Simple safe to open (destructively).

Wedge the wall of the safe right in front of the dial. That bolt is very thin, and as a1abdj mentioned, may be a spring-bolt. Either way, you should be able to split the wall away very easily with a wedge and a sledge.

Usually I open safes in a more delicate fashion, but this one has no value.

Is the combination you have 14-03-72?

Basically, I think, the combo is going to be a no-go. I googled the Yale locks and apparently some of them were left first then right and others were the reverse. I've tried both and several variations, all without success.

I hadn't thought about attacking the bolt through the front of the box. That and popping the hinges loose might do the trick.

And, oh yeah Para? I really wanted to recover the contents without NASA's help. But thank you for the suggestion anyway.

Reduce it two three pounds and stand back!

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Is the combination you have 14-03-72?

As a matter of fact it is. What I have for instructions is

L-14-4T
R-3-3T
L-72-2T
R-0

I'm taking that to mean Left 4 times stop at 14,
Right to 3 stop on the 3rd time,
Left to 72 stop on the 2nd time,
Left to 0

As I said I found one reference that said some of the Yales were in reverse and I've tried that.

Let a 4 yr old play with it. He'll figure it out within a week.

quote:

As a matter of fact it is

I'm psychic!

It sounds as if you are dialing it correctly. The dial has to retract the bolt, so by your instructions you should feel resistance prior to 0 with it physically stopping at 0, or it engages at zero and you should continue to turn until it retracts the bolt.

You may want to try dialing it standing up in different positions. If the little spring loaded lever is stuck or not very springy, the gravity may help.

If your instructions are correct, I would think you would want the safe up on it edge so that the opening edge of the door was on the left, running up and down.

quote:

Originally listed by the resident Safe guy:
Is the combination you have 14-03-72?

quote:

as a matter of fact it is

^ this guy's good.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Is the combination you have 14-03-72?

Who are you? Carnac? There must be more to this.

quote:

There must be more to this.

There were only a few combinations used on those old Towers boxes (sold by Sears). That one is the most common.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

As a matter of fact it is

You may want to try dialing it standing up in different positions. If the little spring loaded lever is stuck or not very springy, the gravity may help.

If your instructions are correct, I would think you would want the safe up on it edge so that the opening edge of the door was on the left, running up and down.

I haven't tried that. I had only tried it while it was sitting as you saw it in the last picture. As yet, I've not felt any of the resistance while turning the dial that I would have expected. I've got an older Winchester gun safe that does that on the last turn to zero, so I understand how that feels. I'll try it setting in the side.

Maybe try oscillating the dial back and forth at zero as well if it's not engaging to see it it will shake loose.

Bawhahaha! a1abdj Is the MAN!

Turning it up on it's side did the trick! It felt completely different. Got back to zero and it firmed right up needing to be turned past zero by a couple of numbers to get the bolt fully disengaged. Of course nothing in there that was of any use, but at least now I know.

Thanks again to everyone and especially to our master safe man a1abdj.

Oh yeah, and to Para... if you'll pass along coordinates, I'll see how close I can get.

I have a older vault door that when it's cold the numbers don't fall into place all the time so I have a small hammer and I tap just above the combo dial. I guess I'm moving them by vibration, they fall into place and the safe opens. You may just have a dial that is rusty and just need sa little help. Chris

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Six pounds of Tannerite

Might wanna take cover better than the lawn mower man.

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Oh yeah, and to Para... if you'll pass along coordinates, I'll see how close I can get.

Now that she's empty, let's put 'er into orbit!

So what was in it?

Old receipts? Heirloom seeds? 1930's porn?

WTS antique home safe in fair good condition. Slightly tricky to open, but all you have to do is pay the shipping and it's YOURS! Instruction manual included.




Well there was nothing really in it, at least that was worth anything. He had some old EOBs and a few credit card statements from 10 years ago. There were a few wallet sized pictures of his kids, but I think they already have copies of those. Oh! And as you'll notice in the picture above, the instructions for how to operate the safe.

I somehow missed the part where you mentioned having the combination. It's nice to be able to get in non-destructively!

99% of my work is commercial/bank. But some years ago, I got a call (acquaintance of family member) about needing to open a home safe. The short version is that the husband was a complete POS, wife was preparing to divorce, and the guy decided to burn the house down rather than let her get it.

They had a small safe like this, with wheels, in the living room behind a chair. The floor was mostly burned and not safe to walk on, so we had to fabricate a pole and rope to drag and it through a window and outside. Two of the family disagreed on the combo, but after about an hour I was finally able to dial it open. I expected the contents to be damaged considering the fire and water, but surprisingly they were intact other than smoke damage.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Anyone have any thoughts about an attack plan?

Blow it up. Blow it up real good.