Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:48 pm
First Real World Safe Manipulation
FIRST REAL WORLD SAFE MANIPULATION
I have only been spinning for a few months now, but I am hooked. Like many of the others here where their significant other sets the combos for them, my wife has done an excellent job keeping up with my constant demands for new numbers to spin. Most of the locks I have been working with are LaGard 3330’s and S&G 6700’s, and I have been getting more consistent in my practice. Recently I had a great opportunity to get my first open out in the real world. I thought Oldfast’s presentation of the Safe Chronicle’s was an awesome dialogue with the reader. So I was hoping to share my thoughts and findings in a similar fashion. I apologize for the wordiness ahead of time.
When I visit my mechanic to have work done on my car I always update him on how my locksport hobby has been coming along. He’s a young, animated fellow that always seems to have some genuine interest in what I am doing, or at least an enthusiastic curiosity. So when I told him that I was starting to learn how to manipulate safes he told me that he had recently acquired a safe from a dear friend that had passed away and no one knew the combination. I told him that I was interested in trying to open it some time.
Now some time had passed, and I had been having success at manipulation at home and I thought it was time to give it a go. I stopped in after coming back from vacation and asked if he had gotten into the safe yet. He replied that he hadn’t and was about to take a torch to it to get it open. He also said that it was still in the back of their busy service garage. We went back to the safe and I saw the familiar S & G logo on the gold chrome dial. I spun the dial a bit. The dial was a little stiff like it hadn’t been operated in a long time. It loosened up after a couple of revolutions and clearly showed the contact points during rotation. I had the day free and told him that I would run home and grab my graphs and clip board and come back. I was excited to think that this could be my first open out in the real world. I rushed back with my “tools” and started to get to work.
First, I started by counting the wheels and found there were three.
Then I checked the rotational conversion: 0.75, 1.5, 2.25
** You’ll notice that the graphs are done as 2 and 2.5 increments in different graphs. I started with the 2 increment graphs hoping that I wouldn’t miss any possible gates. After some later frustration I moved to the 2.5 increment graphs to move through the wheel actions faster. **
Graph 1
Action: AWL
Comments: So in standard fashion I started at AWL and found what looked like a gate signature @ 51.5 LEFT. I was feeling a little rusty having just gotten back from vacation. Also, and I don’t if you other spinners run into this problem, the chrome dials always give me a little problem visualizing the number markings as accurately as I like. So I continued with a second graph as AWR.
Conclusion: X-X-???51.5L
Graph 2
Action: AWR
Comments: I was a little more confident with this rotation which very clearly showed a gate @ 49 RIGHT. Don’t ask me why I stopped graphing this rotation. It may have saved me some later, yet to be felt, frustration. I think I was just psyched about the better gate signature. HI-LO testing revealed that this was Wheel 3 @ 49R.
Conclusion: X-X-49R
Graph 3
Action: 1&2AL, 3@49R
Comments: So, this is where my “feel” got a little off. In this graph I spun 1&2 AL and 3@49R. And just wasn’t coming up with anything I was really confident in, thus I tried chasing the possible gate/low point at 90 LEFT. HI-LO testing put this at wheel 2.
Conclusion: X - ???90L - 49R
Graph 4
Action: 1AR, 2@ 90L, 3@49R
Comments: This only showed what looked like the already known gate at 49 and no open. Half way through this graph I was feeling a little confident because the contact points were narrower from right to left. So, frustrated, I went back over my graphs and continued.
Conclusion: nada
Graph 5
Action: 1AL, 2&3@49R
Comments: Finally!!! A convincing gate signature @ 20 LEFT. HI-LO put this on wheel 1.
Conclusion: 20L-X-49R
Graph 6
Action: 1@20L, 2AR, 3@49L
Comments: Not a thing. No open. Because W3 was 49R I knew I needed to add the Rotation Conversion to make it a left during dialing. I looked at the gate and thought to myself 49L was close enough, so let’s try that. This is where I messed up. I should have done 49R with the added RC. If you spin left with the 0.75 RC the number would increase to 49.75 and would have resulted in an open on my next graph. Even if I have looked back to graph 1, I would have noted the 51.5L and would have resulted on an open too. But hey this was a first attempt out in the real world AND hindsight is 20/20.But I had to find a way to see some gates. So I spun the next graph.
