Lets tear into an old Diebold safe
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 8:59 pm
After a hiatus it's time to work on another safe. Nothing special this time, after all, it would be hard to top the uniqueness of the last National Safe and Lock Co. bank money chest. This time it is a rather mundane square Diebold. This safe turned up on Craigslist a couple of years ago. It was advertised at $60 and was just over 20 miles from home. There were just a couple of poor pictures posted but for that price the wife and I ran down to take a look.
It was rather unimpressive with the funky wood grained paint job but there were a few things that caught my eye.
First on the back door cover, there was the Diebold name plate that covers the hole for accessing the lock. That told me the safe was older than I originally thought. Inside it had 4 drawers and the keys were there for each one, each drawer is keyed different. On the bad side, the inner compartment was missing which was disappointing. On the plus side, all 4 of the hinge finials (button style) were in place and the door was open with combination unknown (just the way I like to buy them). The seller accepted my $50 offer and had a skid steer to load it on my trailer. We were on the way home quickly with my new prized possession. It was identified as a late 1800's to early 1900's Diebold thin wall safe by Doug MacQueen.
The Diebold lock cover name plate.
The interior and the lock.
Not sure of the model of the lock, it does not have any markings to ID it as a Yale so maybe it is one of Diebold's design? Hopefully bitbuster or someone else can offer more information on the lock. The fence is on the bottom and is moved up into the wheel pack by the bolt mechanism moved by the outer handle. It also has a relocker.
This will not be a restoration per say. The outside hardware will get new plating, the inside will be freshened up, and of course it will get modern high quality body work and paint. While I will pay homage to the original design, the safe will get custom graphics. It will be a gift to a good friend so it will be personalized for his business.
Next time we will dissect the lock and see if any of the original artwork exists.
It was rather unimpressive with the funky wood grained paint job but there were a few things that caught my eye.
First on the back door cover, there was the Diebold name plate that covers the hole for accessing the lock. That told me the safe was older than I originally thought. Inside it had 4 drawers and the keys were there for each one, each drawer is keyed different. On the bad side, the inner compartment was missing which was disappointing. On the plus side, all 4 of the hinge finials (button style) were in place and the door was open with combination unknown (just the way I like to buy them). The seller accepted my $50 offer and had a skid steer to load it on my trailer. We were on the way home quickly with my new prized possession. It was identified as a late 1800's to early 1900's Diebold thin wall safe by Doug MacQueen.
The Diebold lock cover name plate.
The interior and the lock.
Not sure of the model of the lock, it does not have any markings to ID it as a Yale so maybe it is one of Diebold's design? Hopefully bitbuster or someone else can offer more information on the lock. The fence is on the bottom and is moved up into the wheel pack by the bolt mechanism moved by the outer handle. It also has a relocker.
This will not be a restoration per say. The outside hardware will get new plating, the inside will be freshened up, and of course it will get modern high quality body work and paint. While I will pay homage to the original design, the safe will get custom graphics. It will be a gift to a good friend so it will be personalized for his business.
Next time we will dissect the lock and see if any of the original artwork exists.