Cary Safe w/ Combo

[BornConfuzed]

Hi
My Dad has an old Cary safe that came with the house. The house was built in 1890 so we speculate the safe was brought in around then. It certainly won't fit through any of the doors. We have a combination (not giving the real numbers). My Dad has seen it opened with that combination but it was when he bought the place 20 years ago. There hasn't been any maintenance.

The dial has numbers 20 through 100 with a blank space between 100 and 20. There is a spinning dial in the middle of the door and a handle with a straight bar horizontal to the floor just to the left of the dial.
The middle of the dial says " Sargent & Greenleaf, Rochester NY" with patent dates in the middle from Sept. 18 1860 -through July 14 1871.

The combination goes
Left 4 to 20
Right 3 to 43
Left 2 to 85
Right to 88 and open


I've seen a few other answers for Cary safes but one thing never addressed is how to you reset the dial? Like on a modern locker lock you twirl it left/clock wise five times and then start. I just want to open the d*** thing, it's driving me nuts!

[GWiens2001]

To reset it, turn it at least four times to the left (as the instructions say). You can turn it more if you like. Make sure you can feel it picking up each wheel.

Gordon

[BornConfuzed]

So I turn left four times, passing the middle/zero setting and then stop on the first number? And that should be a correct start point? And can you describe what picking up the wheel feels like? It sometimes spins with no resistance and other times feels like it's turning through warm honey. It's possible the mechanism is broken due to neglect.

[GWiens2001]

Turn the dial six times to the left, and stop at 50. Now start turning to the right. As you get in the area of 50 (either a little before or a little after), you should feel a slight increase in turning force, and possibly a bump as the next wheel is picked up. Keep going, feeling in the area of 50 for the next wheel to pick up. See how many wheels you feel being picked up.

Now repeat the process, but starting turning to the right to start. If you can feel all the wheels pick up in each direction, you should be ok.

That is how you tell if all the wheels are picking up.

As for dialing the combo, turn four times to the left, (pass the first number three times, then stop on the number the fourth time), turn three times to the right (pass the second number two times, stop on the number the third time), turn two times to the left (pass the third number one time, stop on the number on the second time), then turn right until the dial stops. Turn the handle and open the safe.

Gordon

[Squelchtone]

So I turn left four times, passing the middle/zero setting and then stop on the first number?

This is a VERY common misconception, you do not start at 0 and you never have to clear it or reset it to or past 0.

If your first number is 20, start anywhere you want, and you turn the dial Left to 20, then all the way around to 20 again, and all the way around again to 20, and finally one more time all the way around and stop on 20 the 4th time. Now change direction and dial to the Right past 43 twice and stop on 43 the 3rd time. Now change direction and dial Left past 85 once, go around all the way and stop on 85 again the second time. Now turn Right to 88 and dial should stop dead, lock is open, try the handle.

Try out Gordon's good instructions, and to see what's going on inside and why you feel something in one direction but a bunch of resistance in the other, watch the video in the link below to see how the cam spins around and then picks up wheels, and as the wheels turn, then end up picking up other wheels, once the whole wheel pack is spinning, you're moving a significant amount of metal around and that's the resistance you're feeling. If you turn the dial in the opposite direction, suddenly there is no resistance because only the cam is moving and it has parked the other wheels and wont pick them up again until you turn the dial 360 degrees and start picking wheels up one after the other.

start at 2minutes 52seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jb2DNJPgk4&t=2m52s

Squelchtone

[LockDocWa]

How disappointing when they don't reply with a " Thank You for helping me get it open "
Or " Nope that didn't work "

Hey BornConfuzed.........................Your Welcome...................???