I have an old safe as shown in the first image above at full view
as approximately 6 feet high, 3 feet deep and 4 feet wide.
Second image is of the two handles that turn on the two doors
to open the doors with the yale lock dial next to the right door handle.
Third image is of the yale combo dial alone.
Fourth image is with the Pacific Safe Equipment Company
label in Los Angeles which I believe to have been the licensee
in Los Angeles to sell this safe.
Fifth image is the brass tag of the manufacturer-The Safe Cabinet
Company of Marietta Ohio.
Sixth image is the serial number of the safe W1578 29 stamped
on the upper left hand front corner on the border of the safe
I've had this safe for approximately 50 years as it passed to me from
my father upon his passing away. Originally the safe was always kept
open with the combination printed on a piece of paper attached to the
inside of the left door. Inadvertently the doors were closed and the
handles turned down which of course locked the safe.
I thought I remembered the combination as a factory standard of
10 20 30 in some order that I have not been able to duplicate correctly.
I've tried it several ways with the six permutations of these three
numbers. I've tried starting with 4 turns right or left and then 3
then 2 then 1 to open. I've also tried the same thing either right
or left with beginning 3 turns only then 2 then 1 with
no positive results.
I do remember that the safe opened when coming
around on the last turn when it tightens up around either 10 and 90 or
10 and 0. Also one of my memories of opening this safe is that once
in a while the second to last number before the safe opened often
had to be offset just a bit to just one or two dial marks either
past the second to last number or before the second to last
number in order to turn the dial to its opening position as
described above.
I know dialing counts every time one of the combo numbers is passed and
you do not want to make a full turn when you come to that
number unless you're repeating the turn for the number of turns needed
for that number in the combination and just stop on it with the last turn to it.
I've tried clearing the wheels with several turns (usually 5 or 6 turns either
right or left) before starting the turns for the combination but this
doesn't help either.
I hope all of this is clear. I've even tried putting in a fourth number like
5, 90, or 60 to see if this is might be a four wheel combo lock with these
additional numbers. On these additional 3 numbers I sometimes
find there is a tightening of the dial when they're passed but still no luck.
I'm 90 percent sure of the 10 20 30 numbers for the combo numbers
with only substitutions with a 5 60 or 90 for one of these three numbers
or added one at a time to the 10 20 30 for a 4 wheel combo lock.
Finding the contact points is rather difficult because the yale dial doesn't
always move very smoothly and the clicks I feel or hear seem to be
deceptive as to whether I'm hearing or feeling the clicks correctly. or
just the wear of the dial itself. I do get squeaks at different times as
well but not all of the time.
I have no manuals for either The Pacific Safe Equipment Company
or The Safe Cabinet Company. Both have long since been out of business.
I have found no references to the The Pacific Safe Equipment
Company at all and The Safe Cabinet Company closed business in about
1950. The Safe Cabinet Company was bought out by various companies
with the last one being Remington Rand but they have no records on
anything either.
I assume the safe was made in the late '30's or '40's from the looks
of it but I really don't know. It is in relatively good shape with no
scars or mars. Unfortunately the lighting for the pictures show the
surface as blemished but all surfaces are completely olive in color.
The Safe Cabinet Company manufactured it with a ME designation,
meaning its security was in the mid range of the safes they
manufactured.
That's about all I know. I've tried to use a stethoscope to hear the
clicks better but the thickness of the doors (they're about 6 to 8 inches
thick in a stepped down fashion) tends to act as a muffle in hearing
the clicks very well.
Don't know where to go from here but just keep trying various offsets
of the combination numbers. Sargent Greenleaf has a pretty good
manual on combo lock manipulation and I've followed the protocols
fairly well but am still trying with no effect. Sometimes I think I'm
on the right track when I can feel the dial tighten up around any of
the numbers above that I've mentioned but again it makes me think
I'm just not doing something right. Is is possible that the turns for
the combo numbers will repeat with the same number of turns for
each number or some numbers like right or left 4 turns to the second
number and then 4 turns to the third number or 3 turns the same
and 3 turns to the second number or what?
I would appreciate any suggestions. I'm going to the locksport meeting
January 17th to see if anyone there might be able to point me in the
right direction. It's a shame that it's locked because the safe is empty.
All locksmiths and combination lock manipulators really want to
basically destroy the safe with hacking out the old lock and
replacing it but this is not what I want to do. The Sargent Greenleaf
Manual has pretty much convinced me that, in their words, most
combo safe locks and be manipulated to open 80 to 90 per cent
of the time without any damage to the safe. I just need some
help here as to what my best course of action needs to be. Or
if there's any hobbyist safe manipulator in the Greater Los Angeles
area who would like to take a crack at it, I'd like to know one.
