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Expert: - 4/9/2009


Question
I have recently acquried a hall's safe.  It is unlocked and in fair condition. I have read many posts on this subject and seen a fewq pictures.  My safe has no pictures and had been painted all black for right now.  I am interested in getting my safe re-done professionally and have a few questions.  The first is who can I go to for this.I live in Michigan and would really like it to be re done.  Also, approx how much does this cost in relation to how much the price will go up.  Im not interested in selling but curious on the price.  Thank you for all of your help and hope to hear from you soon.

Answer
Michael,

Depending on whether you will do the work yourself or not, the price can go from "inexpensive to exhorbant".  You have several options available to you -
1.  low cost - do the work yourself.  This assumes that you have artistic capability and wood working capability.
2.  medium cost - find a local high school or community college art department that will be willing to take your safe on as a restoration project.  You could also try the woodshop department to see if they would be interested in doing the cabinetry as a restoration project.
3.  medium cost - If you can't talk the art/wood shop departments into the restoration project, you might be able to get some sharp kids that will do the work, under the supervision of the teachers as an extra credit project.
4.  high cost -  Locate a professional art restoration company, or perhaps an auto detailer/painter, and a custom cabinet maker.  This will probably lead to the best overall results, but will also be the most expensive.  Plan on spending more than the safe is potentially going to be worth.

Value - without seeing your safe, I can't even begin to guess what its current condition is, and unfortunately owners tend to over estimate the condition.  Everyone wants their little rust bucket to be a pot of gold!

Value depends on a lot of things including condition, manufacture, uniqueness of the safe, size, manufacturing type of construction, etc.

Generally, most of the safes that I see are in the neighborhood of $0-$350.  Depending on the safe, and the amount of restoration work, it could be worth $500 to $1500 potentially.  Again once the restoration is complete the safe would need to be reevaluated.

As far as individuals that restore safes go, they are few and far between.  Pretend that you are lost in the desert and looking for that single oasis.  Ok you've got the idea.  I'm not aware of anyone in the Michigan area that restores safes, you might check under antique restorations in your yellow pages.

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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