Old Hall Marvin safe- help

you could have it drilled by a professional and if done correctly? you wouldn't even know its been drilled.

manipulation is a good choice. if done by a professional?

google is your friend

now, try something.. has a dial, AND a handle separate..yes? try turning the handle and see if the dial gets harder to turn.. yes or no.. IF YES, then this can possibly be opened with some time AND experience on the person trying..without drilling.. if NOT, it can STILL be drilled and fixed such that you wont know it..

--Shiva--

It has two doors with a handle on each door and the dial on the right one. If I out pressure on the handle and turn the dial I can definately feel the change in resistance of the contact area. From about 95-3 it is easy to turn, while the rest has resistance.

I wonder what it looks like inside? Maybe some shelves. Maybe another safe? Gold bars?

shelves most likely.. now find someone that can manipulate it..

--Shiva--

Until you go back and try to drill where they drilled. Then you'll know. LOL.

Well, I spoke with one locksmith shop in Santa Clara. They said it would be around $1k to drill it, and fix it to working order. wow.

They also said that based on the info I gave them. ie: 5 feet tall, Hall-Marvin, Yale lock, 100 years old, etc. It is not possible to manipulate it open.

How do you "fix" a safe that's been drilled? Weld the hole? Hardened plug? What happens to the paint?

I'll have to call some other shops to compare.

yes, weld and touch up the paint with a 'hardened' plug, and other things.

they probably did NOT want to play with it and get it open.. I did a similar one once, laying on the floor for 45 minutes and got the inner LOWER (floor level) door opened WITHOUT drilling.

--Shiva--

Call (650) 355-6353 he is good and probably will not need to drill your safe. When I had a shop in San Jose, I would refer the toughies to him.

They probably don't have any books on that safe and are covering themselves in case they damage something hard to replace. $300 - $600 would be a more reasonable range for a straight drill job on that.

That lock should manipulate relatively easily if it's the one I'm thinking it is..

Drive a hardened plug in the hole which whenever possible is drilled under a dial ring etc. Welding wouldn't really be necessary for that safe. Just drive a plug slightly below surface and fill over it, sand, paint. A tightly driven plug is a bitch to pull back out and if a burglar drives it all the way into the safe they will drive it right into the workings and lock themselves out. You are typically only talking about a hole 1/4" or smaller.

It's either done where it doesn't show, a sticker is put over it, or the paint is matched to the original or the whole door is repainted. Best option depends on the situation.

Try to find a Locksmith with an ITL 1000 safe dialer computer. It works overnight, and just might find the correct combination.

Not on the lock that's probably on that. Most if not all autodialers require a modern safe lock with a lever that drops in automatically. The lock on that old safe is probably direct entry.

yeah-thats why I ASKED if the dial got tighter when you tried turning the handle.. its a normal manipulate to open safe.. just some time.

--Shiva--

Yeah whoever he talked to just didn't want to bother with it or didn't know how.

My wife says ger uncle is a locksmith, I'll giv ehim a call. That computer sounds pretty specialized and probably expensive.

While most safetechs started as locksmiths, not all locksmiths are safetechs. I've seen many safes destroyed by locksmiths who THOUGHT they were saftechs.

Stick to a qualified safetech. It will cost you more, but would you rather pay half price to get your safe open only to be left with a non-repairable metal box? (Remember, those parts, if damaged, will be difficult (and expensive) if not impossible to replace.

While a Halls safe can probably be manipulated by the right tech (BTW - manipulation is a more expensive skill), depending on what lock is in it and the condition of the lock, a skilled tech can open it in less time, for less money, with a 1/8" hole, then make a repair that will be hard to notice unless you're looking for it.

But if you really want to have it manipulated, there are two techs in the San Francisco area who are excellent manipulators. Ken Dunckel and Ken Doyle. The teach the Advanced Manipulation class at SAVTA. Tell them Bobby DeWeese recommended them. They WILL open it!

One final thought... Even if it weren't a direct entry fence type lock, I WOULD NOT use an auto dialer on something that old. There's a good chance that it would destroy the lock. It dials (theoretically) every possible combination. That could mean 1,000,000 tries.

I gave him Ken's phone number on 8-16