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Trying to open Cary safe

Forgot how to dial the combination on that old safe? Think you got the right numbers but the handle is stuck? What safe should you buy? Ask your safe questions here!
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You are posting this in This Old Safe, a public area of the forum.

Safe manipulation discussion is allowed, but safe drilling or other destructive entry is only allowed in the Advanced - Safes and Safe Locks area.

If you are a guest of the forum and have a safe you need to open, but you do not have the combination, we cannot tell you how or where to drill it.

Trying to open Cary safe

Postby CarySafeHelp » 31 Mar 2021 1:24

I inherited an old safe that was buried behind a lot of stuff in my dad's garage. I've finally gotten to it, and am trying to figure out how to open it. I have the combination, sort of. It's written in a code with 5 different sets of letters, and then the letters correspond to a key word (that I know). So something like:

AB
CD
EF
GH
IJ

From what I can tell these safes didn't have five number combinations. Two of the letter combinations don't really make sense because they have a letter in them that isn't in the "key word" - but that letter is "o" so maybe it's a zero?

Anyhow, can you guys tell how many numbers should be in the combination for this safe, and also dialing instructions? I have attached a few pictures, and anything you could tell me would be greatly appreciated!

Image
Image
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby MartinHewitt » 31 Mar 2021 12:46

I think it is a Yale Y-6 lock with three wheels. Opening would be the same as with a normal combination lock. 4L-3R-2L and R to stop, which is probably around 92. When starting the wrong way and add the location of the stop it is possible to have 5 numbers. Opening would be in this case 4Ra-3Lb-2Rc-1Ld-1Re.

The biggest notch that I see on your dial ring is not top centre. Is the dial ring loose? Or is it just the photo which is misleading?
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby CarySafeHelp » 31 Mar 2021 22:44

MartinHewitt wrote:I think it is a Yale Y-6 lock with three wheels. Opening would be the same as with a normal combination lock. 4L-3R-2L and R to stop, which is probably around 92. When starting the wrong way and add the location of the stop it is possible to have 5 numbers. Opening would be in this case 4Ra-3Lb-2Rc-1Ld-1Re.

The biggest notch that I see on your dial ring is not top centre. Is the dial ring loose? Or is it just the photo which is misleading?


I'll have to check the ring, but I suspect it's the photo that's misleading. I should have some time to play with it tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for your help!
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby CarySafeHelp » 1 Apr 2021 20:22

So in person the marking on the ring looks like it's a 12 o'clock, and the ring is not loose at all. I tried a few times today, but there was someone there kind of distracting me, and I was using my cell phone as a flashlight. I'm going to take a better light over at a quiet time and see what I can do.

So If I try the 3 number combination, is it likely that I'd drop the first number from the 5 that I have? The 5th number is very close to the 92 that you mentioned.

Thanks!
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby Squelchtone » 1 Apr 2021 21:54

CarySafeHelp wrote:So in person the marking on the ring looks like it's a 12 o'clock, and the ring is not loose at all. I tried a few times today, but there was someone there kind of distracting me, and I was using my cell phone as a flashlight. I'm going to take a better light over at a quiet time and see what I can do.

So If I try the 3 number combination, is it likely that I'd drop the first number from the 5 that I have? The 5th number is very close to the 92 that you mentioned.

Thanks!


How certain are you that the letters you found are in fact a coded version of the combination for this safe? Also, and I like codes and puzzles, but how do the letter pairs you showed us (assuming those are just an example and not the actual code you have on paper) correlate to the numbers around the dial?

Perhaps if you can share the decoded combination numbers something will stuck out to us? We respect if that's asking too much.

Thanks,
Squelchtone
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby CarySafeHelp » 2 Apr 2021 12:12

Squelchtone wrote:
How certain are you that the letters you found are in fact a coded version of the combination for this safe? Also, and I like codes and puzzles, but how do the letter pairs you showed us (assuming those are just an example and not the actual code you have on paper) correlate to the numbers around the dial?

Perhaps if you can share the decoded combination numbers something will stuck out to us? We respect if that's asking too much.

Thanks,
Squelchtone


I'm 99.9% sure it's the combination for this safe. There were no other safes in the house, and we talked about it from time to time. Here's an example of the code. The key word is a 9 letter word, with a couple of repeating letters that are annoying. Say the word is "ABDOMINAL" the letter "A" corresponds with 1 and 8 - and "L" goes with 9. My dad coached me a little on how to get in, but that would have been in the late 1980s or early 1990s before it got buried in the garage, so I've forgotten a lot. As a high school aged boy back then, I probably didn't pay attention that well anyway.

