How To Crack An Antique Mosler Safe

That old Mosler is a heck of a good safe, but has no real commercial value. It's worth a few hundred dollars, but don't forget the costs associated with moving it. Also, many of these old Moslers have a very complicated, very expensive, and very hard to find locks. 1884 Antique Mosler safe fully restored gold leaf hand painted w rare 4 digit. View It on eBay. 1900 Antique floor safe on wheels with working lock mechanism 34 X 23 X 22. View It on eBay. Early 1900s Meilink Safe code works Buyer responsible for shipping 51 23W23D.

Safe
On 1/20/12 5:19 AM, Ignoramus32441 wrote:
> I purchased this Mosler safe. As you can see, it is open and empty, so
> there is no hanky panky going on:
>
> http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/Mosler-Safe/
>
> The combination, as written on the masking tape stuck on the safe,
> slightly modified to preserve all numbers order, is as follows:
>
> R 63
> L 47 3 turns
> R 25 2 turns
> L to 0
>
> However, the safe would not open. I was once shown that the combo
> works, however, I cannot redo it. The safe is still open and I would
> like to figure it out.
Turn the dial to the right at least three complete revolutions.
Stop at 63.
Turn the dial to the left. Stop the THIRD time that you get to 47.
Turn the dial to the right. Stop the SECOND time you get to 25.
Turn the dial to the left. Stop the FIRST time you get to 0.
Then turn the handle and see if it opens. If not, continue to the left
and the dial should stop within a short portion of a revolution. Then
turn the handle to open the safe.
DO NOT CLOSE THE DOOR until you have been able to successfully open it
several times in a row with the door open.
--
Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - j...@impulse.net
Impulse Internet Service - http://www.impulse.net/
Your local telephone and internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV
How To Crack An Antique Mosler Safe

The most common method safecrackers use to manipulate the safe itself is drilling. There are several ways to use a drill to open a safe. The most direct method is to drill into the face of the lock in order to reach the lever or drive cam. After accessing the lever or cam, the safecracker can use a punch rod to push them out of the way or bend them until they are no longer obstructing the path of the bolt.

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Safe manipulation is a simple process of finding the combination of the safe during a certain process. Due to the variations in manufacturing, many safe locks give a very unique sound or resistance when someone tries to open a safe without a lock. This concept needs a special knowledge of the lock being manipulated.

As a countermeasure to this, many safe manufactures have installed heavy cobalt plates to prevent or slow down drilling into the front of the lever and cam housing. Whether the cobalt actually prevents the drilling or simply slows it down depends on the type of drill bit the safecracker is using. Most any conventional drill bit will spin against the cobalt plate without ever penetrating it. However, if the safecracker is armed with say a titanium or diamond bit, it could eventually penetrate the cobalt. But, this would probably cost the cracker several drills (as the bits will outlast the motors) and, more importantly, too much time. As you know, time is enemy-number-one to a safecracker -- so, some other method would be employed.

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Any skilled safecracker will, of course, know most everything about the safe he is drilling -- including any countermeasures put in place by the manufacturer. So, to counter this countermeasure, safecrackers can drill in at an angle above the cobalt plate and go straight for the wheel pack. The cracker's aim here is not to destroy the pack, but to see it. Using a small fiber-optic viewer called a borescope, the safecracker can watch the wheels spin as he turns the dial. Then it's just a matter of lining up the notches and watching the fence fall into place.

Now, you may be wondering, 'If there are ways around the cobalt plate -- what's a safe maker to do?' Additional protection is provided by systems called relockers. Though the designs vary from manufacture to manufacture, the relocker is tripped when the safecracker's drill bit breaks a sheet of glass or plastic while drilling into the lock. Once this material is breached, it triggers a set of auxiliary locking devices which will lock out the safe completely. Even the proper combination will not open the safe once the relocker has been activated. The safe owner must call a safe technician or locksmith to retrieve the safes contents.

Side drilling is a method used to reach the bolt itself. The safecracker bores a hole into the side of the safe using a long nine- or ten-inch drill bit. A borescope is used to see the position of the bolt. Next, the safecracker takes a long punch rod and pushes the bolt out of the way.

Drilling holes in the rear of the safe is another method of attack. The safecracker drills two holes: one for the borescope and one for a special extra-long screwdriver. The safecracker uses the borescope to see the screws that attach the plate covering the wheel pack. Then he removes this plate and uses the screwdriver to move the wheels into position to allow the bolt to pass.

How to Open Mosler Combination Locks | eHow

When drilling a safe, the thing safecrackers have to bear in mind is that even the smallest mistake could damage the safe beyond any hope of opening it at all.

A borescope allows the safecracker to see inside the safe.

Safe-Cracking Made Stupid Easy: Just Use A Magnet « Lock ...

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Vintage Mosler Safe

These are just some of the more commonly used drilling methods. But, drilling is not the only way. Next, we'll look at some ways to open a safe that are even noisier than drilling.