Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Figures 18-20. According to GSA certification guidelines, after drilling, the hole must be plugged with a special carbide pin, which is welded in place — inside and out. Figure 21 Figures 21 and 22. The repair was finally complete. to be loose. And no amount of trying to pry it back further, resulted in any success in getting the handle to turn. I was about to call Dave. (Sigh.) Last Ditch Effort As a last ditch effort, I ran a 3 /16 " bit down the hole on an angle. What I wanted to do was to be able to fit a scope in the hole, past the bolt block (which was halfway into the hole and blocking my scope) to see with my own eyes if the vertical bars were clearing the bolt block. As I was drilling, I heard a “CLANG!” and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the handle jump! I stopped drilling (but leſt the drill bit in the hole!), grabbed the handle, and it turned! Aſter enough “thanksgiving” prayers to probably annoy even God, I got my tools out of the way and allowed my customer to get the stuff out of the safe. Then it was time to figure out the mystery! WWW.ALOA.ORG Mystery Solved Take a look at the lock with the bolt (and bolt block) retracted (Figure 16). See the slight angle at which the bolt block is sitting? There was so much wear in the channel of the lock case where the lock bolt travels back and forth that it allowed the whole bolt/bolt block assembly to cock to the side, and the top vertical bar was catching on the edge of the bolt block. And, judging by the marks on the side of the bolt block, this had been happening for quite some time (Figure 17). When using enough torque, availabl with the dial being in place, this appar ently wasn’t too much of an issue during daily use. I guess they just “got used to it.” But with nothing but the spindle to retract the bolt, it wasn’t able to clear the vertical bar. With that nightmare behind me, it was on to the repairs. To retain its GSA certification, there are specific guidelines for repairs aſter drilling. The digest version is this: You plug the hole(s) with a special carbide pin. Then you weld it in place – inside and out (Figures 18-20). The you grind, fill, sand, paint, and texture the outside so that there are no visible signs (even with the dial and dial ring removed) that the container was ever drilled and repaired. Not a bad repair, if I may say so myself (Figures 21 and 22). ob DeWeese, CML, PS, CJS, CAI, has been n the locksmith indus- y since 1980. He be- an specializing in safe pening and servicing in the late ’90s. “Bobby” lives in Baltimore, MD, where he and his wife, Theresa, own and operate Bear Lock & Safe Service, which they started in 1988. APRIL 2017 KEYNOTES 27 Figure 22