Conclusion: nada
Graph 7
Action: 1@20L, 2&3AR
Comments: And there it was!!! There’s a very convincing gate at 3 RIGHT and once again that stubborn 49.5 RIGHT. HI-LO testing put 49.5 on wheel 3, and 3 on wheel 2. I tested out the resulting combination given the convincing signatures and CLICK!!! The fence dropped, the bolt retracted, and with a turn of the handle the safe vault opened.
My heart was racing I was so excited. I ran to grab the mechanic and he ran with me back to the safe. The expression on his face was priceless. All the mechanics at the shop came to inspect the contents of the safe. Certainly they say 95% of safes have nothing inside when opened. This one fell into the 5% with a trove of items from the passed friend’s collection. The young mechanic called his father (the owner of the shop) to come. They reminisced about their close friend as they inspected the items within. Witnessing this touching moment was payment enough for the opened safe, though I do recall him offering me free car detailing for life (kidding).
I removed the back of the door to take pictures of the lock mechanism and re-locker for my personal catalogue of details I keep. Lock: S&G 6740 with a wire re-locker attached to the body.
When I finish with an open I go back to each number to assess the range of each gate. W1 opened at 19-21, W2 opened 2-4, W3 opened 50-51. What!?! No 49. Wheel 3 opened on a range of 49.5-51.5. So to make the combination easiest for the “customer,” I gave him the final combination of 20L-3R-50L.
Conclusion: 20L-3R-50L-OPEN
He was extremely grateful and I look forward to hear more about what was in the safe the next time I need some work on the car. The real conclusion is perseverance pays off. Don’t forget you have options in graphing and employ them when you get stuck. Use rotational conversion (I would have had that open so much earlier if I just used my brain). Though I was left to do my thing, this was a completely different environment. Loud air ratchets and grinders, not the calm peace of my couch at home. Nothing like the pressure of someone standing over your shoulder asking what you’re doing or how things are going too. Love to hear any thoughts or suggestions that you folks have.
I have only been spinning for a few months now, but I am hooked. Like many of the others here where their significant other sets the combos for them, my wife has done an excellent job keeping up with my constant demands for new numbers to spin. Most of the locks I have been working with are LaGard 3330’s and S&G 6700’s, and I have been getting more consistent in my practice. Recently I had a great opportunity to get my first open out in the real world. I thought Oldfast’s presentation of the Safe Chronicle’s was an awesome dialogue with the reader. So I was hoping to share my thoughts and findings in a similar fashion. I apologize for the wordiness ahead of time.
When I visit my mechanic to have work done on my car I always update him on how my locksport hobby has been coming along. He’s a young, animated fellow that always seems to have some genuine interest in what I am doing, or at least an enthusiastic curiosity. So when I told him that I was starting to learn how to manipulate safes he told me that he had recently acquired a safe from a dear friend that had passed away and no one knew the combination. I told him that I was interested in trying to open it some time.
Now some time had passed, and I had been having success at manipulation at home and I thought it was time to give it a go. I stopped in after coming back from vacation and asked if he had gotten into the safe yet. He replied that he hadn’t and was about to take a torch to it to get it open. He also said that it was still in the back of their busy service garage. We went back to the safe and I saw the familiar S & G logo on the gold chrome dial. I spun the dial a bit. The dial was a little stiff like it hadn’t been operated in a long time. It loosened up after a couple of revolutions and clearly showed the contact points during rotation. I had the day free and told him that I would run home and grab my graphs and clip board and come back. I was excited to think that this could be my first open out in the real world. I rushed back with my “tools” and started to get to work.
First, I started by counting the wheels and found there were three.
Then I checked the rotational conversion: 0.75, 1.5, 2.25
** You’ll notice that the graphs are done as 2 and 2.5 increments in different graphs. I started with the 2 increment graphs hoping that I wouldn’t miss any possible gates. After some later frustration I moved to the 2.5 increment graphs to move through the wheel actions faster. **
Graph 1
Action: AWL
Comments: So in standard fashion I started at AWL and found what looked like a gate signature @ 51.5 LEFT. I was feeling a little rusty having just gotten back from vacation. Also, and I don’t if you other spinners run into this problem, the chrome dials always give me a little problem visualizing the number markings as accurately as I like. So I continued with a second graph as AWR.
