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!
Forum rules 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.
I was just given this safe. Other than the word "INDIANA" painted on above the door and "YALE" on the dial, there is no other markings, serial number or stampings of any sort. Is there a way, from the experts here, to get a brand name or model and maybe even an approx. age? Apparently the previous had someone look at it and was able to rattle off this info, but when he say that it had been drilled sometime in the past, he lost interest and walked. Thanks.
Also, does the fact that it was drilled sometime in the past create any unique challenges to figuring out what the combination is today?
Hm. My best guess is, that it is a York safe, but I am really not sure. My rough guess on age would be 100 years.
The drilling can make things easier or worse. I means somebody lay hands on it and might have done some modifications. It is always and especially in this case to make a diagnosis of the lock. How many wheels? Contact point(s)? Gears? Without any modifications I am pretty sure this one is more difficult than your Victor.
A YORK safe is a possibility. I did some cleaning with a nylon wheel and got a serial number off the handle. I wonder with York going out of business in 1942, if their records are still around?
Probably a stupid question, but here goes. What's the best way to tell the difference between a York safe and a Herring Hall Marvin safe? I'm trying to figure it out, but the things that were mentioned to me, handle position, finals, wheels, seem to be identical on both. What am I missing?
I find only HHMs, where the mounting plates for the hinges are only half length. Yours does have plates all along the hinges on both sides. The pieces holding the castors are on HHMs usually not as wide as yours. So I don't think yours is an HHM.
Is it possible that it's a Victor? Seems to have the same style hinges and wheel cover designs. Plus the Yale lock. They look nearly identical to the Victor that I already have.
Vulcan is a good possibility. Trying to see what I can match up now. Here are two pics, first is of the safe and its outer dimensions. The other is a comparison between a known Victor and the unknown one. Thanks again for all the help.
