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i am going to post this question here although it has been posted on another site. There seems to be a few different members here that may have some input. Also, projects always seem to be enjoyed here.

Can anyone identify this wall safe? It is very generic with no identifying marks on the safe or the lock. It is a very nice quality casting just under a foot square with one inch thick walls. A rotating door, that latches with less than a quarter turn. Original paint is olive drab. (military?) The front and the rear were machine finished, the sides were left rough cast.







The lock also does not have any identifying marks. Three wheels to the wheel pack and the fence was originally spring loaded which makes me think it could be used for a floor safe. The safe was drilled at some point on the side and the lock bolt punched back into the lock. That caused damage to the fence, spring, and put a couple bulges into the lock body. It had been repaired but did not operate reliably so it sat on a shelf in a laundromat for nearly 55 years. It was picked up by my uncle who then gave it to me.





I am currently reworking it. It has had the lock refurbished so that it works reliably. Seeing that it is not a collector safe, I am doing a full custom restoration. All the sides will be smooth; the knobs along with the dial and dial ring as well as the hinge will have new nickel plating. It will get gold leaf and custom lettering and stripes.

Why, you ask? It is a tribute piece that I will give back to my uncle to display in his house. He is the one who got me interested in safes and has had a big influence in my life. At 87, he is still adding to his collection of old tractors and bulldozers. In fact, I hauled one for him this week.

Body work is done and it was painted today. I will gold leaf it once the paint has cured. The shiny parts are already back from the plater in record time. Stay tuned for the finished product.

Can't tell you much but it looks Diebold-ish to me. The change-key hole is throwing me off.

I have change keys for Mosler that are shaped like that. For 3 wheel pack the key says it is Mos 302.

It doesn't resemble any Mosler lock that I've seen, but I haven't seen very many.

The lock really looks like a Diebold to me - the case, the wheels, the shape of the drive cam gate, the dial & dial ring all remind me of Diebold & I'd be surprised if it isn't one.

...Mark

I went through the lock book of Bates and McOmie. Diebold really looks most similar, but it is still not very similar.

I was looking at the photos in Oldfast's Safe chronicles.
To me the inside of the lock and internal re-lock trigger look Like Diebold. See Manipulation #19.
The back cover looks like Mosler. See manipulation #16.
Maybe the back cover has been switched? Is the change hole in the correct position? What keeps the nose out of the gates during combo change?
Anyways, It's a nice looking safe. Enjoy seeing your work.

Here are some pictures of the lock details. No marking on anything other then "Pats pending" stamped on the bolt. The cover on the lock is original and the key change hole lines up.

The two holes in the back are for the change key? But there is no alignment with the hole in the cover, isn't it?

The key change hole in the cover does align with the lower hole in the back of the case.

Lookin' forward to another one of your refurbishing projects.

I dunno, sure looks Diebold to me. I'm still not all too good at identifying locks. I'm worse yet
when it comes to identifying safes. At any rate, here's a couple comparisons that might help:

Manipulation #29 - I tagged this one as a Diebold, and figured it was a very early version of the 900.
Keep in mind that the dial & drive cam I used to get it going are not original to the lock. There's some
distinct similarities with yours though. Or how about THIS? Granted it's a rather large cash drop safe
rather than a wall safe... but again, a lot of resemblance here too.

I agree with bitbuster though, the change key hole doesn't go with the theme.
Anyhoot, my vote would be Diebold. Can't wait to see some progress photos!

I was digging through my records but I could not find anything exactly like it.

There was one similar that had the same long bolt lock but the door was slightly different and there was a stationary bolt 180° from the lock bolt. It said it was a Diebold 900 (0 change) lock.

The general consensus between two forums is that it is a Diebold. The one link Oldfast posted is similar but there are a number of differences.

I finished this project and snuck it into my uncle's house today while he was down at the local watering hole. It should be a good surprise for him. As I mentioned, I did a custom rework to honor him as he has done a number of things for me over the years. He is the one who got me interested in safes.

It was fun to do whatever I wanted to do verses trying to recreate to original standards. The lock was reworked and now is as smooth as butter. The rough cast sides were were also smoothed out and everything got a coat of leftover Victor cannonball green. I then added some 23 karat gold stripes and lettering. It was then sent out for some pinstriping, script, and some shadowing. All the shiny parts were prepped and sent out for new nickle plating, including the dial and ring. I also reworked a stand from an old cream separator for it to sit on. It makes for a very nice display.

My uncle now has his very own safe company!

This is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen. Amazing job!

WOW! Once again I'm impressed by your craftsmanship and attention to details.
Adding a stand is something I should do to a safe of mine. I'll remember your idea.

Cheers

Stunning. Just stunning.
Both the safe AND the car.

Thanks for posting the pics, and for future reference you can upload your pictures directly into your forum post here so they're stored on our server. This eliminates the problem of missing pics due to broken links down the road as domains change hands or shut down, or the little trick that Photomucket is playing on their users and now forcing them to pay for outside linking.