Conclusion: X-X-???51.5L
Graph 2
Action: AWR
Comments: I was a little more confident with this rotation which very clearly showed a gate @ 49 RIGHT. Don’t ask me why I stopped graphing this rotation. It may have saved me some later, yet to be felt, frustration. I think I was just psyched about the better gate signature. HI-LO testing revealed that this was Wheel 3 @ 49R.
Conclusion: X-X-49R
Graph 3
Action: 1&2AL, 3@49R
Comments: So, this is where my “feel” got a little off. In this graph I spun 1&2 AL and 3@49R. And just wasn’t coming up with anything I was really confident in, thus I tried chasing the possible gate/low point at 90 LEFT. HI-LO testing put this at wheel 2.
Conclusion: X - ???90L - 49R
Graph 4
Action: 1AR, 2@ 90L, 3@49R
Comments: This only showed what looked like the already known gate at 49 and no open. Half way through this graph I was feeling a little confident because the contact points were narrower from right to left. So, frustrated, I went back over my graphs and continued.
Conclusion: nada
Graph 5
Action: 1AL, 2&3@49R
Comments: Finally!!! A convincing gate signature @ 20 LEFT. HI-LO put this on wheel 1.
Conclusion: 20L-X-49R
Graph 6
Action: 1@20L, 2AR, 3@49L
Comments: Not a thing. No open. Because W3 was 49R I knew I needed to add the Rotation Conversion to make it a left during dialing. I looked at the gate and thought to myself 49L was close enough, so let’s try that. This is where I messed up. I should have done 49R with the added RC. If you spin left with the 0.75 RC the number would increase to 49.75 and would have resulted in an open on my next graph. Even if I have looked back to graph 1, I would have noted the 51.5L and would have resulted on an open too. But hey this was a first attempt out in the real world AND hindsight is 20/20.But I had to find a way to see some gates. So I spun the next graph.
Conclusion: nada
Graph 7
Action: 1@20L, 2&3AR
Comments: And there it was!!! There’s a very convincing gate at 3 RIGHT and once again that stubborn 49.5 RIGHT. HI-LO testing put 49.5 on wheel 3, and 3 on wheel 2. I tested out the resulting combination given the convincing signatures and CLICK!!! The fence dropped, the bolt retracted, and with a turn of the handle the safe vault opened.
My heart was racing I was so excited. I ran to grab the mechanic and he ran with me back to the safe. The expression on his face was priceless. All the mechanics at the shop came to inspect the contents of the safe. Certainly they say 95% of safes have nothing inside when opened. This one fell into the 5% with a trove of items from the passed friend’s collection. The young mechanic called his father (the owner of the shop) to come. They reminisced about their close friend as they inspected the items within. Witnessing this touching moment was payment enough for the opened safe, though I do recall him offering me free car detailing for life (kidding).
I removed the back of the door to take pictures of the lock mechanism and re-locker for my personal catalogue of details I keep. Lock: S&G 6740 with a wire re-locker attached to the body.
When I finish with an open I go back to each number to assess the range of each gate. W1 opened at 19-21, W2 opened 2-4, W3 opened 50-51. What!?! No 49. Wheel 3 opened on a range of 49.5-51.5. So to make the combination easiest for the “customer,” I gave him the final combination of 20L-3R-50L.
Conclusion: 20L-3R-50L-OPEN
He was extremely grateful and I look forward to hear more about what was in the safe the next time I need some work on the car. The real conclusion is perseverance pays off. Don’t forget you have options in graphing and employ them when you get stuck. Use rotational conversion (I would have had that open so much earlier if I just used my brain). Though I was left to do my thing, this was a completely different environment. Loud air ratchets and grinders, not the calm peace of my couch at home. Nothing like the pressure of someone standing over your shoulder asking what you’re doing or how things are going too. Love to hear any thoughts or suggestions that you folks have.
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