I sat down and wrote out all of the possible codes with the duplicate letters, so that I can work through each combination. If that doesn't work, I'll be more forthcoming with the real code. Thanks again for your help!
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby mastersmith » 5 Apr 2021 20:21

I will have people pick their combination by coming up with a 6 letter word or phrase. Then correlate those letters to a phone dial. So the word "bullet" would become 285538. Divide into pairs, 28-55-38. Are you sure of his conversion?
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby CarySafeHelp » 13 Apr 2021 16:43

So I got it open! The contents were not what I expected. It was empty except that inside of one of the boxes were 5 1979 Susan B Anthony Dollars. So I scored somewhere between $5 and $50 depending on what they are specifically.

I took some pictures of it so that you guys could see the inside. It looks like I forgot to take a wide shot of the inside of the door with the cover removed, so I'll post that later. What other pictures would be interesting to you guys?

Any thoughts on what the safe is worth? I know it's old, but I have no idea if it's unique.

Image

Image

Image

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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby MartinHewitt » 13 Apr 2021 17:53

Congrats! For getting it open without damage and for the above average content.
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby Squelchtone » 13 Apr 2021 17:56

Congrats on a job well done and thank you very much for stopping by with the update and some nice photos!

Was the combination the word you thought it was?

How did you end up breaking the code, or was the issue the number of turns in each direction?

Thanks!
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby CarySafeHelp » 15 Apr 2021 17:28

Squelchtone wrote:Was the combination the word you thought it was? How did you end up breaking the code, or was the issue the number of turns in each direction?


The key word is what I thought it was. I had a couple of issues. The first was figuring out the number of turns in each direction, and the second was that the "key word" had some duplicate letters, so the letter "e" could have been either a "1" or a "7." So it took several tries to figure out which possible set of combinations would work.

A couple of extra pictures:

Image
Image

I also found this picture from an old auction that ended up helping a lot with the dialing directions:
Image

I'm guessing the fact that there are 4 wheels means that I really have a 4 number combination (plus the last number in the mid 90s)? If I wanted to change the combination, how would I do it?

I talked to a local lock company, and they said that their equipment to move a safe like this is broken, but if it was working it would cost $300 - $400 to move it from it's current location to my house about 10 miles away. Garage to garage. He really didn't sound too excited about doing the job, and said if I could sell it to someone for a couple of hundred dollars, and they'd move it - it would be a win. I like the safe, but I really don't need it, and it would have to be in my garage too. Do you guys agree with his assessment?
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby billdeserthills » 15 Apr 2021 23:56

I find a moving company usually charges much less than an actual safe moving company does
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby MartinHewitt » 16 Apr 2021 6:10

Do not close the safe after a change before you tested the unlocking at least three times!

Change the combination you need to disassemble the wheel pack. There is a ring which holds everything on the post. That is usually quite easy to remove. The top wheel is for the last number. You see there that the inner ring has a notch pointing to 37 on the outer ring. This means, that the last number is 37. The inner ring can be pushed out from the back (smooth side), then it can be turned for the notch to point to the desired number and then carefully pressed back together. You need to do this for all wheels. Be careful with the sequence of wheels and washers. Don't mix up. Then after reassembly check the combo. It might be slightly off, because of mounting of the dial ring or lock or errors in the wheels.

Do not close the safe after a change before you tested the unlocking at least three times!

There is also a video about mesh change wheels (that mechanism is called mesh change):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6L_jQJRQXQ

Do not close the safe after a change before you tested the unlocking at least three times!
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby Squelchtone » 16 Apr 2021 9:05

billdeserthills wrote:I find a moving company usually charges much less than an actual safe moving company does


I had a friend who owned a tow truck company, he routinely carried big antique safes on his Jerdann flat bed truck. Not sure what he charged for loading or rigging, I assume the dafe would have to be at ground level in someones driveway and the safe casters had to be in good working order to use the come along and pull it up onto the flatbed.

Good idea on a moving company as well
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Re: Trying to open Cary safe

Postby billdeserthills » 16 Apr 2021 10:13

Many safe moving companies charge 'port to port' fees, which means from the moment they leave their shop until the moment they get back you are paying them--no moving company does that, which almost automatically makes them cost less. The moving company is generally less careful about scratching up your walls & floors with the safe, while they move it tho-- so there can be a definite trade-off
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