Newbie Needs Help with Acme Safe with Yale Dial Combo Lock - Resto Project

[Eskay]

Greetings from West Caldwell, NJ USA

I am in the process of restoring a vintage acme safe with a York combination lock. I recently purchased this safe for $ 75.00. I am new to this and just learning the nomenclature, so please bear with me.

This safe appears to be in need of the following items: Brass disks for lock ("Curb Pack"?), brass key for dial shaft and round sheet metal cover for lock mechanism. Everything else appears to be there, but I need more experienced persons to confirm what might be missing. The internal wood dividers and drawers are in decent shape and there are keys for all the inside locks.

I plan to restore the mechanics and then refinish the safe as closely as possible to original with regard to color, graphics, pinstriping, etc. I particularly need help identifying the lock model, and missing parts. Any advice regarding refinishing will also be greatly appreciated.

I am looking for the following:

• Safe model and year of manufacture
• The model of the York lock so I can obtain the missing parts (if possible from the photos, please identify what parts are missing).
• Weight
• Availability and sources of parts
• Availability or methods to reproduce of graphics / Logos
• Paint specification/color code, if any
• Any other pertinent historical information for Acme safes of this vintage.

The dimensions of this safe are:

35 inches tall
23-1/2 inches wide
22-1/2 inches deep
5-1/2 inch Wheel Diameter


Please see the attached photos and let me know what additional information might be helpful.

Thanks much,
Steve Krone
West Caldwell, NJ USA

[Eskay]

Found out some more info regarding my Acme safe. Apparently, Acme did not manufacture safes, but rather put their name on safes manufactured by others. The barrel of the lock has the letters OBS cast into it. Again, any help identifying the manufacturer of the safe, confirmation of the model of the lock, and source of parts to restore the Yale lock will be greatly appreciated.

[T Davison]

Steve , Your safe was made by Syracuse safe company. The lock is Yale OB or OBB lock.The Yale OB has 4 wheels and the OBB has 3 wheels. Hope this help Enjoy Tim

[T Davison]

Here is a blue print of the lock. Tim

[Eskay]

Thanks, Tim, for your kind reply and the blueprint The dimensions from the print the of my safe. I have been continuing to research my safe and am pretty sure it is a Herring-Hall-Marvin 1898. I found an ad for one and it is identical in every way, including dimensions, internal compartment configuration, casters. However I notice that several of the different makes are nearly identical, so it could be a Syracuse. I will look for photos and conduct some further comparisons.

I have determined that the missing parts are a three wheel pack assembly for the Yale OB lock. The lock housing actually has OBS cast into it and I can not find any reference to that designation. I have the dial, threaded spindle, and the fly wheel - but no brass key. - And, one inconsistency I observe is that there is no key way on the fly to accept the brass key (see photos). A locksmith in town who is trying to find parts for me speculates that this version may just be a friction fit. Doesn't seem right. Can anyone comment on this?

Thanks again for any help.

Steve K.

[Eskay]

The very shallow key way on the fly wheel revealed itself after a more careful cleaning and inspection. It had just enough grease in it to be invisible until scraped out.