools now and then.
TarbooOOOoox! Yeah, I'd be willing to do that. I could probably get specs on
most safes I come across (depending on time, how tired and/or cold I am, etc.) You'd definitely have to school me as to the proper way of taking such measurements so they'd prove useful to you in the end. Naturally, I wouldn't include such info here, but keep it on record should someone inquire. PM me sometime to discuss it further. We'll see what this next season brings. And keep in mind, the next handful of safes I post here are still from
last Winter.
mdc5150 wrote:Mike I love reading your posts. I so envy your talent, but I know it isn't talent alone it is countless hours of practice and experience.
Matt, thanks so much man. And you're so right... much of it comes down to being devoted and disciplined; putting in the hours. Certainly there's some folks that
are naturally gifted (talented). Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, lol. Everything and anything to do with manipulation came very slowly and awkward for me. Very foreign. Only through absolutely insane repetition did it become more fluent and make more sense. In fact, I
still go through these same phases today whenever I tryn' introduce something new into my spin game. I hope this serves as inspiration to others, as they realize you don't have to be a freak-of-nature to do this. Very nice to see you!
MartinHewitt wrote:How long did it take you to get it open? I assume it did not have these shallow cuts as shown in your second link to the past? What did you do to getting the dial turn smoothly? Just turning, turning, turning or with some oil?
I always seem to lose track of time, lol. But I'd say it was pushing 3 hours. Include several breaks for my lower back, along with prep/setup time for the dial... yeah, I would say a good
solid 3 hrs would be fairly accurate here. Oh, and one peanut butter & honey sandwich
Yes, the shallow cuts spanning the circumference of the wheels
were present, just as I've seen on the 6810's. Honestly, I'm becoming very curious about these. And from what I've seen, no one has a definitive answer. Logically, your first thought is 'manipulation resistance'. Is this design to frustrate manipulation, and if so, is it effective? Mmmm, I suppoooose to some extent, yes. But overall(?) no, not really. Remember, during my first encounter with these I was
not even aware of them until servicing the lock after the opening. So it begs the question; if not for resistance, then
what?! Are these notches simply a by-product of the manufacturing process? Could they be nothing more than aesthetics? Which seems far fetched... but look at the lengths they've gone to with the rest of the parts; the engraving, scaling, the velvet colored background... these things mattered back then. At any rate, their purpose seems a mystery.
Getting a dial to run as smooth as possible: I'm learning more & more tricks to accomplish this. But yes, sometimes it comes down to nothing more than what you've said; lube & lots of turning. Here's the best way I've found to get straight to the heart of the matter - behind the dial and directly on the bushing.
Take the straw that came with your lubricant and extend it with heat shrink tubing. The tubing can be pressed flat and worked in between the dial and dial ring. Not all dials will allow it, but a
great many will. Pull out on the dial and turn slowly while watching near the opening index. Wait for the most amount of clearance between dial & ring to be offered - work the tubing in and straight down to the bushing - spray away - then spin away to work it in.
For turning, I'll sometimes attach a sort of bar clamp. But in the near future, I'd like to come up with an attachment that could be chucked up in a drill. One the would firmly but gently grasp the dial. Delicate turning could still be done in this way... but much more turning could be achieved in far less time, while also preserving your wrist for the main event.
What lubricant? Currently, I'm sold on Tri-Flow. It performs well in the wicker test. So its' climbing and penetrating capabilities make sense to me for now. However, I'm always on the lookout! If you know of something that may work better yet... I'd love to give it a try!