Any locksmiths in here?

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  • Papa

    Sharpshooter
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    Jul 20, 2012
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    Ohio
    Hey guys, I just recently bought a gun safe with a rotary lock and reset the combination myself. It's been about a month since then and today I attempted to get in it with no success. The safe has a 4 number combination.

    4 turns to the left 3 turns to the right, 2 turns to the left and 1 turn to the right. The last number cant be modified, and releases the locking bolt.

    Anyway as I was unlocking it all was well. I input my 3 numbers and on the last turn that grabs the locking bolt, the dial just keeps turning. I noticed instantly that something was wrong because it had some resistance to it. After roughly a turn I didn't keep track (probably should of) I then turned it the other way and reset the lock and attempted another combination entry with no luck. All additional entry attempts have been unsuccessful. What I believed happened is that last safe tumbler slipped somehow and now my combination is in limbo. I've been trying my combination with the first 2 numbers and have been trying a different 3rd number each time. I've been going at it a while with no success. I'll probably try more tomorrow. Does anyone have any pointers. Does the Stethoscope trick work? I'm afraid I may have turned the dial more than once and affected the first 2 numbers of my combination.

    If push comes to shove I'll cut the bottom of the safe out but that not an easy task with an 800lb safe with luckily a handful of guns in it.

    My safe is located in Monticello Indiana as well.
     
    Last edited:

    87iroc

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    Dec 25, 2012
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    I think calling any locksmith they should be able to help.

    Whoever the manufacturer of the safe should be able to help as well...especially if its a new safe(I read it initially as it was new to you but used).

    Good Luck
     

    Papa

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    The safe is a used Heritage safe. Its over 15 years old.

    I called a local smith in Monticello and he said it was too much for him, he suggested I call a place in Lafayette but estimated it would run $600 and mentioned it may need dirlling. It was too late to call for an estimate, but I'd rather not drill or cut if I didn't have to. I won't be paying someone anywhere close to what I paid for the safe. Safe bottoms can all ways be welded back in. I'll call Heritage tomorrow.
     

    K_W

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    Aug 14, 2008
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    Enter combo, turn dial to exactly last number, tap on safe door with rubber mallet, see if that drops the prawl into the slot.
     

    slipnotz

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    Oct 31, 2010
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    Papa, I see that you are out of South Bend. You should call Bob's Lock and Key in Bourbon IN. His phone # is 574-342-2002. He should be able to help you. Good luck
     

    KittySlayer

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    Jan 29, 2013
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    Enter combo, turn dial to exactly last number, tap on safe door with rubber mallet, see if that drops the prawl into the slot.
    I've done something like this before but could never explain it. A hard bump at each number stop. Just assumed it was luck and black magic. Is there a long term fix such as lubrication once you have it open?
     

    Papa

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    Papa, I see that you are out of South Bend. You should call Bob's Lock and Key in Bourbon IN. His phone # is 574-342-2002. He should be able to help you. Good luck

    My safe is in Monticello unfortunately.

    Enter combo, turn dial to exactly last number, tap on safe door with rubber mallet, see if that drops the prawl into the slot.

    I gave it several wacks with a dead blow No Go. Didn't hit it real hard but probably could its 3/8 steel.
     

    GrinderCB

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    Jun 24, 2017
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    Greendale
    I don't want to e a Debbie-downer here but I'm not sure if a locksmith could help. I had a situation with my safe a few months ago when I was preparing to move and couldn't remember the combo nor could I find the user's manual with the combo printed on it. Probably packed away somewhere in the move. I called several locksmiths and was told various things. One had a device that literally dialed every combination until the safe opened but could take up to 36 hours to complete and cost a bundle. Another told me that they'd have to examine the safe but that if it was one of the standard store-brands their procedure was to drill it, making it unusable. In the end, I thought I could remember one of the numbers and just sat down and dialed over and over again until it opened. Took me about four hours of persistence.
     

    Papa

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    Jul 20, 2012
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    I've called Bobs lock and key no answer. I also called Pryor Safe in Indi and the guy I spoke with seems like a very sharp guy. Only issue is it would be $100 an hour and 99cents a mile. Which would roughly equate to a min charge of his estimate of $400. I'll give Haleys in Lafayette a call tomorrow when they are open again.

