Identifying a Remington Rand / Sperry Rand Safe

[TX_Frets]

Hello all - I'm in the process of acquiring a Remington Rand / Sperry Rand safe from a local business that is being liquidated. The safe is locked but, luckily, with the door open so I'm hoping it'll be a good safe to learn manipulation on.

I'm having some trouble identifying the model / year of the safe as there appears to be very little information on this brand.

Could y'all please share any information on these Remington / Sperry safes or help me identify it?

[Squelchtone]

You can just take door's back cover plate off and get to the lock and figure out the combination if you want to make the safe usable again.

I wouldn't recommend that lock for a beginner to learn manipulation on, seriously. if it's what I think it is, with that integrated handle, it's going to be an offset Yale friction fence lock. or if the handle has SG on stamped on it, it will be a Sargent & Greenleaf 6727 but mounted offset with extra gears and goodies.

That adds an extra layer of complexity when trying to feel things and graph things out.

That safe looks like 70's to early 80s. What do you hope to gain from knowing the model number? A lot of that info is lost to time and won't really be useful these days. Some safes back in the day didn't even have model numbers and we identify them by using other visual cues.

Here's some UL listed reading regarding fire safes of that era http://npshistory.com/newsletters/crm/crm-v16n5s.pdf

before you bring that thing home, please be aware that it may contain asbestos.. something to consider.. although this one is newer and may not have any.

"A report received from the Department of Defense concerning testing which was recently conducted on insulated filing
cabinets, indicates that insulated filing cabinets manufactured
by the Remington-Rand Company during the 1940s and 1950s
contained and are releasing asbestos. Many of these cabinets
are still in service."

Squelchtone

[TX_Frets]

Howdy Squelchtone - sorry I forgot to mention that it's still in possession of the seller. I'll be visiting them tomorrow to finalize the sale and then picking the safe up next Tuesday when I can borrow my friend and his trailer. While I'm there tomorrow, I'll be sure to look for any other identifying features, markings, etc. Once I get it to my garage, I'm definitely going to tear into it and see what locking mechanism it has.

I was hoping that I'd be able to just find more out about the safe in general. The little information I could find on them hinted they were used in government settings, so I was wondering if this model was sold to the public at all. When I Google Mosler or Victor, there seem to be numerous articles, old brochures, and form posts from people displaying or restoring them. I'm just perplexed with how little there is out there on the Remington / Sperry safes - conversely there seems to be endless info on their guns and typewriters.

Thanks - the potential for asbestos is definitely concerning. Identifying the safe's approximate age is definitely something I need to do. I was wanting it for me to learn on but also so I can eventually gift it to my parents. My dad has a few old handguns and I'm pretty sure he'd prefer storing his Remington Rand 1911 in a Remington Rand safe, but not if it's full of asbestos!

Thank you for the information!

[L4R3L2]

If you can, take the door off to move it separately. You don't really want to move a safe with the door open, even with it strapped shut.

This is just my opinion, but if the liner is intact and no dust is coming out into the safe, I wouldn't worry about the asbestos. I'd just place the safe where it's going to stay, wipe the inside out with a damp cloth, and never slam the door shut. Then monitor conditions from there. To each his own.

[Squelchtone]

If you can, take the door off to move it separately. You don't really want to move a safe with the door open, even with it strapped shut.

This is just my opinion, but if the liner is intact and no dust is coming out into the safe, I wouldn't worry about the asbestos. I'd just place the safe where it's going to stay, wipe the inside out with a damp cloth, and never slam the door shut. Then monitor conditions from there. To each his own.

I agree with your advice. To clarify, my personal concern is not related to the people who panic about asbestos and think that they're going to get sick when they see some white powder on the edge of a safe door, but more thinking ahead at how one will dispose of the safe in the future because of all the rules and regulations on properly disposing of asbestos. I'm pretty sure a couple of my safes are filled with it, but that doesn't worry me because I'm not planning on having to get rid of or recycle them.

[L4R3L2]

but more thinking ahead at how one will dispose of the safe in the future because of all the rules and regulations on properly disposing of asbestos.

Very true. Good point.