First lock--LaGard 3330

[flywheel]

I don't know what I'm doing but I look forward to that day when I first manipulate it open. The dial may be hefty but it's so silky smooth.
Some pictures for your enjoyment...
Thanks for looking!

[macgng]

very nice.

[Oldfast]

Nice indeed. I've been wanting a LaGard with a dial like that for some time.
I like it! The right one at the right price just hasn't come along yet. Congrats.

Lookin' forward to hearing of your new adventures

[flywheel]

The National Locksmith - Guide to Manipulation: "A short pencil is better than a long memory."

Using some tape to delineate the "forbidden zone" I marked 95 and 25 on the dial plus the changing index. After dialing the known combination and inserting the change key I turned the lock around and carefully dialed up a new (and completely unknown) combination. I guessing there might be some 0.5's in there. Time to start graphing some points. I think I will start with increments of 2 instead of 2.5. Wish me luck.

[flywheel]

AWL to begin...
The left contact felt solid and unchanging the whole way through. The right contact was soft and I am questioning most of my readings. If I had to guess at low spots I would say 28-36 and 82-92. Probably need to go through it again tomorrow with a green pen and see if anything changes.

[Oldfast]

Exciting stuff! Lookin' good so far.

I should work with LaGards more. Never got real good with em' actually.

[CPT1911]

Looking great! You'll have that thing open in no time and be ready to start your lock buying addiction on Ebay....

[GWiens2001]

Keep going! You are doing well.

Gordon

[flywheel]

Dagger's Safe cracking for everyone: "Do NOT start with a LaGard 3330!"

The (mis)adventure continues. I tried looking for gate signatures again AWL with roughly the same results. I decided the dip at 82-92 was the most promising (pretty much ignored fluctuation at 20-45) and tested every increment. It didn't tell me anything new so I declared 87 the winner and did a high/low test with it. The results show that L87 is most likely W2. I parked W1+2 at L87 and tried to find what W3 had to offer. W3 gave me a beautiful gate profile at R35. With W1 remaining I went with the brute force method. I only needed to dial backwards like Rx-L87-R35 and then L until nose drops into cam.
Ah, naivete.

Needless to say, that didn't work. The assumption that W2 is L87 is most likely incorrect. Time to try AWR and focus more on 20-45 in both directions and see if W1 or W2 is hiding in there. The results from W3 just might be a fortunate occurrence. I'll hang onto it for now.

Take care!

[LockManipulator]

Dagger's Safe cracking for everyone: "Do NOT start with a LaGard 3330!"

And I was afraid no one was reading it!

If you would like some advice, here's my 2 cents: In the first graph, the "gate profile" from 80-94 is way to big to be an actual gate so I would say that maybe around 81/81ish is where a gate would be. The 80-94 area is definitely a low area though so it seems like it did reveal a gate in the next graph. Your finding of 35 seems like an actual gate too but 42.5 also looks to be an area of interest. They could both be gates perhaps. You're doing a great job so far! Remember, if hi/low tests aren't showing as clear results as you would like to see, try isolation each wheel and running them through the area in question one at a time! I never do high/low tests anymore since I find that isolation yields the best result in my opinion

Good luck and keep spinning

[flywheel]

Looking at my very first graph I decided to call 33 a good parking spot and placed W1 there while I graphed the other two wheels. Indications here and there but around 75 I got a whole point drop on the right contact and decided this was the best candidate. Learning nothing from yesterday I promptly assumed W2 was L75 and W3 is R35 (from previous graphing). I once again went the brute force route to find W1. We all know how assumptions and corner cutting work out in the long run.
Imagine my surprise when I open the lock on R28-L75-R35. Here is something even more amusing. After removing the back I see the correctly centered W1 number is R26. It should have opened one try earlier, but I must have screwed up while dialing it in.

I got lucky, really lucky.

This victory seems oddly hollow. I compare it to picking a padlock that opens suddenly while ham-handedly pushing on the tumblers. You're happy it opened but wish your actions dictated exactly how and when it opens. The same with safe lock manipulation. I want to perform a series of steps, reach a conclusion, and say, "now I will open the lock." Click. Open. Simply, I want my knowledge and skill to open the lock, not luck.

Funny thing to write considering my crapshoot approach to this lock. I'll chalk it up to the excitement of trying something new.

Take care!

[LockManipulator]

Nice job! The 3330 is beyond me but then again, i've only ever tried one. And it had some pretty horrible mounting problems

[easy-e]

This victory seems oddly hollow. I compare it to picking a padlock that opens suddenly while ham-handedly pushing on the tumblers. You're happy it opened but wish your actions dictated exactly how and when it opens. The same with safe lock manipulation. I want to perform a series of steps, reach a conclusion, and say, "now I will open the lock." Click. Open. Simply, I want my knowledge and skill to open the lock, not luck.

Great job on the manipulation!

I used to bowl a lot of leagues and tournaments and everyone would talk about luck. If you don't hit the head pin, it's hard to get a strike. Sure it's possible and I've done it plenty of times, but it's not very likely. You created your own luck and gave yourself the best possible chance to succeed. Don't feel any less accomplished because you think you just got lucky! You have to get close to get lucky!