Sargent & Greenleaf safe combo lock

[sunnydelight]

hi guys,
so i understand that there's a certain level of experience necessary to be granted access to the advanced safe lock forums, and considering my question and the fact that I'm new here, this post may be a shot in the dark. But here's my dilemma:

my dad was a welder and he built a safe to keep his hunting guns and other random items in. he recently passed away, leaving no record of the safe's combo. we called a locksmith but he says he doesn't know have the expertise to guess the lock combo, and to preserve the integrity of the safe my mom and i really don't want to force it open.

from looking at the lock we know that it's a sargent and greenleaf, chrome, one of the 8500 series perhaps? my mom remembers that it had four numbers in the combination. we found this website:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/safecracking3.htm

but are not sure if the instructions would be applicable to a Sargent & Greenleaf safe (to be honest we're not quite certain of what direction to even turn the dial in order to clear the lock. The S&G instructions online says left, but some sources say right. does anyone know if these are good instructions?

or perhaps the bottom line, is it even worth our time to try and guess the combo? it's a beautiful safe so we don't want to force it open, and if the task is feasible we'd really like to save some money and forego a locksmith. any pointers would be appreciated, thanks for your time!

[ToolyMcgee]

You could literally dial in numbers every day for the rest of your life and never happen upon the combo, and manipulating the dial is extremely difficult. Definately not something to learn on, or bother with. You need to find yourself another locksmith that works more exclusively with safes. Even if it is homemade with a S&G lock and bolts, then it is doubtful you would be able to force it open without some serious demolition. I have to assume he had some knowledge of how a safe should work if he built one and did it right. Find a locksmith who can drill it, and have him open the safe for you, he can get you the combo, and patch the hole when he's done so the usefulness of the safe is left intact.