Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work.

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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Hi.. I have a metal STRONGBOX that I got at WalMart a few years back
for about $20 and have lost the key(s) to it. It has many important
documents inside including a little cash etc....

Is there an easy way for someone like me to bust the lock and get into
this thing? I am not concerned about destroying it as long as the
contents remain intact.

It is made of steel and is supposedly fireproof but I have no idea how
well the unit is actually constructed.

I just want a few ideas on how I can get into this thing without having
to visit a locksmith because right now my funds are a little
challenged.... lol

Thanks

LEESA (I)

PS: In a perfect world, something even I could do without having to
get someone to help me..... lol

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Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
Buy_Sell
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

If you own a drill, then drill the lock out. I've locked myself out of
the garage a few times and I ended up drilling out the lock and
replacing it later on.

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Shopdog
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Those Walmart safe boxes are easy to get into. I'd use a paper clip and a
thin blade screwdriver. Unbend the clip, insert it into the opening at the
thin point, this is where the tumblers are. Then put the thin blade
screwdriver in just a bit at the top. put pressure on the screwdriver to
turn to the left while doing this move the clip in and out until the lock
opens. It may take you awhile but you should be able to get in without
damaging the box. Once it is open you can buy a replacement for it.

Searcher


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Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Hi... thanks for the advice. The problem is, someone told me that if I
went to a locksmith and had a key made, it would cost at least $25...
which is more than the box itself... lol

Thanks

LEESA (I)

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Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
F. George McDuffee
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

On 17 May 2006 00:43:47 -0700, wrote:

Hi.. I have a metal STRONGBOX that I got at WalMart a few years back
for about $20 and have lost the key(s) to it. It has many important
documents inside including a little cash etc....

Is there an easy way for someone like me to bust the lock and get into
this thing? I am not concerned about destroying it as long as the
contents remain intact.

It is made of steel and is supposedly fireproof but I have no idea how
well the unit is actually constructed.

I just want a few ideas on how I can get into this thing without having
to visit a locksmith because right now my funds are a little
challenged.... lol

Thanks

LEESA (I)

PS: In a perfect world, something even I could do without having to
get someone to help me..... lol

================
Save yourself a bunch of time and aggravation. Take it down to
your local lock and safe store. He can have it open in a few
minutes, possibly with no damage to the box and with no damage to
the contents.


Unka George
(George McDuffee)

There is something to be said for government by a great aristocracy
which has furnished leaders to the nation in peace and war for generations;
even a democrat like myself must admit this.

But there is absolutely nothing to be said for government by a plutocracy,
for government by men very powerful in certain lines and gifted with the "money touch,"
but with ideals which in their essence are merely those of so many glorified pawnbrokers.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), U.S. Republican (later Progressive) politician, president. Letter, 15 Nov. 1913.
  #19   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
Jeff Wisnia
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Christopher Tidy wrote:
Jeff Wisnia wrote:

wrote:

Hi.. I have a metal STRONGBOX that I got at WalMart a few years back
for about $20 and have lost the key(s) to it. It has many important
documents inside including a little cash etc....

Is there an easy way for someone like me to bust the lock and get into
this thing? I am not concerned about destroying it as long as the
contents remain intact.

It is made of steel and is supposedly fireproof but I have no idea how
well the unit is actually constructed.

I just want a few ideas on how I can get into this thing without having
to visit a locksmith because right now my funds are a little
challenged.... lol

Thanks

LEESA (I)

PS: In a perfect world, something even I could do without having to
get someone to help me..... lol



Sure sounds to me like you are asking how to get into that strongbox
without leaving signs of forced entry or removing it from its present
location long enough to take it to a locksmith's shop.

Why don't you just ask the rightful owner of the key to open the box
for you?

Don't bother answering, I'm a pretty good guesser...

Jeff



You're right Jeff, well spotted. She says "it has many important
documents inside including a little cash etc." and yet in her next post
complains about the $25 cost of getting a new key made because it's $5
more than the cost of a new safe.

Chris


I certainly could be wrong, but "It's the way to bet."

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what you put
into it."
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Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
Christopher Tidy
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Jeff Wisnia wrote:
wrote:

Hi.. I have a metal STRONGBOX that I got at WalMart a few years back
for about $20 and have lost the key(s) to it. It has many important
documents inside including a little cash etc....

