“I ratcheted that puppy down tight, entered the combination, and the handle turned smooth as silk.” itself, my first assumption was that whoever closed it had jammed something — papers? Bank bag? $10,000 bracelet? — in the door at the bottom. I asked for a piece of printer paper and started inserting it around the door. First I tried along the bottom, then up the sides, then (just for the heck of it) along the top. Nothing but bolts stopped the paper. I tried a few gentle taps on the handle with a dead-blow hammer while pushing in on the door. Seeing no movement in the handle aſter just a few taps, I aban- doned that approach. I could feel and see the door move ever so slightly when I sat back and pushed on it with both feet — but it still wasn’t enough to get the handle to move. Not even a little bit. The Old 4x4 Trick As I sat on the floor, staring at this thing and wondering what I would try next, I remembered a little trick I’d used once before, several years ago, in a s situation. I went out to my truck and an old tie-down ratchet strap an I wrapped it around the safe at t tom of the door, figuring that thing had fallen down and w ming it, that’s where gravity mo would’ve leſt it. I ratcheted that puppy down a as I could get it, entered the combina- WWW.ALOA.ORG tion, and the handle turned smooth a silk (Figure 2). Aſter removing the strap and the 4x4 pulled the door open and began looki for the culprit. I found no paper, no bag and n $10,000 bracelet. I did notice a few ca drawers on the top shelf and asked t lady if they always kept those there. S said they did (Figure 3). I tried closing the door, and su enough, the door wouldn’t close. Aſter asking her permission, and ha ing her stand right there while I did it removed the cash drawers, and the sa closed and operated perfectly. Then I ask if the keys had always been hanging the like that. Again, she swore that nothi was any different than previous times. I put the drawers back and began r moving sets of keys one at a time from the top row, and trying the door. The more key sets I removed, the closer the door came to fully closing with no resistance. Aſter removing almost all of the keys, the door finally closed. Again, she swore up and down that that was the way they always put things in there. But as I showed her, that was the problem. Go figure. She said, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to just find another place for those keys.” I suggested that instead, she just move the cash drawers to the bottom. She gave me one of those “Don’t I feel dumb” looks. Problem solved. Weese, CML, CPS, AI, has been in the th industry since e began special- safe opening and ng in the late ’90s. more, MD, where sa, own and oper- ervice, which they started in 1988. Figure 3. The unit’s top shelf held a few cash drawers, which were keeping the door from closing properly. DECEMBER 2018 KEYNOTES 19 Figure 2. Using an old tie-down strap and a 4x4, the author ratcheted the unit down tightly and entered the combination, allowing the handle to turn.
