Mosler Screw type Safe

[GWiens2001]

Been drooling over this old Mosler at a local safe shop. Too bad somebody tried painting the safe unprofessionally. I can't afford it, but I can take pictures to share!

In the mid to late 1860's, it was becoming common to blast safes to open them. Mosler Safe Company came up with something much stronger than bolts to hold the door closed... a screw mechanism.


Opening the small door at on the front allowed access to the dial lock.


But opening the other door, you can see the screw threads. You also can see the manual time-lock.


And the artistry that went into the safe, even inside the main door:


Do you just turn the screws with your hand? Not exactly.


In the first picture, you can see the square hole this handle goes into. In the fourth picture, you can see what the handle turns from the inside.

Enjoy!

Gordon

[Riyame]

An absolutely beautiful safe. With a bit of work it would be one hell of a collector piece.

[MrWizard]

Gordon

Wow that is an awesome safe not going to be blowing that door open.
First one I have seen like that with the door open, great job on those pictures.
How much are they selling it for?
Very cool safe wish I had it!

Richard

[Oldfast]

Oh man... yeah, what eye candy! Thanks for sharing that.

[GWiens2001]

@Riy. I agree, it would make a beautiful collector piece. But would have to find someone who specializes in antique safe restoration. I have no experience in safe restoration, and know how a shoddy job can ruin a lot of value. But a well done job, oh yeah.

@Mrwizard. I think they were asking $2,000, but not positive. I may be remembering the weight. Will check next time I go there on Wednesday or Thursday. It is at the same place I bought the shackles, and key blanks for the American 5200s. They have some lockies there with whom I am friends.

Gordon

[oldbiscuit]

I've got the same Mosler safe as that sitting in my barn. I picked it up in 1980 from the owner of a local grocery store that just wanted it gone. The combination lock housing had been broken and brazed in several places, no doubt from someone trying to break in to it at sometime ot another. I have another lock assembly for it, just never got around to putting it back together.

[Oldfast]

Damn! That's awesome. You've even got the time lock.
Love seeing those gut shots. Very interesting.

[GWiens2001]

Oldbiscuit,

Thanks for the internals. For some funny reason, the shop won't let me take it apart.

Gordon

[oldbiscuit]

Yes I have the time lock, but the door for the lock is missing and I'm not real sure if the 3 clock mechanisms work or not. I wish I would have gotton this lock back in the early 70's as my father is a watchmaker/jeweler. Unfortunetly by the time I took the lock out of the safe , My father had allready retired. He's 89 now, but his health and mind aren't good enough to mess with it. I've got a younger brother who kind of took over the business, but he only works on antique wristwatches (his own collection). My plan has always been to strip the safe down and repaint it and restore it back to it's origional condition. Time will tell.
Actually I sold this safe to a guy for $200 cash back in 81, about a year after I picked it up. The buyer wanted me to store it for him till he could come get it. After several years and lots of phone calls back and forth, he told me to keep the money and the safe as he was going through a divorce and he had no plans for it in his future. I haven't heard from him since.
I just built me a new shop at home and hopefully I'll have the inside of the shop finished this summer, then I'll bring the safe home to start working on it, along with a couple other safes I've aquired over the years. Mark

[Squelchtone]

I've got the same Mosler safe as that sitting in my barn. I picked it up in 1980 from the owner of a local grocery store that just wanted it gone. The combination lock housing had been broken and brazed in several places, no doubt from someone trying to break in to it at sometime ot another. I have another lock assembly for it, just never got around to putting it back together.

Hi oldbiscuit,

If you have another lock that you will be putting on that safe, would you be up for selling the one that is brazed?

Also, I am currently trying to find a Mosler 5-H safe lock which does not have the 4 corner screws like this lock does, and it has 4 curbs while yours has 3. Anyone know what lock model this one is?

PM me if you want to talk about selling that lock.

Thank You,
Squelchtone

[Oldfast]

Squelch... when you gonna post some safe lock porn?!

Come ooooon... I know you're holdin' out. lol

Start a thread... I'd love to see

[oldbiscuit]

Squelchtone, The brazed lock body was completely trashed. The back side was so badly welded that it looked like a bunch of charcoal brazed together. The last guy didn't know what he was doing. The lock I have to replace it with is a close replacement, but dosen't have the four corner holes drilled, which I'll have to do. I tossed the old vrazed body a long time ago, but kept the wheel pack and all the other parts. I'm not planing on getting rid of any extra pieces untill I get this safe all restored. Mark

[Squelchtone]

The lock I have to replace it with is a close replacement, but doesn't have the four corner holes drilled, which I'll have to do.

So what you probably have is the 5-H lock with no visible mounting holes, only the round cover hole for the curbs with a place for a set screw at 9 o'clock when the lock body is mounted RH. I don't have one in front of me so I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how it is mounted to the inside of a door. the only think I can think of is a nut on the other side of the spindle tube, or as your broken one had, the screws on the inside on either side of the spindle hole.

I'm gonna be calling a safe guy here in MA this week to see if he has one to sell me, and I'll ask about the mounting situation, maybe I can save you from having to drill those holes, it would be a shame to drill such a nice old lock.

Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

The lock I have to replace it with is a close replacement, but dosen't have the four corner holes drilled, which I'll have to do.

Ok, I just talked to one of the well known safe guys in the US, won't name drop but, it was an honor to talk him on the phone, he was very helpful. He did not have a complete Mosler friction fence cast 5-H lock to sell me, but gave me the contact info of another guy.

I asked about your situation with the mounting holes and he explained it this way. Back then there were a million little variations on mounting and lock material, some were cast, some were bronze, brass etc, and if you could have models that had the 4 corner holes for mounting, you could have ones that seemingly had no holes on the cover and the way they would mount was by using a tube from the lock body that would have a nut on the other end, some had the screw holes under the cam wheel like in your photos, and others had a locating boss welded to the inside of the safe door and a hole on the front of the lock case that would slide onto this boss and locate the lock to the proper position on the door and keep it in place along with the post and nut or the two screws on either side of the spindle hole.

I suppose you can probably drill through your cover and also get a bit to bevel out the holes so you can use flush mount screws, or if the other options I described work for you, you can preserve the lock case you have now. I can understand if you want a functional and secure safe, that beefing it up with 4 screws may not be a bad idea, even if it means drilling the old case.

Squelchtone

[oldbiscuit]

Squelchtone, Here's some pictures of the lock I have to replace the the busted up one that was on my safe. Besides drilling out the four corner holes I'll have to swap out the brass locking bolt from the old lock. Mark