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Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:36 pm
by Oldfast
Oh how I relish the day I purchase myself a mini-mill. lol
Until that day comes, I guess projects like these will be a labor of love.


Gutted and marked for surgery.......

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A cut-off wheel on a Dremel is a fairly slow process,
but leaves me with a very rough outline of what I was shootin' for.


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Off to the grinding wheel for a bit to refine my cuts.
Then hand files & sand paper bring me to a finished look.


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Same process for the back plate:
Dremel, bench grinder, files, sand paper


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Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:39 pm
by Riyame
Very nice stuff man!

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:11 pm
by Alaphablue
Great job I'm impressed I would love to put a cutaway together for practice .

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:16 pm
by LocksmithArmy
Killer job man... :)

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:25 pm
by femurat
Wow I'm impress, and if I consider that you made it with just a dremel, hand files and sand paper it's an amazing result!

Cheers :)

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:37 pm
by GWiens2001
Excellent work! Just about finished with a wood and Lexan stand for a S&G safe lock, but I want to make it a cutaway, too. Now that I see yours, it is easy to see where I need to cut mine. :-D I think it will be cool for it to be a display cutaway, visible from both sides.

Now there will be a delay for the cutaway portion of the job. Will post pictures when it is done.

Gordon

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:40 pm
by Josh66
Nicely done!

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:14 pm
by Altashot
Well done! Practicing manipulation?

M.

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:53 pm
by nozza36
Excellent job (as usual mate)

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:13 pm
by selim
that's Whicked man, how did you get such strait cut's with a dremal ?

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:36 pm
by GWiens2001
selim wrote:that's Whicked man, how did you get such strait cut's with a dremal ?


Patience. Take it slow and easy. That would be my guess.

Gordon

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:27 pm
by Oldfast
THANKS ALL!!

Altashot wrote:Well done! Practicing manipulation?
You betcha! :D And the many hours I poured into this was well worth it. Especially in the beginning stages it has proved
to be an invaluable tool. And not neccessarily manipulation of the cut-away itself... but using it while manipulating a
another one. Sometimes the rotational sequences can get a bit involved. For me, it was easy to get lost sometimes.

But it's sorta like playing a guitar. It's all greek to the fingers at first... but eventually your hands just do it
without the brain telling it to. Through practice, I'm getting a little quicker. For example: if I wanted to dial
L20 L90 L40 (each wheel approaching its' # from a left rotation)... there was a GREAT deal of thought I had
to put into it. Or say I need to run wheel 1 around left, park wheel 2 at X, , and each time place wheel 3 on Y.
At first, shit like this had me spending more time thinking than turning the dial!! lol. The cut-away is priceless.


GWiens2001 wrote:Excellent work! Just about finished with a wood and Lexan stand for a S&G safe lock, but I want to make it a cutaway, too. Now that I see yours, it is easy to see where I need to cut mine. :-D I think it will be cool for it to be a display cutaway, visible from both sides.

Now there will be a delay for the cutaway portion of the job. Will post pictures when it is done.
I would absolutely LOVE to see that when you're finished Gordon! Lookin' forward to pictures :drool:
I was thinking too - in addition to what I've cut, there's a fair amount of material on the case that could
be removed.... exposing even more of the insides, while not affecting its' overall function. Certainly not
needed, but it would look all the more kick ass.


selim wrote:that's Whicked man, how did you get such strait cut's with a dremal ?
My pictures are not real big I know... but you can see the initial cuts left by the dremel are quite nasty.
It's the rest of the process (bench grinder, hand files) that brings it to a straight, smooth cut.

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:11 pm
by mastersmith
AWESOME work! For any one else that is going to try this, pay attention to the part of the case that is left. It is important for the proper function of the lock. The lever interacts with the case when locking/unlocking. Great job again!

Re: Safe Dial cut-away

PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:12 pm
by Oldfast
Indeed. Just as Mastersmith mentions, the lever stop plays a critical role in the movement of the lever.
It's certainly one area you want to keep a careful eye on when cutting. Ideally (prior to any cutting)
it's best to just take some time to know & understand the internals parts... what the purpose is for
each and how they work together. A little time now, is better than a headache later.