Mounting Safe Combo Locks

[wsbpress]

I won an ebay auction of 6 S&G and 5 LaGard group 2 combo locks. They arrived yesterday and I would like to mount them individually. Some of the shafts connecting the dial to the lock housing are pretty long. Is it ok to cut the shaft down shorter or is that a bad idea? Any ideas or suggestions about a good (manipulation practicing) setup would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[zeke79]

Yes, the shafts will need to be cut to mount them for practicing. You will need to mount the lock body and dial plate, thread the dial in and mark the shaft for the proper lenth to cut. You do not want pressure on the backplate from the shaft.

Sounds like you have a great setup to learn manipulation. Might I suggest progressively bending the fence on some of the locks until you progress to 1 or 2 of each brand of lock with an unmodified fence. You will progress alot faster in learning what to watch for this way. If you are a locksmith I suggest looking into a tool called the "big EZ". One of these tools can be made very easily and fairly inexpensively and work very very well for manipulation.

[Grudge]

Yo wsbpress Just a few tips, one of the handiest things I have in the shop (err, garage) is a small vise with rubber covers for the jaws. You can take them off but with they are really handy for gripping softer metals like brass or safe dials without marking them up.

I use a dremel or hacksaw to cut the shaft to length and then a file to flatten the end so the thread ends cleanly. If you can find a copy of "The National Locksmith Guide to Safe Manipulation" on eBay, grab it. It is THE guide.

Glad you got your locks

[wsbpress]

Thanks for the tips, this forum is great. I've been taking a couple of locks apart and reading up on the proper terms for the lock parts . I figured out how to remove the spindle (shaft) from the drive cam by removing the spline key (I get to use my new vocab ). My question now is about the LH, RH, VU, and VD markings on the drive cam. I am guessing that these are used to align the nose of the lever with the drive cam gate while the dial is on number zero? Is this correct? In general does it matter what number the dial is on when the lever is at the drop-in point?

[hzatorsk]

... My question now is about the LH, RH, VU, and VD markings on the drive cam. I am guessing that these are used to align the nose of the lever with the drive cam gate while the dial is on number zero? Is this correct? In general does it matter what number the dial is on when the lever is at the drop-in point?...

Yep... your correct... the acronyms refers to the mounting of the lock: LeftHand, RightHand, VerticalUp, VerticalDown.

No... it doesn't matter. the lock will still function as long as the combination doesn't interfere with the forbidden zone.

But there are potential problems with this in practice:

1) since all the customer documentation refers to a turning the lock 'right past zero to open'... you look unprofessional setting a lock to open elsewhere on the dial. It does not confuse a manipulator as he will detect it in about two seconds. (you gain no more security from doing this).

2) ..and also the future possibility that a combination change could create a situation where the lock could sieze up if the new combo is moved into the now different (unsuspected) forbidden zone. Everybody knows where the forbidden zone is...

In service, please don't move it around the dial as we don't want this situation on a closed container.


z

[Grudge]

Just to add to what hzatorsk said: Safe locks can be mounted in any of the four directions (that is the locking bolt can stick up, left, right or down) in order to interact with the handle mechanism in different safes. By putting the spline key in the proper slot, you can keep the 'forbidden zone' in the zero area despite the way the lock itself is mounted.

From my limited experience it seems most locks are mounted in safes Right Handed, that is the sliding bolt extends to the right of the lock when viewed from the back of the lock.

[hzatorsk]

Thanks Grudge... Also, SG explains it this way:

Install: http://sglocks.com/pdf/standard_mech_install.pdf
Operation: http://sglocks.com/pdf/630-358_multi_3wheel.pdf

FWIW: The LH/RH as it refers to the SG lock has nothing to do with the safe door being left/right handed.

[wsbpress]

Very much thanks to you three. This weekend is going to fun, locked in the shop, bending fences, cutting spindles...my kind of party .