Ely Norris cannonball safe

[Texaschilli]

6 January 2016

Dear Mr. MacQueen,

Thank you for your offer of assistance. I am not a mechanic. I once pulled the heads and did a valve job on my car, but that was a 1973 Levi Gremlin and was 40 years ago. I can field strip an M1 Garand.

This is my first and only safe besides a gun safe. I have wanted a cannonball for many years and found this one on Ebay and purchased it from a gentleman in Albuquerque New Mexico. He has several. He included what he said were the original operating instructions that came with the safe. I have followed those directions and set the timeclocks several times with the door open as you suggested. All three clocks run down and the bolt motors retract just fine. Everything appears to work fine.

What I am seeking guidance on is how to go about prepping the safe for bead blasting or sand blasting. Can I take the timelock unit out by simply removing the four brass or bronze screws that seem to be securing it? Or will a lot of other parts jump out like the old snake in a can trick?

I would also like to take off the bolt tripping lever and the back cover plate of the safe door to paint the door. And on the front the dials slide off the spindles but can I remove the 3 screws holding the plates the dials cover?

How much trouble is it to just take the door off entirely? Or is that wise?

My main desire is to get the timelock mechanism in a safe place and then get the body of the safe cleaned up.

Is "bondo" ok to use as a fairing compound?

Thank you for any guidance.

Jody Sims a/k/a Texaschilli

[Doug MacQueen]

A valve job and field strip is close enough. It has been a while since I have done this and I did a total dis-assembly of timelock. Since you aren't going to be digging into the timelock, I am pretty sure that the entire case and innards can be removed in one piece. Do you have the key to open the timelock door? And please post a picture of the back of the door to help me describe what to do.

[Texaschilli]

7 January 2016

Mr. MacQueen,

Attached ( I hope ) are some photos of my safe. On the back door, there is hexagonal bolt securing the tripping device. I would like to remove that to paint around the rim of the back of the door.

The time lock seems to be held in by four brass flathead screws or bolts. Around that is a jeweled plate that seems to only be secured by four slotted screws.

Yes, I do have the small key to open the door cover.

Jody Sims

[Texaschilli]

7 January 2017

Mr. MacQueen, I think I attached the photos correctly this time.

Jody Sims

[Doug MacQueen]

Exact replacement of the dial rings is dependent on whether the combination was set with the proper tolerance to begin with. That is checked by dialing the comb a little higher and a little lower, usually by 1/2 number. Since the lock worked before pulling the dials and you are planning on resetting them, this isn't so much a concern. However an incorrectly mounted dial ring can result in dial binding, so put them back on exactly where they were. That Yale double dial lock is a redundant model. I would recommend hiring someone to set the combs. Doug

[David Hovey]

Do you have original Yale 101.5 change instructions? Would you mind posting a picture of it?

DH

[Texaschilli]

Yes Sir,

I believe I do. The paper is very brown. I made a photocopy but it is dark. I have a cousin who is a photographer and he is going to try to take a picture of the instruction sheet.

It is even humorous. Warns to look over your shoulder lest a burglar see you dial the combo.

I will try to post.

I also have the operating instructions for an Ely Norris that came with the safe. This is also on dark brown paper and hard to reproduce. I am not getting much encouragement from local framers on how to mount and preserve to prevent acid damage.


Texaschilli

[Texaschilli]

Yes Sir,

I believe I do. The paper is very brown. I made a photocopy but it is dark. I have a cousin who is a photographer and he is going to try to take a picture of the instruction sheet.

It is even humorous. Warns to look over your shoulder lest a burglar see you dial the combo.

I will try to post.

I also have the operating instructions for an Ely Norris that came with the safe. This is also on dark brown paper and hard to reproduce. I am not getting much encouragement from local framers on how to mount and preserve to prevent acid damage.


Texaschilli

[Texaschilli]

Yes Sir,

I believe I do. The paper is very brown. I made a photocopy but it is dark. I have a cousin who is a photographer and he is going to try to take a picture of the instruction sheet.

It is even humorous. Warns to look over your shoulder lest a burglar see you dial the combo.

I will try to post.

I also have the operating instructions for an Ely Norris that came with the safe. This is also on dark brown paper and hard to reproduce. I am not getting much encouragement from local framers on how to mount and preserve to prevent acid damage.


Texaschilli

[Doug MacQueen]

Good. Go ahead and remove the trip lever and the screws holding the jeweled plate. Open the TL door and you should be able to remove the jeweled plate off. The hinge cutout in the plate gives you enough clearance to get it around the door itself. Now close the TL door till it latches. You can see that the TL case is mounted to a large round steel plate which is bolted to the safe door itself. Remove all these outer bolts. At this point it's a good idea to get a helper to assist you. You are going to remove this plate and everything that's mounted on it. Not that it is terribly heavy but you sure don't want to drop it. If I have this right, you should now be able to twist the entire assembly, round mounting plate and all, far enough to totally disconnect it from the lock bolts and pull it out of the door. It may require some working to get it to twist far enough, but once you get that far, nothing is holding it in. Doug