    I also called Heritage, and they will only provide the super secret drill location to a certified locksmith so that's out. They said it could be opened by drilling, and I'd have to purchase a new lock for $150 or so to replace the drilled unit.

    I'll go out and try some more numbers combinations, but if the locking system is compromised which I'm unsure of I may not have any luck.
     

    K_W

    Grandmaster
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    Aug 14, 2008
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    Indy / Carmel
    One of the combo wheels could have slipped slightly.

    Try the combination over and over, moving 1/2 number and then 1 number left and right for each number in the combo.

    My Johnson's LaGard has a 1 number "slop zone" in the dial, others may only have 1/2.

    Should only take 64 tries.

    Combo... 10 20 30 40

    Try... 9.5 20 30 40
    Then... 10.5 20 30 40

    Try... 9 20 30 40
    Then... 11 20 30 40

    Try 10 19.5 30 40
    Then 10 20.5 30 40
    ect...

    Write then down as you go so not to get lost.
     
    Last edited:

    71silverbullet

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    Oct 30, 2010
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    Turn the dial five or six times to the left and then stop on your first number. Start turning to the right and pass the second number twice and stop on it on the third pass. Then go to the left and past the third number once and stop on it on the second time. Sometimes then you have to turn back to the right and stop on zero, sometimes not.
     

    IMPD31323

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    Feb 21, 2010
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    indy
    When you resent the combo what kind of a lock did it have? Did you use a change key or pull them out and reset them? Do you know if it had a relock or a drill plate? It would have been rather obvious if it did
     

    Papa

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    Turn the dial five or six times to the left and then stop on your first number. Start turning to the right and pass the second number twice and stop on it on the third pass. Then go to the left and past the third number once and stop on it on the second time. Sometimes then you have to turn back to the right and stop on zero, sometimes not.

    Didn't seem to help. I've gotten into the safe many times before. Generally I turn the dial to the right a handful of times instead of left but my usual procedure is the same as what you described.

    When you resent the combo what kind of a lock did it have? Did you use a change key or pull them out and reset them? Do you know if it had a relock or a drill plate? It would have been rather obvious if it did

    I believe it was a Sargent Greenleaf 6741 the dial was custom for my safe. I used a change key but there's a chance that something wasn't set right.I had some issues with the key and one of the wheels didn't get keyed with the rest. This resulted in 2 of the wheels spinning with the dial and one just spinning freely/not turning when I rotated the dial. I tinkered with it a while and believed I got them all back in sync since I was able to eventually reprogram the combination and open the lock multiple times. Probably from the time I set the lock to now being over 20 times.

    One other thing I ran into when using the key I may have removed it at an improper location. The key I borrowed didn't have a tab to prevent you from removing at an improper location. I have a sneaking hunch the key was removed 90deg off but cant be 100% sure because of all the issues I had at the time. I DO know that the key would hit a retention point at 0 deg and 180 deg and at either location I could program the lock, Then I put it to 90deg (between the retention points) and removed it since that's where it appeared that the locks on wheels lowered and locked the wheels to their designated combination numbers.

    Hopefully this makes sense to someone haha.


    Anyway if the choice is between drilling the door and lock I'm going to cut the bottom out with a cutting wheel. All safe quotes have been $350-600 with the possibility of salvaging the lock but no one could say for sure if they could salvage the lock.
     
    Last edited:

    schmart

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    Nov 10, 2014
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    When I reset my combination, the first time, I screwed it up royally by messing up with the set mark, and the change marks on the dials, switching between them. Had to take the whole lock apart to reset it by manually moving the dials. I'd suggest identifying the number of marks between the set and change marks on the dial, and then try the combination you would get by adding and subtracting that amount from each number.
     

    IMPD31323

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    Feb 21, 2010
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    indy
    Drilling the lock is a simple process as long and the lock doesn’t have a relocating mechanism. Would be much easier than cutting through the bottom. And you can find a replacement lock on eBay for around 60 bucks. Just my 2 cents
     
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