first lockpick

[ditch]

Hi everyone. Just purchased a house, and there is a metal unit in a cupboard that I'm trying to get into. Got no idea what it is. Attaching some pics. Any info to help me open it would be great.thanx

[ditch]

cant seem to upload images, so here is a link to them:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/118ce

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/8dd66

thanx in advance

[Evan]

Hi everyone. Just purchased a house, and there is a metal unit in a cupboard that I'm trying to get into. Got no idea what it is. Attaching some pics. Any info to help me open it would be great.thanx

@ditch:

Not for nothing man but those pictures resemble the extreme close ups of the bonus vending machines/laundry machines/safes that people "find" in their "homes"... The kind of locked things that they in reality have no business trying to gain access to... Especially when such a question is a poster's very first contribution to LP101...

Yup... Spidey senses in full tingle mode...

If the place is really yours and you want to find out what treasures lay within the mystery locked "metal unit" (which strongly resembles some kind of strong box or safe) then call out a local locksmith who would be happy to open it for you if you can pay the agreed upon fee... If it isn't worth the $100 or $200 a locksmith would charge you to open that container only to be disappointed to find that it is empty inside, then stick around and do some reading and eventually from reading enough on this site and through practice you might be able to open it on your own in time...

But asking for specifics in your first posting on how to open that mystery "metal unit" you found in the cupboard in your newly purchased house is not likely to get a direct step-by-step answer on here anytime soon...

~~ Evan

[MrScruff]

How big is this cupboard? Seriously, I know I lack scale but it looks like it leads to Narnia or something.

Other questions of interest include: there appears to be some kind of grill on the bottom left of the photo, what's that? and why does the cupboard appear to have two types of flooring, one of which appears to be tile?

[MrScruff]

Looking a little closer at that second photo and judging by the dust and detritus, it really does look like a room that's normally sealed. The wall on the right seems to be concrete and the back left corner of the room looks like it has some wires running behind that rounded extrusion.

But seriously, hell of a cupboard.

[ditch]

lol, thanx guys... I like the Narnia comment.

Sorry I've taken the picks from my phone, must have been on HD and they have come out huge. First things first, it is my house, been there since the 1st September, not that this proves anything... but it is.

Its a linen cupboard of a somewhat standard size and its walls a some sort of board (i.e. plaster, wood). Under the box itself, there is carpet. Through the years the carpet has been removed to reveal the floorboards, but they cut around the box and left the carpet. Some adds/moves/changes have been done to the house in the past, so it may have not always been a cupboard. The grate next to the box is the main ducted heating vent.

In terms of size, its approx 40cm in length/width with a depth of approx 25cm

Spent all last night (like 5 hours!) trying to get accustomed to the lock (never done this before), and this is what ive noticed:
I used an allen key with both ends bent at 90 degrees (one used as a handle).
When the key is turned to the point where the 90 degree point is facing the sky, I feel some latches or pins... 3 I think. When I run the key across them, I can feel them give a little but that's about it. Im in the process of making a key with 3 'humps' but I don't feel confident that I'll get a positive result.

Last night, all I did was dream about safe's, no kidding... I'm extremely curious as its the 1 part of my house that I cant get access to.

[ditch]

also, with the previous post, the measurements were for the box itself, not the cupboard.

Thanx again

[Squelchtone]

This is a job for a locksmith. Unfortunately, even with the insane amount of combined knowledge here, and helpful people, we simply cannot teach another human being in any efficient amount of time how to pick a lock, especially what looks like a 3 to 5 lever lock, by means of some posts on an internet forum. As Evan said, stick around and you will learn all sorts of stuff, but we can't say "get a coat hanger, or a bicycle spoke, and cut it to 12 inches, and put a 90 degree bend in it that is 1/2 inch long on one and, and insert it, and turn 45 degrees and the lock will open" That's not going to happen, because other than special tools, you need the feel and experience of how locks feel when you are trying to pick or manipulate them, as well as a very intimate understanding of how lever locks work, and again, this is not something that can be easily conveyed to someone via an internet forum. And as helpful as we may be, or as we try to be, we are not really here to act as a 1-800-DIAL-A-LOCKSMITH help desk line, we're more about picking locks as a hobby because we find them to be interesting little puzzles.

Maybe you can ask the person who sold you the house? or if there is only 1 locksmith in your town, perhaps they installed it years ago and still have the code to the cuts of the key on file? Can't hurt to call them and ask, or drop by their shop and show those photos. Maybe that lock isn't as complicated as we all think it is.

Best of luck,
Squelchtone

[ditch]

Valid point, and I understand.

I may resort to paying someone to do it, but 1 final question:

Does anyone foresee an issue with attacking the exposed hinges with a angle grinder or similar tool?

[Squelchtone]

Valid point, and I understand.

I may resort to paying someone to do it, but 1 final question:

Does anyone foresee an issue with attacking the exposed hinges with a angle grinder or similar tool?

It is your lock to do whatever you wish with, but we do not discuss/teach/encourage destructive entry into a lock or a safe in the public forum, beacuse we may help you today, but tomorrow a baddie will stop by here looking to break into a safe and steal something, and we'd hate to be his teacher as well.

The forum rules can be located here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=715

The rule in question is Rule 19:
19. Discussion of topics deemed "advanced" are reserved for the advanced forums. These topics include bypass of high security locks, safe lock manipulation, advanced pick tools, automotive bypass & picking discussion and destructive entry.

Sorry to be a downer, just performing my moderator duties.
Squelchtone

[ditch]

All good, thanx anyways everyone. Appreciate it