You are here:
- Home
- Style
- Antiques
- Antique Safes
- Safe Identity and Opening
Antique Safes/Safe Identity and Opening
Advertisement
Question
We have a Remington Strand safe/vault at our office, yesterday somebody locked it by accident. any suggestions?
The vault is steel lined 6 foot by 8 foot with three layers of brick and 6 inches of concrete around it. The door is a Remington Strand Inc., the door is 36 inches by 70 inches.
Marc,
First question - do you have a combination for the door?
Second question - has the safe been serviced in the past few years?
Third question - are you sure about the name? There was a Remington-Rand safe company, but I'm not aware of a Remington-Strand. If it does say Remington-Strand on it, I would like to see pictures of it so that we can accureately ID it.
If you don't have a combination, you are going to have to have the door opened. This is probably beyond the skill level for most locksmiths so you will need to contact a local safe company, to have it opened.
If you don't have a company that you normally use, let me know where you are located and I'll see what references I have.
Andy
Marc,
I read your remarks concerning the opening. Hopefully you don't ever use that locksmith again for any thing. The reason he quoted so high was because he didn't have a clue what he was doing. The Maximum price I would have charged you to open this vault door would have been $395. It always amazes me what exorbant rates that some locksmiths attempt to charge. Sorry you had to go through an ordeal like this.
Andy
- Add to this Answer
- Ask a Question
| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Andy, The vault door is a Remington Rand, my mistake on the Strand part. We had the combination, however we do not use the vault except for paper storage and we never close/lock it, as such I wrote the combo on the wall across the hallway. In our renovation the combo was painted over, we were not able to retrieve the combo. I spoke to several safe/vault people locally, in Omaha and Chicago. I was informed by an older vault guy in Chicago, who knew a tremnedous amount about Remington Rand vaults, that since it was a 6, it was not possible to use a dialer, only to drill it. He stated that the cost of opening, none the less repairing the vault door would be well over $1,000.00 in labor plus the cost of his travel. He asked if we had access to the side walls and opposite end, which we did. We ultimatley hammer-drilled throguh six course of brick, 3 inches of concrete and then used a metal hole saw to cut a 2 1/2 inch hole into the vault on the opposite wall. We then cut an 8 foot long 2x4 down to 2x2, we then pushed the 2x2 across to the back side of the vault door, about 6 feet away. We were then able to reach the inside escape lever and open the vault door. Once we started we had it open in about 2 hours, a little repair on the brick and we should be back in business. I understand that our local locksmitth can reset the combo. Thanks for the help and timely response. Marc | ||
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Terry V Andreasen (Andy)
Expertise
Safe and Vault related Questions; Antique Safe Repair and Restoration; With over 40 years in the Safe & Vault industry, if I can't answer your question I know where to get the answer. Current Project: Restoration of two Tilton & McFarland Safes from the 1860's. Will answer Safe & Vault related questions concerning age, value, restoration, moving, opening & repairing, parts, operation and history. Note: It is not my intention to teach you to open safes or to provide information which may aid in the unlawful opening of a safe. I will not give out drill points or information which I deem inappropriate.
Experience
40 years in the Safe & Vault Industry. Service Manager for one of the largest Safe & Vault companies on the West Coast. Graduate of Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing, Safe lock Manipulation and Safe Deposit Lock Courses. Graduate of Locksmith Institute.
Certified Instructor for the California Locksmith Association teaching Basic and Advanced Lock Servicing, Basic Safe opening and Repairing.
Factory Trained by AMSEC, LORD Safes, LeFebure, Mosler, KabaMas, LaGard and Sargent & Greenleaf
Organizations
Safecrackers International and the
National Antique Safe Association
Education/Credentials
Graduate of Locksmith Institute 1972
Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing 1974
Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Manipulation 1975
Graduate Lockmasters Safe Deposit Lock Servicing 1985
Instructor Certified - California Locksmith Association - 1985
Factory trained by AMSEC, MAJOR, STAR, Johnson-Pacific, Kaba-MAS, Allied-Gary, ISM, Lord, Brown Safe, EXL, Mosler, Diebold.
Awards and Honors
2009, 2010 & 2011 Listed in AllExperts top 50 Experts. All Experts Categories - Safes & Security Containers, Locksmithing, Antique Safes.
Retired US Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer (CW3), with 32 years of total service. With numerous awards from Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
US Navy - 1971-1981
US Army Reserve 1984-2006
US Army Retired Reserve 2006-present
Past/Present Clients
US Secret Service, FBI, BATF, Local Law enforcment agencies, Diebold, Hamilton Pacific, Red Hawk Int., Chubb International, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Mechanics Bank, El Dorado Savings Bank, many Credit unions and smaller banks. McDonalds, Togos, BurgerKing, TacoBell, Carls Jr. FoodMaxx, SaveMart, Lucky's, Albertson's, Raley's, Safeway, NobHill, Bell Markets, PW Markets. Great America, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, UA Cinemas, and many homeowners and small businesses.
Provide warranty service for lock and safe manufactures.
Service area is Northern California - Fresno to Oregon, including western Nevada
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.