SPOTLIGHT SAFE & VAULT Hold the Phones since they got it. This makes a bumped dial ring less of a chance of being the problem, but does not eliminate it, as something could have been moved near the safe, and that could have bumped the dial ring. The next thing to check is the dial ring for tightness. If it is loose, you should tape it so it does not move, and then pro- ceed with the same trial combinations as above, adding/subtracting numbers from the original combination. The dial ring was tight. I started with some dialing diagnostics. The dial turned smoothly with no binding with the open- ing index at exactly 12 o’clock. I turned the dial at least five turns to the right on stopped at 50; you could choose any num- ber far from the contact area. A (Related) Side Note About a Gun Safe On a side note, I once did a warranty job for a safe manufacturer who told me the safe was delivered to the customer and loaded full of guns and locked. Now the safe would not open with the combina- tion that was on the factory card. The customer was walked through the proper dialing technique, yet it still would not open. When I arrived at the jobsite, the customer handed me the factory-printed combination card, which was confirmed with the number the factory gave me, with the correct serial number on it, and he stated that the safe never worked, not even one time. I was thinking that on a brand new safe, not much could be wrong. I tried the combination many times, adding num- bers, subtracting numbers. Nothing was working. I decided to do a wrong count, guessing it might be a stuck fly or some other lock defect. I turned the dial five times leſt to 50, then started turning the dial right to do a wheel count, and the dial locked up at 95. The lock was unlocked. 20 KEYNOTES FEBRUARY 2017 “I try to always ask the customer if they have the combination written down and not just ask for the combination numbers from their memory.” Even though the safe had a combina- tion card, it had never been set to the card; the lock was still set on 50. I decided then and there that 50 was a good place to park the wheels for any diagnostic from now on. I might have needlessly drilled this one open if I did not park the wheels at 50. Who would have thought that a brand new safe with a factory combina- tion card was not set on those numbers? I guess the factory goofed on this one. Oh well. The factory is full of people, and people make mistakes. I try the combina- tion of all wheels set on 50 on all locked safes now, even old ones. Well, now back to this safe project. Back to the Safe Project I guess this gun safe must have been shipped in the unlocked position for him to get all his guns in it and lock it up with- out ever having to try the combination. Aſter I dialed five times to 50, I turned the dial back to the contact area (usually around 5 to 15 with a dial splined at 50. Some newer Sargent and Greenleaf di- als are splined closer to 40. This would change your contact area). I could feel both leſt and right contact points at around 5 and 15 — dial prob- ably splined at 50. No stuck lever. If I could not feel the contact areas, I would dial the lock combination and then turn the dial to the middle of the contact area and rap the front of the safe to try and get the lever to drop in. Bolt end pressure (somewhat common) or a broken lever spring (I have never seen one) could be possible issues if you could not feel the contact areas. Sometimes bolt end pressure can be released by turning the locking handle toward the closing po- sition or/and rapping the safe door. Many safe doors will have a little play when you pull on the handle of the locked door. A door that seems very tight could have something jammed in the door frame, such as the edge of a money bag or leather strap from a rifle sling. You may need to dial high and low as with a moved or loose dial ring using this tip. To Everything, Turn I again turned the dial five turns to the right on stopped at 50 to park all the wheels at 50. Turning at least five turns in the same direction should pick up all the wheels in a 3- or 4-wheel lock. Then I went leſt to 30 and stopped. I grabbed the dial on, quickly spun to about 60, and could feel the wheel pick up. This process was repeated, and all three wheels picked up at near the same number on the dial — no 4th wheel was felt. Sometimes an amplifier can help con- firm wheel pick up if the wheel pick up contact points are very light. This proce- dure was repeated, but this time starting leſt a minimum of five turns with similar results. This confirmed all wheels pick- ing up and no stuck flies. As each wheel is picked up, you should feel slightly greater resistance on each turn. If you do not, you may have an unlocked wheel or bro- ken fly. If any of you do not have Dialing Di- agnostics from Sargent and Greenleaf, WWW.ALOA.ORG
