Did I make a mistake when I assembled my S&G 6730?

[amo]

Hello,

Well, I bought a S and G 6730 and 3d printed a stand for it. That was some time ago. My friend has an old Diebold safe that he's forgotten the combination for and I'm going to visit him soon so I finally got around to mounting the lock on the stand. It seemed to go smoothly but now I think I must have done something wrong.

First off, the dial is hard to turn. It's not that I've got the threaded rod too short. The dial turns freely but when I've picked up all three wheels it's got lots of resistance. It opens on 38 (not 41 or 50) consistent with the instructions included, but when I dial a new combination to the change index the change key can't be inserted all the way.

What might I have done wrong?

Thanks for your help,

John

[billdeserthills]

I would take the back cover off & turn the wheels to the key change position (an icepick is handy for this, you can insert it into the key change cut out in each wheel & dial them all around until the point falls into the key change divot)
replace the back cover, insert change key into lined-up wheels and change the combo.

It would be nice if that fixed your problem

[GWiens2001]

Sounds like you might either have a newer version of the 6730 that has adjustable tension or, more likely, the wheels need to be removed and the spindle shaft needs to be cleaned and lubed.

From your description, am I correct that the dial is harder to turn with each successive wheel it picks up?

Gordon

[amo]

I do own an ice pick but I would need more explicit instructions to implement that solution -- but I'm happy to try.


Yes, exactly. It gets harder to turn with each successive wheel. I bought it brand new off Amazon within the last couple of years so it's comparatively new.

[MartinHewitt]

It is completely normal that the dial turns harder as it picks up wheels. Gordon has made an explanation of the parts inside a 6730 here: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=62460

Near the end just as he has removed all wheels he shows the torque adjustment mechanism. You can turn the small gear with an Allen key to adjust how hard the wheels will turn. You can play around with this to have a setting that you like. NB: You can do this without disassembling the lock.

[GWiens2001]

It is completely normal that the dial turns harder as it picks up wheels. Gordon has made an explanation of the parts inside a 6730 here: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=62460

Near the end just as he has removed all wheels he shows the torque adjustment mechanism. You can turn the small gear with an Allen key to adjust how hard the wheels will turn. You can play around with this to have a setting that you like. NB: You can do this without disassembling the lock.

I believe it is the 19th picture that shows the gear that can be turned by the Allen wrench to adjust the torque adjustment. It is only accessable without disassembly when the bolt is out in the locked position (and the back cover off the lock case).

[amo]

Thank you. Those are a really good set of pictures.

[Raymond]

Definitely adjust the friction adjustment as suggested. You want it loose enough to dial freely but not so loose that flip-spinning the dial will add momentum and spin the first number past the opening-stopping number. Also make certain that the dial ring is accurately centered so the spindle is not at an angle.

First off, the dial is hard to turn. It's not that I've got the threaded rod too short. [with the cover on - maybe too long] The dial turns freely but when I've picked up all three wheels it's got lots of resistance. It opens on 38 (not 41 or 50) consistent with the instructions included, but when I dial a new combination to the change index the change key can't be inserted all the way.

You must dial the lock to the CURRENT combination on the change index before inserting the change key. Your statement seemed to reverse this?

This paragraph has me a little worried. The second sentence suggests that the last wheel may have the change key socket turned out of alignment with the other two. As the dial turns the first two numbers, it may then be dragging the third wheel. Your last sentence would confirm this. Looking at the edge of the change key socket, you should see a small line. All three sockets should be aligned the same.

Depending on how the lock body is mounted, the drive wheel should be turned so the spline key goes in at the designated slot. To make that decision refer to the direction the lock bolt points out of the case to. The choices are Left, Right, Up, or Down.

There are a number of things to consider and in which order. I hope you can call someone who can talk you through this directly. Half-blind trouble shooting takes an awful lot of patience and time. The pictures referred to are worth their weight in gold.

Good luck though, we've all been there. No matter how bad it seems, you are not our first confused person.

[amo]

I adusted the friction as suggested. That took care of that.

The spline does not contact the case cover so I don't think it's too long, either.

The sheet that came with it has instructions to open it on a "factory setting" of 41 or 50. They are identical except for one says 41 and the other says 50.

They say "1. Starting anywhere, turn the dial left until ## comes to the opening index a minimum of four times. 2. Turn the dial right until it comes to a positive stop indicating the bolt has retracted."

My lock opens when those instructions are followed with 48 instead.

Dialing 48 four times left to the change index does allow me to fully insert the change key.

So, I am apparently ready to enter a three number combination. I'll try that a little later this morning.

[amo]

The change key won't turn. The instruction sheet says to insert it till the wing is entirely inside the lock case and then turn it one quarter turn counterclockwise. It won't turn more than an insignificant wiggle.

I took the cover off and confirmed that the change key holes are all aligned with each other and with the keyhole in the cover plate.

The thing that really puzzles me is this: the key still can't turn when inserted in the cover when the cover is not on the lock body. I mean if I remove the cover plate and put the change key into the cover plate keyhole there's still no turning it.

It really seems that the cross sectional profile of the key doesn't match that of the keyhole. While the shaft of the key has slight chamfers or beveled corners in the square shaft of the key they are not sufficient to allow the square shaft to turn in the square keyhole.

This seems unlikely but I can't see any explanation unless they shipped it with the wrong key. I know that seems ridiculous but, again, there's no possibility of turning it a quarter turn.

But I'd be very happy to admit it if I'm wrong.

[Raymond]

You made very appropriate progress. All good and cleared up a lot of potential problems only to discover the next big one. Without seeing it and being able to coon-finger it I am stumped. Carry on....

[amo]

If I don't get an answer here my next step will be to file the key so it can turn in the square hole.

[MartinHewitt]

I had a lock where the change key had very little play in the square holes which made it very difficult to push the change key in far enough, but I succeeded in this case with a lot wiggling of the change key.

[amo]

I'm confident I had the key in far enough. I emailed S & G. When they respond I'll post it here.

[GWiens2001]

First, try using a little more effort to turn the change key. It IS a tight turn. If it does turn, you are ready to change the combination.

If you are not successful, I would take off the back cover, then rotate all the wheels so the gates are located at the spline key hole area.

Next rotate the top wheel so the change key hole it is over the other two gates. Put in the change key and see of it can be turned 1/4 turn counter-clockwise. If it can't, try wiggling the change key until it does (don't force it - you don't want to damaging the wheel). If/when it does turn, turn the change key back 1/4 turn clockwise to re-lock the wheel. Now manually turn the top wheel so it's gate alligns with the gates again.

Now manually turn the center wheel so the change key hole is located where the other two gates are located. Put in the change key and see if it can be turned 1/4 turn counter-clockwise. Like with the top wheel, if it can't, try wiggling the change key until it does (don't force it - you don't want to damaging the wheel). If/when it does turn, turn the change key back 1/4 turn clockwise to re-lock the wheel. Now manually turn the center wheel so it's gate alligns with the gates again.

Finally do the same with the bottom wheel.

The goal here is to find which wheel is binding and to see if it can be freed up,

Line up all of the wheels' combination change key holes in line with the bottom left case mounting screw hole. That should put them close to the back cover change key hole. Put on the back cover without the screws and see if the change key can fit all the way down. If it can, remove the change key and replace the back cover screws. If not, remove the back cover and use a straightened paper clip to make sure all of the change key holes are perfectly in line. Replace the back cover again.

Put in the change key, turn it counter(anti)-clockise to unlock all the wheels and set your new combination.

Hope this helps,

Gordon