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Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 2020 1:14 pm
by abucci
Same here, have a Cole with N-951247 written on the inside of the cabinet. Can anyone help out for the combo?

Aaron

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 2020 2:43 pm
by GWiens2001
What is the diameter of your dial?

2.5” 27-15-94
3” 42-19-75

Let us know how that works.

Gordon

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Wed Jan 08, 2020 11:16 pm
by bitbuster
A few weeks ago I bid on the following Cole cabinet with the massive safe in it. The Cole got zero bids until I put a $3 bid in the final hour of the online auction. I was the only bidder and after taxes and buyer's fee ended up shelling out $3.49. I knew the reasons it only had 1 bid. Info given said it was locked, no combo. It was in a shed and most likely would have mice living in drawers, etc. Went to retrieve the Cole the next day. Taped to the cabinet wall to the left of the high security safe was the combo to the safe written on a strip of old, flaking masking tape. It was the correct combo. Funny how the auction company failed to see it. To verify if it was the factory original combo I removed the bottom drawer, got the 6 digit number and used the mystery decoding numbers to figure out the combo. The combo was the same as the combo written on the tape, verifying it was the original combo. Loaded it in my truck and hauled it home. Yes, it did have mice nests and everything associated with mice in it . It was not fit for resale. I took the safe door off and sold the cabinet for scrap, making $3 for 160 pounds of sheet metal. I did sell the lock to a local guy for a smaller Cole cabinet that was missing the lock for the safe. I sold the lock for $35 which included installation. S&G 8100 series lock. The 8100 has the deadbolt, the 8110 has the springbolt.

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Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:53 am
by MartinHewitt
That is why the pop up so often here.

Did you write the code into the new cabinet?

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 9:07 am
by bitbuster
Good point, MH. I did write the new code down after crossing out the other.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 9:11 am
by MartinHewitt
It would be a shame if this Cole would go down in history as the first Cole where the combination is different from the code behind the drawers.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:52 am
by compactfox
Hello, I bought a Cole file cabinet with a safe door inside a locking door for $20 and it is the same sad story. I have the key for the outside door and it did not come with the combination to the cheesy safe door. It has a 3" dial and inside the second drawer is the number M-558820. It would be nice to be able to use the safe portion if someone could help me decode this somehow. I am guessing that this is a S&G D7 and that it is a 3L-2R-1L It has a 3" dial. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:42 am
by rmg22
Hello there from New Jersey!

I joined this community after reading through this thread in hopes of decoding my Cole Steel filing cabinet's safe lock. It is a 3" diameter lock that has a serial number of N-455317.

If any of the experts out there can assist it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Rob

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 4:35 pm
by bitbuster
Try 13-54-75. L3-R2-L1- slowly right to positive stop.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 5:15 pm
by MartinHewitt
Did you have a closer look at your lock? From your photo it seems the lock as only two wheels plus drive cam? So the the final number is a fake number and it can be opened with only two numbers when starting right? Is the third number determined by how the spindle is set in the drive cam or in the dial?

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:14 am
by jharveee
After looking at the lock through Martins eyes,.....it seems like you could brute force this lock open pretty quick.
Set wheel 1 at Right (X)
set wheel 2 at left (X)
spin wheel 3 around Right
if it did not open, rotate left to advance wheel 2 then back right to open.
Wash, rinse, repeat
Go through all possibilities on wheel 2 . if not open, advance wheel 1 start over.
This works on some Sentry safes where the gates are larger and the tolerances are not close.
I don't have one of these Cole cabinets(yet). So can't confirm if this would be a valid attack.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:45 am
by MartinHewitt
If we know
1) where the contact points are in relation to the official third numbers and
2a) how wide the gates are or
2b) even better where the 16 gates per wheel can be, then
then this bruteforcing could be optimized.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 2:33 pm
by MartinHewitt
Got my Cole lock today!

I think I can give you now a conversion from official to convenient. Let's say the official combination is 65-22-90, i.e. 3 times left, 2 times right, once left and right to stop. The 90 is totally irrelevant for the opening. In case of the official sequence the last "number" can be in this case probably anywhere between 75 and 15. In case of the convenient combination there is no third number. The convenient dialing sequence is 3 times right, 2 times left and right to stop. For this add 7 to the first number and subtract 5 from the second. 65-22-90 -> 72-17. If you have a Cole, please try that to verify that I made no mistake.

Btw. it is also nice to manipulate.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:57 pm
by bitbuster
It worked. When using convenient method, the last number right turn to stop is the same number when using the 'correct' dialing sequence of 4th turn right to stop.

Re: Cole file cabinet with safe

PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:36 pm
by MartinHewitt
Thanks!