Old Victor Safe, Combo Not Working

[32vjohnny]

Hi Friends, I acquired an old safe and I'm trying to get it open. I'm very hands-on with all things and have been watching YouTube videos and reading about manipulation a lot the last few days but I'm definitely running into a skill and experience problem. Safe came with clear instructions which included the serial number on the dial and corresponding combination, but the sequence doesn't work. Instructions very clearly indicate RLRL, but I've tried the inverse as well. Thinking it could be dry grease, I ran a space heater to warm it up a bit to no avail (sat in cold basement for 30 years, and has been sitting in my cold garage for a few days.) Tried dead blow hammer unsuccessfully in various ways. A little at odds with what to try next. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

You can see in the photos what looks like repaired damage, possibly from drilling. I don't see how they could have plugged up the hole so well, but you can clearly see a round 3/4" diameter circle and what appears to be repaired paint at about 11:00o'clock from the dial. Interesting.

[bitbuster]

Your Yale lock has the correct dialing sequence of 4L-3R-2L-R to stop. Drop-in is around 92. Suggest you slow dialing procedure and possibly a couple deadblow whacks after you reach final number. Wheels may be gummed up a bit or you may have wheel drift. Also, try using numbers +- 1 of what's on paper. Correct direction is 4L-3R-2L-R to stop.

[MartinHewitt]

The normal dialling sequence is 4L-3R-2L-R to stop, but the description sounds to me like the person writing that down didn't know this and found their own way to get the safe open. They did 4R-3L-2R to set the wheels, then 1L to 9 where the lever drops and then R to stop, because continuing to dial L would not retract the bolt. So I would dial as described on the sheet, stop at the 9 and start there tapping with a rubber mallet above the dial while wiggling around with the dial and/or turning right. You should be able to feel the drop.