Hi, I bought an old Sears Safe with just a dial, and stationary handle on the front. It has a Sears logo on the upper left front on the door and is roughly 2’ x 2’ x 2’. Any helpfull ideas are appreciated… is it possible that the wheelpack is defective? It came with a three number combo that is either wrong or maybe I am doing something out of order… The safe was taken from the house of a deceased. But, the combonation was taped to it. Unfortunately, it won’t open and the dial seems to get easier and harder to turn whenever it wants.
Your best bet is to contact a locksmith. No one here is going to tell you how to get past a lock, as we have no way to verify that you are, in fact, the legal owner of the safe. Sorry, them’s the breaks.
That said, if you can find a model number, one of us might be able to find some info on the correct opening procedure, assuming the combination is correct. If it’s not, or if the lock itself is damaged in some way, a locksmith is the answer.
I am not sure if this safe is worth investing money in, but perhaps you could try a local locksmith, which should be able to easily crack open a Sears safe.
Or you can try some of the suggestions from these guys:
Assuming the combination taped to the safe is correct, make sure you are dialing it correctly:
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[li]Spin the dial several times (at least five or six) to the LEFT (counterclockwise) and then STOP at the first number.[/li][li]Turn the dial to the RIGHT (clockwise) and go PAST the second number. Go past it AGAIN. When you reach the second number the third time, STOP.[/li][li]Turn the dial LEFT (counterclockwise) again. Go PAST the third number. Keep turning, and when you reach the third number again, STOP.[/li][li]If you have a three number combination, that should open it. If you have a fourth number, turn the dial to the RIGHT (clockwise) again, and the dial should stop by itself on that fourth number, like hitting a wall, and then you can turn the lever like a doorknob and open the safe.[/li][/ul]
Once you get the safe open, remove the screws on the outside edge of the sheet metal that lines the inside of the front door. That will allow you to access and lubricate the tumblers and dial so that next time it won’t drag so much as you turn the dial.
Given a 3 number combo, a lot of safes also require a specific combination of turns plus directions.
For example: Four full revolutions to the left to reset, a full revolution + first number to the right, three full revolutions + second number to the left, a full revolution + third number to the right.
In the most general sense I guess each number from the combo has also a number of pre-revolutions and a direction. If you limit the number of pre-revolutions (or whatever they are properly called) to 5 maximum per number you only have 1728 combinations to try given a 3 number combo. However, more than likely the number of pre-revolutions does not exceed 3, the sum of all of them does not exceed 7 since it would be very cumbersome to open, and directions simply reverse after each number (for ease of construction). This cuts down the number of things to try to 120 if I did my math right. Good luck!
Some safes, you have to turn it back again (the opposite direction from what you where doing to get to the last number) until you hit a stop, usually at zero. Then you can turn the handle. On safes without a handle, turning the knob back is what unlocks it.
Spin the dial to the Right (clockwise) several times and stop on 0
Turn the dial to the Left (counterclockwise) and go past the first number 3 times and stopping on the first number the 4th time.
Then turn the dial Right (clockwise) go past the second number 2 times stopping on the second number the 3ed time.
Turn the dial to the Left (counterclockwise) and go past the 3ed number 1 time and stopping at the 3ed number the second time.
Then slowly turn the dial to the Right (clockwise) till the dial stops.
Turn the handle on safe. It should open.
Sounds like this was an estate sale purchase - who knows what’s inside? Might be diamonds! Stock certificates! Grandma’s cake recipe! Billy’s baby teeth!
Safe combinations usually require turning to the LEFT at least 4 times before stopping at first number, then alternate directions and reduce the number of turns as above.
RE: LUBRICATION: DO NOT USE OIL. A dry lubricant is much to be preferred.
Apply GRAPHITE with a GRAPHITE applicator squeeze bulb and operate the mechanism untill everything works smoothly.
The safe we had in the family worked almost like that, except it followed the Master Lock pattern of turns.
Counterclockwise a bunch of time to reset the dials.
Stop at first number
Turn clockwise. Pass second number once, stop on second number
Turn counterclockwise. Go directly to last number.
Open.
One thing not mentioned, contact Sears. I found my Grampas old brass MasterLock and the hardware store guy wrote them and they still had the combination on file and mailed it out. I think a safe would be nice to have - assuming it can be rendered immobile or nearly so, and more importantly, no-one know that I have it.
