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Antique Safes/Help to Locate a Diebold Locksmith

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Expert: - 12/16/2009


Question
I have a large safe made c.1960 by, "Safe Manufacturers National Association" with a Diebold lock in the door. I need a locksmith to help fix the broken lock in the door. Did a web search but could not find a locksmith who will service Diebold locks. Please help me find one.

Answer
Ed,

First off, lets straighten the story out some - You have a Diebold Safe with a Diebold lock.  The Safe Manufactures National Association was a testing agency they rated the safes based on a standard.  Very similar to UL testing.  SMNA stopped inspecting safes in the early 1960's.

Your next problem is you are looking for a locksmith - generally locksmiths do not have training to work on safes.  Yeah, I know they are locksmiths and should know locks, but it just ain't so!  The reality of it, is most locksmiths are lucky to see 1 or 2 safes per year.  The quantity doesn't justify the training.

What you need is a safe technician.  Check in your local yellow pages under safe & vaults for a company near you.  you don't need specifically a Diebold service technician, and unless you are a "mega-bank" the Diebold tech probably wouldn't be interested in you anyway.

Another resourse to check out would be the Safe and Vault Technicians Assoc. (SAVTA).  Their web site has a listing of service technicians that belong to the organization and probably have the training.  www.savta.org   check out the safe tech search area.

This should give you a few to check out.  If you still can't find someone, let me know where you (and the safe) are located and I'll see if I have any referals.

Andy

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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

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