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Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:03 am
by idahoaj1
I'm new to this, mostly just helping the safe owner get information on it, and possibly a way to get the combination figured out on this beautiful old safe.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:30 am
by bitbuster
Nice big-arse safe. Could be 1 of many locks but with any luck, hope for a Peerless.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:19 pm
by mastersmith
Give us some info on you idohoaj1. Do you know anything about how a combination lock works? Your level of experience and comfort level will have a lot to do with figuring this out. It is an easy thing to do if you know how. But a little bit tougher to explain if your student doesn't have a basic idea of what is happening in the lock. Fill us in so we may help you out. As an example; Do you know the difference between "key change" and "hand change" safe locks? This is a really big question for this problem.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 8:55 am
by idahoaj1
To be honest, I know next to nothing at all. But I have high mechanical aptitude.
I see there's a panel behind the lock held on by two screws, so access to the mechanism appears simple. What I figured I'd do, is get somewhere to start, then open it with the owner and go from there.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:58 am
by tarboxb
In my humble opinion safe locks are simple enough that someone with mechanical aptitude should be able to figure out the combination. There are basically wheels inside with cutouts called gates that all need to be aligned to a bar called the fence in order for the lock to open. Once the gates are all aligned, moving the drive cam which is connected to the dial spindle back to the "drop in" point will allow the lever to enter the drive cam and the bolt will retract with continued rotation of the dial. You basically rotate the dial until all the wheels "pick up" and then continue until the gate furthest away from the drive cam aligns with the fence. Then you turn around and pick up the third and second wheels are continue until you position the second gate without moving the first. Lastly you turn around again to position the final gate without disturbing the other two. When you rotate the drive cam back under the lever it will enter and then allow you to open the lock. If the lever wants to pop out of the drive cam gate you dialed the combination backwards. It isn't a big deal you just have to change direction again when the lever nose enters the drive cam to allow you to retract the bolt without moving the lever nose out of the drive cam. If you are mechanically inclined, you should be able to look in there and see what I am talking about.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:24 pm
by Jaakko Fagerlund
Pop that panel off and take a look, it is just mechanics :)

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:56 pm
by MartinHewitt
And maybe take photos before disassembly.

And most of all make multiple times sure it works before closing and locking it. (Unless you want to manipulate it open.)

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 3:50 pm
by mastersmith
I hate to rain on this party, but.....if the lock is hand change you don't see the wheels when you dial. But normally the wheels are marked with numbers, so, different process.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 5:47 am
by tarboxb
Yeah mastersmith does make a good point on that one. It is possible to kind of "guess and check" moving the dial a bit and then removing the wheel pack and looking to see if a wheel is there but this is time consuming and tedious.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:41 am
by 00247
tarboxb wrote: It is possible to kind of "guess and check" moving the dial a bit and then removing the wheel pack and looking to see if a wheel is there but this is time consuming and tedious.


Surely you jest. A manipulator finds "guess and check" time consuming and tedious? Just razzing you. :smile:

It has the advantage of visual confirmation verses trying to interpret a graph. No better way to learn how the lock operates. In my opinion, locked with the door open is a gift from God. Besides, it's all fun.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 8:59 am
by tarboxb
Haha 00247, I personally wouldn't even open the door cover to find the combo. That is too boring. :P I would just leave it the way it is and manipulate it open. I am just saying that it is possible to do what I said to find the combo. Of course it is better to remove the wheel pack and disassemble it to find the numbers on the wheels. Of course not all hand change wheels even have numbers in which case you have to either use the sight hole that most of them have or do what I said before.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:14 pm
by mastersmith
idahoaj1 your timing is very good! pickmonger2 just made a post that lists some links you will find quite interesting. A couple of them have to do with safe locks and should be a very good read for you. It looks like just the introduction you need to build a little comfort level with these locks, so check it out!

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:39 pm
by mdc5150
So I just worked on a Diebold where the outside looked exactly like this one. The backside of the outer door is the same as well. The one I worked on had a 4 wheel key change lock with a gravity fence. If you looked with a light at the top right side of the wheel pack you have a great view of the first three wheels. Then look from the left side. I even have a couple pics.

20170721_115339.jpg


20170721_122748.jpg


I did not put the holes in the door. This is at a museum and the door was locked open. They wanted the combo in case someone managed to close and lock the door.

Re: Nice old Diebold, locked open

PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:10 pm
by bitbuster
Diebold/Eagle 161. The correct hole is the one to the lower right of the handle.