Old Yale safe. I have the combo. Can't open

[oldschool4511]

I'm not sure I was doing anything wrong. The time it worked, I banged on the right of the lock and wiggled the combination back and fourth a few times after hitting the number. It was right left right left to stop

[Timbercrestmom1]

I came across this forum when looking for answers to the exact question posed by Oldschool. The safe is black on 4 wheels and has a red handle to the left of the lock. The lock says Yale on the knob. The previous owner said he thought it came out of a bank, and it had been in our “new” house since around 1977. It is now outside on our driveway after much effort. It has red velvet inside. (I saw inside of the safe when we bought the house and for a few weeks after- until someone accidentally shut it. We were never able to open it again after that.) The elderly owner gave me (what he remembers to be) the combo. Using your advice to oldschool, I feel like I am close. It gets tough to turn on the last dial - past 0.
Here are his instructions verbatim:
4 turns to the right.
Stop on 35.
Turn to the left passing 35 three times stopping on 50.
Back to the right passing 50 twice, stopping on 75.
Back to the left passing 75 once.
Then to the right and stop in 0.
If that doesn’t work, start out with 4 right turns.

Please help! The locksmiths in town are not willing to even try it. They will drill it open for $400, which I do not have right now. I will give the safe to anyone willing to haul it off if I can just get it open to make sure we didn’t leave anything inside.
Again, please help! Husband has no patience for this stuff.
Thank you in advance.

[jwrm22]

As you got the combination there are a few things you could try.
As entering the right combination does not work you might have to try the wrong combination intentional.
For example turn 37 or 33 instead of 35. Make a list of all these combinations and try them one by one.
It shouldn't take too long.

If you hear the disks spinning and there is no significant wobble in the dial there is a good chance of opening it.

There are guys specialized in safe openings. This is not a job for the normal locksmith.
Drilling might not be needed and some work with a no cure no pay method.
It will likely still cost you the money. If it's worth it? That's up to you.

Disclaimer:
Don't take my worth for it. I'm just a guy on the internet that thinks he knows something about safe locks.

[MartinHewitt]

You should just count the number you want to stop at.

Turn right at least four times to stop at 35.
Turn left and stop the third time you reach 50.
Turn right and stop on the second time you reach 75.
Turn right and stop the first time you reach 0.

Assuming that the rotational direction and the 0 at the end is what the Yale needs.

[stratmando]

What were you doing wrong? What worked in the end?

yeah, it would be nice to know which directions that we all posted were actually correct and or usable.

Thank you for the follow up oldschool4511!
Squelchtone

I think maybe yours, seems common to know Correct Combo, and not be able to open. and Interpret 3rd time for example, Pass it 3 times?, or on third time?, add for each wheel. Could be confusing is sequence is not understood. Hopefully he replies as to what worked, for everyones future Reference. Later

[Squelchtone]

Just noticed you posted as well in the other thread and are now getting replies here and there..

Gonna merge the replies to 1 thread.

Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

You should try 25-50-75 instead of 35-50-75, people forget things over the years, and 25-50-75 is a common combination because it is a natural progression and humans like easy to remember patterns.

Could you share a photo of the safe with us and a close up of the dial and handle? You can upload it to tinypic or imgur or photobucket and Copy/Paste it here please.

Thank you
Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

I see an issue with your dialing instructions...

they say "Back to the left passing 75 once" and then "To the right and stop in 0" for some reason... that doesnt sound right..

Try this:

(doesnt matter where the dial is to start with)

Turn Right, pass 35 three times, stop on 35 the fourth time around.
Turn Left, pass 50 two times, stop on 50 the third time around.
Turn Right pass 75 one time, stop on 75 the second time around.
Turn Left to 0 and try the handle, if that doesn't work..
Keep turning Left past 0 towards 5, then 10, then towards 15 and see if the dial stops dead.
Try the handle if the dial cannot turn at all.

Hope this helps,
Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

Obviously, I’m having trouble posting pics. Let me know if this works for you. If not, I will try from my office in the morning. I really appreciate your help!!

[bitbuster]

Looks like lock might ( I said might) be a Yale 0700. Try this:
Left 4 x to 35
Right 3 x to 50
Left 2 x to 75
Right slowly to stop.

[Timbercrestmom1]

I will give the various suggestions a try first thing in the morning. Is this safe worth anything? It weighs a ton. So I know it can be scrapped. (It is super cool but I don’t have any room for it.) Thank you all again!

[Squelchtone]

Looks like lock might ( I said might) be a Yale 0700. Try this:
Left 4 x to 35
Right 3 x to 50
Left 2 x to 75
Right slowly to stop.

The dial sure looks like my 0700 lock. If it is, on the last turn, dialing Right, you will hear a click, then keep turning and the dial should stop 18 dashes of the dial later.