1. Home
  2. 🔒 Lockmithing and Lockpicking Discussions
  3. Combo Lock Dial Turning

Combo Lock Dial Turning

Hello, all. I'm certainly not the first to notice but inexpensive rotary dial padlocks such as Master Lock's 1500 series or even ancient ones like Yale & Towne's 515 series are opened using R-L-R typically. They can also be opened L-R-L using an alternate combination. To get the alternate for the 1500 series, subtract 6 from the first number (add

40 if the result is negative), add 3 to the second number, and the third number stays the same. The neat thing is often the L-R-L sequence results in turning the dial through shorter arcs than R-L-R and faster unlocking. Sincerely,
Reply to
J.B. Wood
Loading thread data ...

I've always used -8 and +4 on the Master 1500s, they're sloppy enough that either will probably work. This tends to thwart shoulder-surfers when opening a school locker as they won't notice the difference in rotation but pay attention only to the numbers.

Whether the arcs are shorter or longer will depend on the specific combination of that lock. I suspect that it will be about half and half.

Reply to
Jay Hennigan

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.