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Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Tue Feb 18, 2020 7:40 pm
by Eazy123
Great write-up, thank you.

I have cracked a S&G 6730 and love locks so my family got me the Vault for Christmas. I thought it was a novel idea, working my way from the two stepped arms to the flat 2-number lever, and that's when things started to go weird.

I had a relative change the combo (they chose 70, 90, 80, the 70 doesn't matter since it's a 2 number arm)

Now, for some odd reason, the contact area is at its smallest when it's anywhere from 0-79, and is at its largest from 80-99. I'm talking a BIG difference (half a number at each contact point).

This is the opposite of what's supposed to happen - the distance between contact points is supposed to be at its smallest when on 80...perhaps 90, but this isn't the case.

I have no idea how this is possible.

Not to mention the play on the dial is pretty big - I can pull and push the dial in more than I feel I should be able to, and there seems to be some "wobble" when I spin the dial, too.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:18 am
by MartinHewitt
Probably the wheels are highest around thw gate and because the gates are near each other they are covering each other. In such a case you need to park wheel(s) at a low spot.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:05 am
by Eazy123
MartinHewitt wrote:Probably the wheels are highest around thw gate and because the gates are near each other they are covering each other. In such a case you need to park wheel(s) at a low spot.


I'm confused. Can you elaborate please? Are you saying the wheels aren't totally round, but instead move up near the gates?

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:24 am
by MartinHewitt
No wheel is perfectly round and of perfectly equal size. This due to production tolerances, forces created by the mechanism inside the wheel and other influences. Part of this is typical for a lock model, some is individual to a specific lock. How it is in this Chinese lock? Who knows.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:24 pm
by pickmonger2
Sad part is that puppy aint cheap... For 129.00 which is what they are currently asking, you can buy a S&G 6730 and a mount on the internet....

Would anyone be able to post a link where I can buy a lock and mount at a fair price and decent quality.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:08 pm
by MartinHewitt
Mbausa.com has very nice mounts for 12/20 bucks. The cheap solution would be to get a Big Red with it, perhaps as a cutaway. I am sure it is a good lock, but I never had one and don't know how they manipulate. They also sell R6730s. Or you try to get a used lock somewhere on the internet. Of course all these parts are according to the standards and so you need only one mount and one dial. Btw. I think the black dials are easier to read than the silver ones.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 12:53 pm
by LockpickingChef
Thanks for the write up, I'd been considering getting this for months but I think I'll hold off and go with the big red down the road.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:22 am
by LockeyD
And not to mention the atrocious "manual" that comes with it!

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:31 pm
by madsamurai
S&G 6741 is also a good inexpensive beginner choice... they're all over ebay for generally $40-60 where safe salesmen take them off stock safes to be replaced with electronics. Most times you'll see them listed as "6700 series" and they'll typically include Liberty or other branding on the dial. Very similar manipulation to the 6730, but a tad easier with wider gate tolerances.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 1:01 pm
by OLLE3770
(First post!)
Thank You guys. I bought this lock from Sparrows (Canada) at a very good exchange rate so it turned out not that expensive. I don't regret buying it but would not necessarily recommend it. The manual it came with was bad. It confused the hell out of me. Then there was at least one video on YT (now probably debunked as false and afaik been taken down) which made things even worse. Then I found a channel ("Lock Manipulator") which I really enjoyed. It's not a mystery anymore (I'm a total noob when it comes to combination locks) so I can actually learn something from this lock - especially the art of manipulating wheel positions (wheel isolation, setting two adjacent wheels using the same rotational direction for both of them, opening the lock in the wrong direction etc.). For me - these exercises works on this lock and I think it's perhaps the most important skill for a noob to learn. The goal is to get to a point where wheel manipulation is intuitive (not there yet - still have to think and screw up or get lost regularly). And I figured out myself that the "three wheel straight fence" probably needs to be filed down and this thread confirmed it. I'm picking keyed locks as a hobby and if I decide to continue with combination locks I now know much more about what I should look for to buy. The Sparrows lock introduced me (made me curious) to combination locks and with its flaws I got into a much deeper rabbit hole than expected - but I think that taught me a lot. Wouldn't have happened without it - so that's a plus.

Re: Sparrows Vault - a close look

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:40 am
by MartinHewitt
Hi! I think the massive amount of problems the Sparrows vault has are confusing for the beginner, thinks like the disappearing contact points. A proper lock would not distract from the main operation.