As I replied to bitbuster in a recent PM, I've been storing various documents and valuables in the safe for more than 40 years but after experiencing the thrill of opening my son-in-law's locked Sentry safe, I now view this old J. Baum safe as a great learning tool and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the safe and its Yale-OB lock.
As for the safe, I'd really like to determine its approximate DOB. I found a Google Group posting by someone describing his 1906 J. Baum safe as having a serial number of 24260. I am fairly sure now that the 26540 marked on the T-handle of my safe is indeed a serial number which makes chronological sense (when compared to the Google Group safe) based on the last patent date on the inside of my safe's door is November 17, 1908. This would put the earliest possible DOB near the end of 1908.
InsideCover
Interestingly however, when I removed the inside cover another number (26998) was etched in the door's concrete. Being also a fan of old firearms, vehicles, and electronics, I do know that component serial numbers don't always match up exactly on a given item, though I did notice that on the Baum safe Oldfast shared on page 16 of his Chronicles -Part II, the number on the handle did match the number etched on the concrete inside the door of his Baum safe.
InsideDoor
Can anyone tell me if, like with many early firearms where a barrel date might differ from a receiver date yet still be original to the rifle, is it likely that a handle taken from a stock of completed handles was installed at the factory on a safe with a different number? Or is it more likely that the handle was replaced on this safe at sometime in it's past?
I'd also like to know if anyone here has any literature or data that cross references Baum serial numbers with approximate dates of manufacture?
Also, as you can see in the photo above, the concrete in the door is quite cracked and damaged. Is this sort of damage common on these old safes? Can, (or should), the damaged concrete be repaired, replaced, or at least stabilized in some way? If so, what would you recommend?
I know that this safe has had somewhat of a rough life being in service and daily use in at least two different boiler companies from the early 1900s to the mid-to-late 1970s. A closer inspection also reveals that during its lifetime, this safe was serviced and repaired most likely by boilermakers rather than by a qualified locksmith. First, the bottom right screw on the inside door cover screw was apparently stripped out at some point in the safe's history and the "in-house boilermaker's solution" was to drill out and re tap a much larger hole in the door to receive a large bolt with a square head to fully secure the cover with whatever they happened to have laying around. There was apparently some thought given to the available depth behind the inside surface of the door as the bolt has been cut down in length hoping not to protrude too deeply. I'm not sure though that their methodology was sufficient as I also noticed some cracks in the bottom corners of the frame of the door that might have been caused when the cut down bolt which may not in fact have been cut short enough impacted the inside front surface of the door.
Perhaps more importantly, as can be seen below, it appears that the "post" (or axle so-to-speak) for the fence lever to rotate on may have broken off at some point with a new post attached to a somewhat crude field fabricated piece of "boiler plate" now supports the weighted fence lever; and another testament to the technically questionable yet resourcefulness of the "in-house can-do boilermakers".
Yale-OB
All the above, of course, is simply speculation on my part and to my untrained eye but I would appreciate any comments, corrections, or other commentary on my inspection and analysis of this safe.
In any case, I realize the safe "is what it is" and in light of the above may not hold much value to a serious collector. But that's OK because I doubt I'd ever consider selling it... or moving it again!. The safe functions sufficiently for my purposes and in it's new role as a teaching tool still holds a lot of value to me.
One more question I have, for those of you here, has to do with the combination and seeing if I can glean something beneficial fro a bit of twirling on this safe. Oldfast mentioned the following in the above mentioned Chronicle thread...
OLDFASTS CRONICLES PART II - Page 16
Oldfast wrote:.[center]
Baum... Handle turns CW. Proper Dialing Sequence for these: LRL R to Stop...
...
.
I found this to be very interesting and informative as I've always opened this safe with a 4 number RLRL combination; with the fence falling (up) quite audibly upon reaching the 4th number. Do I take it correctly, from what Oldfast has described, that the true combination is actually only three numbers and then, rather than a 4th number, with the dial being turned to the right the fence falls down the sloped entry into the drive cam gate and then stops, on its own, when reaching the straight cut exit of the drive cam gate?
If the above is true, my plan is to try to determine the correct (LRL-R to stop) combination and perhaps even try to change the combination to some meaningful sequence of only 3 numbers as per the other information Oldfast provided.
Again any comments or advice is most welcome! ZT