Chubb Safe information please from any gurus out there ?

[whitepointer]

Hi All, and great to be a part of the forum. I have a Chubb safe and i am trying to:

1. identify the model and year of manufacture
2. Location of manufacture.
2. The original colour codes for colour matching
3. Weight - i intend to have a plate made up with all the spec's
4. lock type - I have removed the locking mechanism to take it to a locksmith to get a key
5. I don't believe the door can be removed - if it can i would like to know how
6. what are the numbers on the locking rods -= what do they mean?

Thank you all.

Cheers

[Huw Eastwood]

Hello and welcome, I haven't access to Chubb records but from memory your safe was sold as the Commerce down under, albeit very different to the British commerce and its close cousins sold here.

I can say for definite its a 6K75 keylock though, although from memory most were combination, and your example does show possible hints that it might have been converted over from combination to the 6k75 keylock.

Someone with records access should be able to give far more definitive detail for you, these overseas market Chubbs are always interesting as they are often very different to those from our own home market.

[whitepointer]

Hello and welcome, I haven't access to Chubb records but from memory your safe was sold as the Commerce down under, albeit very different to the British commerce and its close cousins sold here.

I can say for definite its a 6K75 keylock though, although from memory most were combination, and your example does show possible hints that it might have been converted over from combination to the 6k75 keylock.

Someone with records access should be able to give far more definitive detail for you, these overseas market Chubbs are always interesting as they are often very different to those from our own home market.

Thanks Huw, I though it had been converted over too. You opinion is very helpful. As for the lock type and model - awesome, thanks again. Would you know which model combination lock i could install to bring that aspect back to dial ?

[Huw Eastwood]

Pretty sure its the 7L08, the smaller die-cast combination lock (S&G 6730 sized), not the big brass 4-wheel Chubb.

[whitepointer]

Thanks Again Huw, i will look it up and see what the cost is. You appear to be a professional working in the field, can i ask do you know what the numbers on the rods mean?

[Huw Eastwood]

The numbers stamped into the bolt ends are chubb's serial numbers from which the safes quality/grade, size, origin etc can all be determined, but only by those who can access the factory's records.

With regards to searching for an original comb lock, it depends on whether you want to go original Chubb or are happy to get it working with a similar equivalent.

The original 7L08 locks haven't been available new for many decades, so many safes have since been converted to the freely available American made S&G locks.
Plus, when searching original vintage Chubb stuff, there's often very few sellers that reliably know what they are actually selling, so references like 6k75, 6k174 etc, let alone 7L08....can sadly be of little help.... they are just as likely to list it as a "Chubb key" or "combination Lock".

Also, another factor to consider if searching for an original, is the spindle length off the combination dial.
Many of those locks were fitted on wallsafes and bottom range free standing models, which had the minimum door plate thickness, and thus a very short spindle.

Once you break above those examples, towards a 1 inch or more thickness door, the availability of a suitable donor dial/spindle combo of adequate length unfortunetely diminishes.

There are ways around these differences if you can machine your own adapters/sleeves etc, but nonetheless, its all worth thinking over when deciding initially what routes you are considering to take.

[safeman]

[QUOTE=whitepointer;30180]Hi All, and great to be a part of the forum. I have a Chubb safe and i am trying to:

1. identify the model and year of manufacture
2. Location of manufacture.
2. The original colour codes for colour matching
3. Weight - i intend to have a plate made up with all the spec's
4. lock type - I have removed the locking mechanism to take it to a locksmith to get a key
5. I don't believe the door can be removed - if it can i would like to know how
6. what are the numbers on the locking rods -= what do they mean?

Thank you all.

Cheers[/QUOTE


The numbers on the bolt ends don't tally with Chubb UK numbers of the period which suggests that is was made by Chubb AU.

From the poor photograph the safe looks almost identical to a UK Leamington. The UK codes for the Leamington are L or VZ and the Mark II is VX if youshould come across any more marks.

[whitepointer]

[QUOTE=safeman;30205]

Hi All, and great to be a part of the forum. I have a Chubb safe and i am trying to:

1. identify the model and year of manufacture
2. Location of manufacture.
2. The original colour codes for colour matching
3. Weight - i intend to have a plate made up with all the spec's
4. lock type - I have removed the locking mechanism to take it to a locksmith to get a key
5. I don't believe the door can be removed - if it can i would like to know how
6. what are the numbers on the locking rods -= what do they mean?

Thank you all.

Cheers[/QUOTE


The numbers on the bolt ends don't tally with Chubb UK numbers of the period which suggests that is was made by Chubb AU.

From the poor photograph the safe looks almost identical to a UK Leamington. The UK codes for the Leamington are L or VZ and the Mark II is VX if youshould come across any more marks.

Thank you. i cannot see any but i am keen to know the year of manufacture too.

[Chubby]

You don't need a diagram for the glass plate. I don't have the dimensions, but it is slightly larger than the lock. You simply drill the door to suit the glass plate, which has holes which, of course, coincide with the holes in the lock. The plate comes complete with rubber grommets to secure the plate from shocks. Mount that and the lock in the normal way.
Only thing which might be a concern is if the lock pan is deep enough to take the thickness of the glass plate and fixings. I am unsure how deep that actually is. I used to have a S & G catalogue which contains all such dimensions, but I lost that years ago. Somebody here will know, or you could look on their website.

[Huw Eastwood]

Safeman, have you a picture of an "almost identical" Leamington as I'm thinking it would have to be an early variant I've never encountered.
Ive not seen a UK Leamington, Wulfrun, Warwick, Standard, Commerce etc that looks like whitepointer's example here.

This safe appears quite different on a few aspects:

1- Hinges- Most Chubbs of that era (50s~60s) had more elongated carriages and were mounted vertically, whereas these are shorter, 'blockier' and horizontal. The few UK models I can think of which had horizontal carriages were different from these, in having distinctive horizontal flutes across a waved contoured front.

2- Boltwork- only 2 sliding bolts is very unusual for Chubb, most have a minimum of 3 moving bolts to lock the door. All the old Uk models mentioned above had 3.

3- Position of handle- unusual again, as many Chubb handles are in-line vertically with the lock(s), ie comb dial or keyhole central and directly above/below the handle. This one is clearly off centre to the left.


I have no idea what this is though, but I have seen they pop up every now and then on the Oz secondhand market, and always it seems with a comb lock.
Dealers refer to them as a Commerce, but whether it's an Oz market Commerce or not, I really haven't a clue.