On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 20:56:04 +0100, "Sanj" wrote:

I'm seriously thinking of buying a safe,

What are you putting in it, and how big does it need to be ?

150-200 quid at a real locksmith (Thornes on Old Market, Bristol) will
get you a strong good-sized box with a reliable key lock. Then find a
piece of concrete to bolt it to, and bolt it down from inside with
Rawlbolts or polyester resin glue-ins.

External hinges are a good sign - it indicates there's a bolt on each
side, which is stronger than an internal hinge.

Avoid combination locks. Unless you get a good one, they're a
nightmare for maintenance. They're also quite easily to manipulate
open, if you're buying cheapies.

Sentry are a joke. Just avoid them.

If you just want something for jewellery, look at the one or two brick
wallsafes from the likes of Screwfix. They're easier to hide than a
floorsafe, and a joist-mount floorsafe is either hard to access or
very obvious - and nearly always easy to rip out once discovered.

A friend of mine installed his gun-sfaes with his usual enthusiastic
over-engineering, then moved house. Getting them out again was fairly
spectacular, yet his original "layers of concrete / gripfill" approach
wouldn't even have resisted an untidy attack by crowbar. Just use a
few Rawlbolts from the the inside, set into good quality concrete.

If you happen across a suitable lock mechanism, a safe is fairly easy
to construct. You need plasma cutting kit and a competent welder, but
you can outsource this for less than some of the safe makers will
charge you for a lesser product. Worth looking at if you need
something extra-large, yet not explicitly insurance rated.