Just got a diebold safe

[patq]

I got a 28x28 x 42(including wheels)Diebold safe .I want to reset the combo the door is open .there is a short pin inserted in the center of the lock back. I don't know much about safes but I have better than average mechanical skills .I could reset with proper instructions .If needed I can take a bunch of pics .I assume it is pretty old and very heavy. A friend gave it to me and it is at his house .I don't want to take it home till I get it reset .I believe it is a 3 number ....left right left right .thanks Pat

[wylk]

Pictures would most probably help a lot.

[patq]

It is at my friends house ..I will try to get pics tomorrow ..Do I link my pics in the text ?

[patq]

ok I see how to put the pics in

[patq]

here are the pics

[wylk]

I can't tell if the lock body is round or just the opening. But I did find an obscure reference regarding change keys. A 1981 Diebold document lists a "Diebold obsolete round iron case K & M combination lock" which takes a Diebold 03-000921-0-00-0 change key, or the more common SLC14.

The SLC14 seems to be more commonly used on certain safe deposit locks. It also looks like a rectangle with clipped edge which would match the change-key-hole in your safe lock. Keep in mind this may not be a best fit, just a good starting point. I noticed SLC14s on eBay for around $15.

Keep in mind that with such an old safe, without the proper change key and/or instructions, changing the combination does have its risks. I would be nervous about putting anything too valuable inside, or anything you might need quick access to in case of a lockout. If the current owner does not know the combination I'd be tempted to just figure out the existing combo and leave it alone!

[patq]

I have the combo from my friend but it has not opened it yet...I will try when I finish work on Tuesday to look in the lock and see if I can see which numbers are on the dial when a gate on a wheel is over the bar...I did put a small screw driver in the square hole and rotate the dial till the screwdriver went all the way in(which lined up all the gates in the wheels) ..then rotated all three wheels together to the gate bar and then the handle opened the lock...I love this mechanical stuff so at least this is fun ha ha

[patq]

yes it does look like there is a bevel on one side of the square hole

[wylk]

As a valuable reference, I spotted an eBay auction for a lock like the one on your safe. The images might be valuable, as yours is an exploratory/experimental task to determine exactly how to operate the lock and how to change the combination.

One detail that I wondered about is whether your lock has 3 wheels or 4 wheels. The lock on eBay has 4 wheels and I suspect yours does too.

Here are three of the images:



The third one is particularly interesting because it shows the front of the lock, normally hidden, including the hole that the change key needs to drop into for proper operation.



The next two, above, are interesting because they show the lock cover. I assume the tab partially covering the change key hole has something to do with ensuring the key is inserted correctly. The last image clearly shows this to be a 4-wheel lock.

The auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251801206455

[wylk]

There's a fairly good chance that a "wrong" change key can be made to work. Most of them are rectangular but adapting one might mean filing/grinding off some of the extras which would make such a key risky in normal use but if you're careful it should get the job done.

Looking at the picture, it almost looks like the rectangular hole has one corner different than the other three, is this correct? You might need to file down one corner of an adapted key, this might have been their way to ensure their key was inserted in one orientation.

If you have a reasonable way to do it, can you measure the flat-to-flat distance of the change key hole?