Unlocked or not

[Doug MacQueen]

And here is the lock removed. Note I am pushing down on the bar to unlock after aligning the wheels. The keylock operates the main horizontal bolt and the combination bar blocks it.

[Sid]

Hello Doug

First of all, I thank you for your input and the photos of your very decorative safe.

I had not noticed the bar before, because it is difficult for me to get down to look through the hole in the back and also because the bar is almost hidden by the shelf which has fallen down and is jammed on an angle. I suspect the shelf is touching the end of the bar.

I have looked again at the positions of the sliding lock bars and I think they are all retracted ( in the open position). I have run a feeler gauge around the door from the outside and cannot feel any locking bolts except at the key lock.

The key turns easily almost 1/4 turn to the right, when I can hear something rattling, turning the key to the left (from vertical) it turns almost 180 degrees and then stops (with no noise).

The door is not central in the safe having dropped down, but I have been able to lever it up so I know that the hinges are not seized at all.

Given that the back is relatively thin and the steel not especially hard, I think that I am going to open up the existing hole, for I should then be able to dislodge/move the shelf away from this bar and this will also enable me to see if there are any papers or anything else below the shelf however, I will have to wait a few days before doing this for my wife is unwell at present and the safe being adjacent to her bedroom, I do not want to make a lot of noise and the safe is far too heavy for me to contemplate moving it outside the house.

In the meantime I will continue with my research on French websites although I am not doing too well in that regard. A french forum similar to this one is not helpful because no photos whatsoever !!! and I think many records were lost during the 2 world wars. Research on Spanish websites is very limited because Spain seems to be at least 20 years behind the rest of the world regards Internet technology and again, they suffered greatly during the Civil War and under Franco.

I am therefore most grateful to you for your help