Combination Dial File Cabinet
About ten years ago I was given a small safe from my grandparents' house that was open but the combo was unknown. I took it to a local locksmith who referred me to a retired military locksmith about 45 minutes away. The gentleman let me come to his house with the safe and as he worked on determining the combination he told me about his time working on safes and vaults for the army. He was a very nice guy and I was fascinated by his story. When he finished he only charged me 20 bucks and told me to give him a call in the future if I needed anything. That time may be now.
For the last few weeks I have been researching larger safes. I have a few long guns that I want to secure. My research quickly revealed that modern 'gun safes' offer very little protection for the cost. I began looking online for used commercial safes but it looks like any good safe tall enough to put guns in will be EXTREMELY heavy and maybe not practical to get in my house and be safely supported by my wood floor. I do not think I have seen any safe tall enough for my needs that weighs less than 1000 lbs.
Today I remembered that there was a locking file cabinet in this house when I moved in. I have never looked at very closely. It has three drawers and is very heavy. I could barely tip it a couple inches off the ground myself. I bet it weighs 400 to 600lbs. I am thinking about cutting the bottom out of the top two drawers, locking the drawers together so they slide together, and storing my guns inside. However, I do not know the combination to the lock.
So, my questions are:
Does my idea seem feasible?
Does the heavy weight indicate the cabinet is fairly resistant to forced entry?
With help from you guys, is it possible that I could determine the combination myself? If not, this may be too heavy to move outside, load on a trailer, haul it to the locksmith and reverse the process. I would probably ask him to come to me since it is already inside my house. Would the security of the cabinet be worth what he would charge, which I estimate would be about $75-$125 because I am so far away? Thank you for any help! I can supply more pictures if needed.
, David