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Doug White

Ignoramus3982 wrote in news:Qb-
:

Won a Mosler combination safe on ebay and am wondering about
something: is it possible to change the combination on such a safe?
This is a safe that opens with a key AND combination dial.

Also, is it wise to take it to a locksmith while it is in my truck?
Just to have it checked etc?

I used to get safe style combination locks at the Los Alamos surplus yard
when I was a kid. Some had been drilled when the combination was lost,
but some were entact. These were ~ 1950's vintage. You could take the
back cover off & figure out what the combination was. Most of them had a
hole in the back where you could insert a special key. This would allow
you to change the combination. I never had the magic key, or the time to
figure out how to make one, but I examined quite a few such locks, and
that was clearly the intent. I don't recall if any had a keylock in the
dial, but I suspect the combination part is largely the same.

I also know many safe combinations can be changed without heroics from my
long association with the MIT pistol range. They have a bunch of surplus
safes, and whenever there has been a major change of personnel in the
coach/range master position, the MIT locksmith came through & changed
most of the combinations. Some of the safes are really ancient, and
either are difficult to change, or require an oddball key/tool to do it,
so they have remained unchanged for decades. They are typically used for
ammo or airguns, with the better safes reserved for the firearms.

As long as it's in your truck, I would take it to a locksmith, because
they usually charge more for housecalls. It would be worth checking
around to find a really good one. There are a lot of folks claiming to
be locksmiths who can't do much more than install locksets & cut keys.

Doug White