Trouble with manipulating a Victor Safe

[DrGonzo65]

I bought a Victor Safe from a bingo parlor about a year ago. It weighs about 400 lbs, and is about 2-3 feet tall.


Since then, I have read a lot of books and articles on here, and have tried to, for the fun of it, teach myself manipulation and try to open the safe without damaging it.

Here's what I know so far:
- 100 digits on the dial, dial has ears.
- No handle for opening, so it's built into the dial.
- This is an LRLR pattern lock, I know there's a lot of talk of this being RLRL from some early Victor docs online, but as far as I know, that's been determined to not be the case.
- 3 wheels, so the last right turn isn't a number per se, but the fence dropping in, and unlocking as you turn right.

To do the manipulation, I have a stick-on contact microphone (like one you would put on an acoustic instrument) into a 6-band filter, into a headphone amp.

Here's the problem:
I am unable to consistently find the right contact point. Left contact point (which is at 4/4.5) is easy-ish to find with the audio, but the dial has a lot of play, and there are a *lot* of sounds that get in the way of determining the contact points.

I understand the theory well, but I feel like I'm at a loss here. I've spent likely 15-20 hours so far on it, and am really not getting anywhere. Is there something I'm missing?

[MartinHewitt]

What you believe to know is AFAIK correct.

What you are fighting against now is probably the Real World [TM]. In lock sport locks are mounted nicely and are clean. In the Real World [TM] there is lot of misalignment, dirt and dried up lube.

You could show us some of your graphs for comment. With the problems you describe you could:
1) make the same graph multiple times and average them or use the lowest value to remove noise
2) turn the dial to the drop zone, i.e. between left and right CP, and lightly tap above the dial (and not on any decoration) with a rubber mallet to help the lever fall down completely before measuring the CP(s)

[Squelchtone]

Hello fellow safe hound!

I find it easier to visualize what is happening inside when I know what the lock mechanism looks like, so I can better imagine what state the wheels are in while I am turning the dial.

Have you researched and found photos of the lock inside your safe?

Thank you,
Squelchtone

[DrGonzo65]

I will try the rubber mallet trick, but the graphs are relatively useless as I can very rarely hear, and never feel the RCP.

As for photos into the safe lock, I have found a few, with the closest ones (I think) being: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxj1RXW5080

@squelchtone you also posted this one before, and I think it's similar as well:

i wandered lonely as a cloud analysis

Found these too, which tell a similar story, but this was one with a separate handle:


type math equations

The thing is, I can visualize what's going on inside, but without being able to feel the contact points, I feel like I'm SOL. Is there a way for me to grease the dial from the outside?