I would like to hear any comments on another reply made to a post concerning this safe I made on a tool forum I am part of located here
http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/inde ... ic=8184.15
Very nice group of people by the way if anyone here is interested in old tools.
Anyway its good to get multiple opinions because there is usually more than one way to cut a piece of paper. I will copy and paste the post below. Thanks for any time and interest in this...........
OK, first off, it's what is called a "Cast Iron Safe" in the box trade. We used to get $100 up to get rid of them back in the 70s.
Thats a shame but I guess it only makes my own piece more unique
The "Paint" is black asphaltic varnish, composition depends on what mood the painter was in that day for the most part. It's close to japaning that hasn't been baked, and at this point in time harder than Buzard Breath's head.
Paint color is green inside and out. Definitely original finish
The lock pack is standard Yale, half of the safe makers in the country used them. Your dial got mashed either when some fool forced the box through a doorway or dropped the box on its face. Setting the combination is a walk in the park on that wheelpack.
The standard lubricant for the wheelpack is a slight coating of Vasiline ONLY on the bearing surface of the wheel and hub faces of the wheels. Aslo a slight film on the dialplate bushing.
Make damn sure you put the wheels back in the proper sequence or you'll have a lot of fun.
That makes sense, the more I thought about it I came to the conclusion that since there was no heavy/direct damage to dialplate it could not have been beat on in frustration.
Tell me how to set the combination on the wheelpack, I would like to know for reference
The dialplate can be reworked on a lead anvil with appropriately shaped brass or aluminum punches. Repainting is easy. First you paint the black background and let it DRY THOROUGHLY. Then you smear a paintstick into the lines and numbers and wipe the excess off the black. You'll do it a few times before you get the technique.
Can you go into more detail on the paintstick technique, I know nothing about this and at this point do not know what a paintstick is ( other than for mixing paint ) or how it works. Now that I re-read your comment I think a painstick must come in various colors, you are saying to smear it in the lines to fill in the lines and then too wipe it off the face of the dial without wiping it out of the lines and then allowing it to dry as well.
It's strictly a fire box. When the box is exposed to heat the door swells and seals against the frame. It takes a week to cool one after it's been in a fire so you can open it. That's a good thing because if the box is opened too soon the contents will burst into flame as soon as they get air. Temperature of contents inside the sealed box didn't matter because the limited contained air prevented ignition.
Good information, thanks for that.
The "Insulation" is a mixture of plaster, mica and sand. There is no asbestos in the mix, it would have served no purpose.
Info I found on-line stated prob. asbestos, over and over again on different sites but none sounded so sure, only guessing that the manuaf. that was sued over manufacturing these safes/boxes because of copying another box put asbestos in these as well. Sounds like you have had them apart though so good to know and that you can confirm.
The configuration of the interior determines what the box was sold as originally, office, jewelry etc.
That would prob. make mine office than
In the 70s these safes were desired, other than the ones weighing over 2000#, by photographers for storage of their processed film. Today they are only desired by loonietoon decorators who pay $500 + for the 3 foot square boxes, more if they have gold leaf.
Well I only paid 75.00 so I guess if I should ever choose to sell I will be OK ( I have zero intention of selling, I do not buy to sell )
Now, you want to know how to get into one that's locked up? Yes I do
No Rusty, pulling the hinges won't make it happen!