Is there an easy way for someone like me to bust the lock and get into
this thing? I am not concerned about destroying it as long as the
contents remain intact.

It is made of steel and is supposedly fireproof but I have no idea how
well the unit is actually constructed.

I just want a few ideas on how I can get into this thing without having
to visit a locksmith because right now my funds are a little
challenged.... lol

Thanks

LEESA (I)

PS: In a perfect world, something even I could do without having to
get someone to help me..... lol



Sure sounds to me like you are asking how to get into that strongbox
without leaving signs of forced entry or removing it from its present
location long enough to take it to a locksmith's shop.

Why don't you just ask the rightful owner of the key to open the box for
you?

Don't bother answering, I'm a pretty good guesser...

Jeff


You're right Jeff, well spotted. She says "it has many important
documents inside including a little cash etc." and yet in her next post
complains about the $25 cost of getting a new key made because it's $5
more than the cost of a new safe.

Chris



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Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Well, thanks Jeff and Christopher for giving me the benifit of the
doubt. You guys have way too much time on your hands and your
imagination could be used much more constructivley.

"Sure sounds to me like you are asking how to get into that strongbox
without leaving signs of forced entry"

Well... I guess you don't read very well either. I mentioned in my
post I don't give a damn about whether or not the box is destroyed.
Sure, I want the contents to remain intact but I said nothing about
leaving no signs of forced entry.

I guess you want me to give you an itemized list of what's in the box
to see if it sounds legit (to you) before you will give me any respect.

Thanks so much for the people in here who took the post for what it's
worth without putting their own distorted "spin" on it like the two of
you did.

Thanks

LEESA (I)

  #24   Report Post  
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Just lurking here.

Dave, with all due respect, I do feel Leesa was sort of dissed by a
couple of the posters in this newsgroup.

Your points are no doubt valid as far as usenet etiquette is concerned
however so are Leesa's about giving someone the benifit of the doubt.

I always try to be fair and objective in my approach and even if I do
have suspicions about a post I tend to not assume anything either way
and deal with them in a fair and courteous manner.

In this case, and it's just "my gut" feeling, I believe the poster just
asked a question because she was frustrated with her situation and was
reaching out for some possible solutions.

Hopefully, the insight here will have helped her and she will now at
least have some input on which way to go from here.

Thank You

David

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Jeff Wisnia
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Dave Hinz wrote:
On 18 May 2006 07:47:16 -0700, wrote:

Just lurking here.

Dave, with all due respect, I do feel Leesa was sort of dissed by a
couple of the posters in this newsgroup.



That's fair enough, but it's human nature to suspect someone's
motivations when they're chosing not to do what seems to be incredibly
obvious - pick it up and carry it into an authority figure who can fix
the problem easily.


Your points are no doubt valid as far as usenet etiquette is concerned
however so are Leesa's about giving someone the benifit of the doubt.
I always try to be fair and objective in my approach and even if I do
have suspicions about a post I tend to not assume anything either way
and deal with them in a fair and courteous manner.



Hence my "take it to a locksmith". I didn't want to talk her through
picking a lock, even though it's trivial, because I don't know her.


And I felt much the same way, though I was somewhat puzzled by her
willingness to destroy the box.

It was difficult for me to understand how, unless Leesa is a victim of
agrophobia or is totally lacking in friends with enough rudimentary
mechanical skills and tools to "destroy" it while opening it for her,
that I may have erred too far on the side of skepticism.

As I'm a lurker on alt.locksmithing I noticed she did post her plea
there and got the expected refusals of lockpicking information assistance.

Lockpicking was one of my several hobbies in college, and while my
activities in that regard while at "The Institute" predated the first
issuance of "The MIT Guide to Lockpicking" by some 30 years, it was
heartwarming to note that students in later classes were still intrigued
by those kinds of things.

So Leesa, if I misjudged your naivety as unscrupulousness, please accept
an apology from a guy who's been the attempted victim of more screws
than can be seen in three days at an erotic film festival.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what you put
into it."
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jim rozen
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

In article , Jeff Wisnia
says...

So Leesa, if I misjudged your naivety as unscrupulousness, please accept
an apology from a guy who's been the attempted victim of more screws
than can be seen in three days at an erotic film festival.

Jeff


Do they still have those? I thought with the advent of the
internet, all those film festivals were sort of quaintly
archaic.

