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Old Yale Floor Safe - Have the combo, but not the sequence or the skill....

My father died and left me with a mystery on my hands. He left me the three numbers that supposedly unlock his old Yale Floor Safe. The safe stands about 5 feet tall, has double doors and a wheel with marks for 0-99.

My father left us only with the following information:

--The three numbers that open the safe are XX, XX, & XX then a return to 0.

He did not specify the order. I have tried all 6 variations of the combo but can't seem to get it open.

I have a few questions:

1) How do I properly "prepare" the wheel before trying a combination? Do I just set it to zero?

2) Do I dial the first number in clockwise or counter-clockwise?

3) Do I stop on the first number after the 2cnd or 3rd pass? How about the 2cnd and 3rd numbers and then 0?

4) I'm assuming that if there are 3 numbers in the combo that there are only 6 possible combinations....am I missing something?

In essence, I was thinking it acted like a regular padlock where you stop on the first number after the second pass, the second number after the first, and the 3rd the first time you reach it.

Any help is much appreciated.

-ed

Reply to
ed
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SLIGHT disagree..

just because..

try turning the HANDLE.. does the DIAL get TIGHT? IE harder to turn?

if SO.. then try the following. 4 left, to first number R... 3rd time the second number comes up stop LEFT, to the SECOND time the number comes up AND STOP..DO NOT MOVE IT ANY MORE see if it opens..

if NOT. REVERSE THE DIRECTIONS ABOVE..and try again..

and as a LAST thing (BYT, whats the PATENT date ON THE DIAL?)

1880's?

try 3 turns left then right, 2nd time to second number then back left to third number.. STOP

or go right first if that does not open.. .

--Shiva--

Reply to
--Shiva--

Also, standard advice: If the right numbers don't work when dialed correctly, try varying each up and down by a number -- ie, if the combo you have is 20-30-40, try all the possible combinations of

19/20/21-29/30/31-39/40/41. (Some folks habitually dial a bit above or below where they think they're dialing, so the combination they think they're using may be slightly off from the one they're actually using -- but they're consistant enough that it works for them, though not for anyone else.)

If that doesn't work, you could try +2/-2 as well, though that expands the set of possiblites considerably and _probably_ won't help. (On the other hand, sometimes it does work and it doesn't cost you anything but time and patience.)

If _that_ doesn't work, start trying to guess how you might have miscopied the combo (transposed two digits?), since unless you do guess you're probably looking at hiring a pro to open it for you -- either you've got the wrong combo or it's malfunctioning.

Reply to
Joe Kesselman

Is it a Yale lock? If it is try RLR dialing with the same instructions others have given.

Reply to
Putyourspamhere

Thanks....I'll try both when I have a change again...perhaps later this week I'll have time..thanks for the input..I'll post again after I try.

Reply to
ed

If is a MANIFOIL MK4

Try this

turn clockwise stopping when the first number comes to the mark the fifth time.

turn anticlockwise stopping when the second number comes to the mark the fourth time

turn clockwise stopping when the third number comes to the mark for the third time

the next bit depends on the way the lock is fitted it couls be 0,25,50 or 70

turn anticlockwise stopping at 0 the second time it comes to the mark

then turn clockwise slowly until the lock operates and the dial refuses to turn any further. then operate the handle and open the safe.

Good luck.

Reply to
Barry Nicholls

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