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I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

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Mayas_Mom

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 12:06 pm

I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

I'd appreciate any help you can offer that would help my family open an old combination safe left behind by my brother. The safe has a label on the side showing a 5-number combination, although as I recall (it's at my sister-in-law's house) two of the numbers are repeated within the number string. Those numbers don't seem to work so I assume my brother bought the safe used (totally in keeping with his MO) and he or a prior owner had the combination changed. My brother left my SIL a series of five numbers, but we haven't been able to open the safe with them, using a 5-4-3-2-1 turn sequence. Also my SIL is certain that my brother would not have written down the actual combination as is, but would have used that list as a memory aid. He most likely add in a "dummy" number or changed the sequence in some way. I think I have the actual numbers figured out at this point, but I haven't managed to open the safe yet, so I'd appreciate your help.

Does anyone recognize the brand of safe, and would that give any hints as to how many digits might be in the combination, or what the turn sequence might be? The dial goes up to 100.

Is there such a thing as a 5-number combination? If not, is a 4-digit, or a 3-digit combination more likely?

I've been testing the 5 numbers that I think are in the combination in both R-L-R-L-R and L-R-L-R-L order. Do I really need to test both options, or should either work once I have the right numbers and turn sequence?

I'll try to add photos. My apologies if they're huge!



DSCF2551.jpg
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tarboxb

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 1:30 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Hey there! I am new in the safe game and I may be mistaken, but that looks like a La Gard dial. I'd wager the lock is likely a La Gard 3330 and it is almost certainly three numbers. You can determine how many wheels and therefore numbers it is easily enough. Turn the dial several times to the left, 10 say to be positive you have every wheel and stop on 50. Now turn back to the right and each time you pass 50 you will feel a click and a slight increase in required turn force. Count the clicks. Eventually this will stop happening and the number you have counted is the number of wheels and therefore numbers in the lock. These locks are almost always, Left - Right - Left - and Right to open. Also, generally they have a "forbidden zone" on the third wheel from 0 to 20, so if one of your numbers is in that range, it is unlikely to be the third number.
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tarboxb

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 1:33 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Also, the turn direction does matter on the lock and it will not open if you do not turn it the correct way. It can still be opened the opposite turn sequence, though it is almost always right to actually open it and the numbers will be shifted somewhat.
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Mayas_Mom

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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 11:43 am

Post Wed May 03, 2017 1:55 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Thanks tarboxb - we'll give that a try!
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tarboxb

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 2:10 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

No problem! Let me know how it works out.
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tarboxb

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 2:11 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Just making sure, you understand that you dial the combination and then after dialing the third number to the left, you turn the dial right and if the combination was correct, it will stop around 92 and then you can turn the handle, right?
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Mayas_Mom

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 2:31 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

That part I have - it's also how my home safe works! ;)

But - does that also mean that "92" would not be part of the 3-digit combination?
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MartinHewitt

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 2:40 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

It is not part of the 3-number(!) combination, because it is not changeable and you do not have to remember it as it just stops there. But nonetheless some append the 92 (or so) to their note of the 3-number combination making it to appear as a 4-number combination.
In case you wonder ... Martin Hewitt is a fictional detective in stories by Arthur Morrison:
Martin Hewitt, Investigator Chronicles of Martin Hewitt
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tarboxb

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Posts: 210

Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:49 pm

Post Wed May 03, 2017 2:44 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Yeah, if 92 is noted as one of the numbers, it probably isn't.
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Mayas_Mom

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Posts: 4

Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 11:43 am

Post Wed May 03, 2017 3:11 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

That's great, actually. I had "figured out" 92 as one of the five numbers... this just cuts the pool of possibilities down to four... hopefully that will help us figure out the combo more quickly. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks to everyone who's weighed in so far!
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tarboxb

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Post Wed May 03, 2017 3:27 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Good luck!
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mastersmith

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Location: Miami Township, Ohio

Post Wed May 03, 2017 6:49 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

Even with 4 numbers to work with there are only 24 combination possibilities. If your numbers are represented as a,b,c,d, here are the posibilites: abcd, abdc, acbd, acdb, adbc, adcb, bacd, badc, bcad, bcda, bdac, bdca, cabd, cadb, cbad, cbda, cdab, cdba, dabc, dacb, dbac, dbca, dcab, dcba. I agree that your combination will be 3 numbers, but which one to leave out? If you dial these as 4 number combo's, and 3 are the right numbers, it will open. Dialing the extra turns will essentially wipe out the first number. in fact, you could just use this system and leave the first number off it. It will still work. Good luck.
"All ye who come this art to see / to handle anything must cautious be...." Benjamin Franklin
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bitbuster

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Location: NW Wis

Post Wed May 03, 2017 8:58 pm

Re: I'd Appreciate Your Help with an Old Safe

As previously mentioned,the lock is more likely than not, to be the LaGard 3330. The safe is a Meilink.
'Gunter glieben glauten globen' Def Leppard, Rock of Ages, 1983

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