Any more secure options for replacing mechanical dial locks on old safes?

That gets a little rough on the contents, particularly with a floor safe. And while a guy can make soup..it has its own unique....issues.

It might..might be a good sabotage method..though drilling through the lid and pouring in a quantity of aluminum and iron filings and using a strip of magnesium as an ignitor would do a far better job.

Frankly..if I was trying to get into the thing..Id jack hammer the floor around the safe until I could get down to the side of it for a half a foot and then use some sort of metal cutting tool on an angle grinder...after drilling a hole in the side casing and filling it with CO2

or better yet...jack hammer the thing out and weld a nice heavy loop of steel to the sides of the can and jerk it out with a tow truck and then take it somewhere one can wrap the concrete with det cord and knock all the concrete off it, then turn it on its face..wrap the ass end with det cord and open the fast way. Pop off the end.

Big problem with stuff like that..probably nothing worth the effort inside.

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Gunner on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:45:23 -0800 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

But, but - For Science!

Or the hell of it, whichever.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."

Shaped charge so the concussion rebounds the door.

Especially if the contents can burn. Not a big deal if you're after metals though.

I used to dabble with that sort of thing when I was a wee yoot. Growing up on a military base had some advantages and later working in both the military and in the petroleum industry gave me some opportunities to tweak the skill sets.

Shrug..now Im an old fart..and dont currenly have much need for those skills. But then I can still deliver a baby by natural or C-section if need be. I just hope I dont have to do either..or applied exothermic high velocitiy compounds utilitization either. But its good to be able to do all..... if worst comes to worst.

Shrug again.

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

True..but the contents of the chamber are the goal. A shaped charge tends to dramatically rearrange the contents to an extreme degree. If the goal was simply opening it..you are absolutely correct.

Think of it as using a shaped charge on a submarine to get the crew out at depth.

That is indeed true. Gems though....not a good thing for them Id think.

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Liquid explosives will infitrate through the crack in the door, guys that specialized in that used to be called "yeggs" and they referred to doing it as a "soup" job.. Most stole or bought dynamite and boiled nitroglycerin out of it, the "soup". Didn't say it was a long- term and hazard-free occupation. Don't know that there are any left, stop and robs are so much more convenient and take a lot less work and skill. But prior to the late '60s and early '70s, most stores closed at around 5ish, there wasn't much to hold up after dark. Since the banks closed a lot earlier than that, the day's take was frequently stuffed in a safe. Hence the rise of that specialty, fairly low risk of encountering anyone armed and relatively high payoff if blown at the right time of the month, like right after local paydays. Granddad's safe was blown sometime after WWII, he didn't work nights, either. Just wish they would have recovered the door, too.

One guy I worked with used to be a locksmith and had LE contacts, said that there was one guy that they hadn't ever caught in the No. CA area that specialized in blowing grocery store safes. He drilled a hole in the top, poured in soda off the shelf until full, stuck in his charge and let hydraulic pressure take care of things. Money was wet, but could be laundered(both meanings). Was his signature method. What slowed him down was the advent of the 24-hour grocery store. Mythbusters did a segment on the same method at the former Mare Island Shipyard in one of the drydocks, door was definitely GONE after they finished.

Stan

Thats not a bad way to do it. Indeed! Id not thought about doing that.

I carried a Class B blasters license for a number of years after the military and was involved in the SOs explosive team for a few years.

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Job. JOB! How dare you sir, I have never worked a day in my life

Well, I don't see anything wrong with actually *taking* the safe to its manufacturer and *asking* in person.

Right, the money was in the other safe.