:^)

Honestly I don't think she was badly disrespected though. Anyone
who posts a question like that would expect to get that answer, and
should be able to present their case as such, and to ignore
any comments with sharp corners on them.

Basically this is the same thing on the motorcycle newsgroups, where
somebody asks 'how do I get this bike to run without the key?' to
which I invariably reply, "take it to your local police department,
they are often experts in this sort of thing."

:^) :^)

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================
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Jim Stewart
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

jim rozen wrote:

In article , Jeff Wisnia
says...


So Leesa, if I misjudged your naivety as unscrupulousness, please accept
an apology from a guy who's been the attempted victim of more screws
than can be seen in three days at an erotic film festival.

Jeff



Do they still have those? I thought with the advent of the
internet, all those film festivals were sort of quaintly
archaic.

:^)

Honestly I don't think she was badly disrespected though. Anyone
who posts a question like that would expect to get that answer, and
should be able to present their case as such, and to ignore
any comments with sharp corners on them.


If anyone thinks she was badly disrespected here,
I'd suggest they try posing the question on
alt.locksmithing. Those people regularly melt
the face of anyone who requests any information
that might possibly be used for wrongdoing or
deprive a fellow locksmith of income.




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Jeff Wisnia
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

jim rozen wrote:

In article , Jeff Wisnia
says...


So Leesa, if I misjudged your naivety as unscrupulousness, please accept
an apology from a guy who's been the attempted victim of more screws
than can be seen in three days at an erotic film festival.

Jeff



Do they still have those? I thought with the advent of the
internet, all those film festivals were sort of quaintly
archaic.

:^)


Maybe the film festivals aren't as prevalent as they used to be, but the
attempted screws sure are. Between my last post to this thread and this
one a three page fax containing a "dunning letter" came in from some
outfit called "The Official Yellow Pages" in Auburn, Maine. It was
addressed to our lead office assistant who's been with us for 26 years.

It claimed that in October 2005 "she personally" ordered a 2 year
listing in a yet to be published directory for a business name we
stopped using five years ago. They were looking for $299.95 plus $34.95
in late charges.

It went on to say they had a "legally binding audio recording" of her
agreeing to the purchase. There's no way she would have done that as she
knows very well that we never use Yellow Page advertising, and she only
places orders for stuff if asked to do so by "da boss".

I called 'em up and got a real snotty woman who tried to high pressure
me into paying the bill. I asked to hear the "audio recording" and she
played me a few seconds of a muffled voice saying, Yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh,
okay", which sounded nothing like our employee's voice.

When the scammer saw I wasn't budging she started talking "settlement".
I told her I'd settle just as soon as I saw a squadron of at least six
pigs fly by overhead.

Shoosh! I've half a mind to mail that fax to the AGs office in Maine
with a complaint letter.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what you put
into it."


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Ecnerwal
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

In article ,
Jeff Wisnia wrote:
Shoosh! I've half a mind to mail that fax to the AGs office in Maine
with a complaint letter.

Jeff


Do that. They take this kind of thing rather seriously, as opposed to
some other states, IMO.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Apologies accepted from both of you guys, Jeff and Christopher.

I guess you guys have much more posting experience than I do and I am
totally "green" about things of this nature.

You are correct. I have decided to just call around and find the
cheapest locksmith that make another key up for me.

What scared me off intitially was that some people I had talked to gave
me some prices which were much higher than what has been mentioned here
and I kinda just reacted.

It's not that I wanted to destroy the strongbox, It's just that I
didn't want to invest a lot of time and money getting into something
that basically amounts to a $20 fire retardant box.

I may play around with a paper clip and a narrow screwdriver as has
been suggested just for ****s and giggles but I am still gonna need
someone to make another key up.

Thanks guys, for all your help. I will post back with the final
results of this fiasco.... lol

Have a nice weekend!

LEESA (I)

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Jeff Wisnia
 
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Default OFF-TOPIC How can I get into my stronbox? (Lost Keys)

Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
Jeff Wisnia wrote:

Shoosh! I've half a mind to mail that fax to the AGs office in Maine
with a complaint letter.

Jeff



Do that. They take this kind of thing rather seriously, as opposed to
some other states, IMO.


As a matter of fact I did just that. More later if anything comes of it.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what you put
into it."
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