You are here:

Antique Safes/mosler lock

Advertisement

Expert: - 1/25/2009


Question
I think I have a 1914 mosler vault door, wanting to remove dial and replace with digital lock having trouble removing dial and lock, it seems the screws are under a plate on the in side of the door,i dont think it can be removed any suggestions

Answer
Chris,

Many of the vault door locks were "offset" locks.  The dial would be offset from the lock by up to three gears.  The reason for this was simple, with the gearing arrangment, the lock could be located any where within a 1 foot radius from the lock.  This made a safecrackers job more difficult as they wouldn't know exactly where the lock was.  This also made the lock more "impervious" to dynamite or nitroglycrn attacks.  Burglars would knock the dial off and introduce explosives into the spindle hole in an attempt to "blow" the lock off.  An offset lock had a much better chance of surviving this type of attack.

Some dials have anti-punch plates built into the dial spindle.  These are trapped by the plate you are mentioning in the door.  In order to remove the dial, the plate would have to be also removed.  Depending on the construction of the door, this might not be an easy task.

Your alternatives would be to leave the dial in place.  Deactivate the lock, or remove it completly.  Drill a new access hole for the digital lock cable and then attach the new lock assembly.

Without actually seeing the door and assembly, it is difficult to make any other suggestions.

Feel free to send me photos of the door and lock area so that I can make further suggestions.  My email is:  andy@securitysafeusa.com

Andy

Antique Safes

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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.