We were called to a hotel chain in Glossop, Derbyshire as the key was stuck in this Dudley Harlech safe. We found that the boltwork had worked itself loose and required some minor repairs. This sort of job highlights that safes require regular servicing just like anything else mechanical. You wouldn’t dream of of running your car without regular maintenance and yet most people notice that something is not quite right with their safe but leave it until it finally fails before getting it seen to. This usually coincides with some important event that requires immediate access to the safe and often the replacement of parts that would not have broken if tended to sooner. The proverb ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ is very much true, if you notice a problem with your safe then call us out sooner rather than later.
Author: Mark Doyle
Sentry F2300 Waterproof Fire Chest Lost Keys
The keys had been lost to this Sentry F2300 Waterproof Fire Chest in Ashton-in-Makerfield. We attended the private residence and opened it without damage so that the owners could retrieve their documents.
Epic Challenger Safe Opening
We were called to open this Epic Challenger safe at a Gym in Manchester for a second time this year. This time the Kaba Mas Auditcon lock was failing to open with the known combination. Once again we opened it up for them and put the safe back into service.
Crado Hideaway Under Floor Safe Opening
The Crado Hideaway is a rather unique under floor safe which has three separate dials which can be independently set to a number ranging from zero to nineteen. Each dial must be set correctly in order to retract the boltwork and allow the lid to be opened. The safe was made by Crado Devices Limited which were a London based company incorporated in 1975 but who unfortunately went into liquidation in 1981.
Although we were aware of this safe we haven’t to date been tasked with opening one so when this unit came up for sale we just had to have it out of professional curiosity. Safe engineers are a rather strange breed, we just love to tinker and see how things work so when this arrived in the workshop we were all over it like kids at Christmas. It didn’t take us long to set a random combination and open it using existing knowledge and techniques but it was still a great pleasure to finally see exactly how they work and to ultimately be able to use that knowledge to open them non-destructively.
So if you have a Crado Hideaway safe that you require opening then please do get in touch as it would be a pleasure to be able to open it for you.
Yale Digital Safe Flat Batteries
The batteries had run out of power on this Yale digital safe at a home in Prescot, Liverpool. The keys were also with a family member who was out of the country so they had no way of opening it. We attended and opened it for them without causing any damage so that the batteries could be changed and the key would still work when it was available again.
Brattonsound Gun Cabinet Lost Combination
After an unfortunate hospitalisation of several years the owner of this Brattonsound gun safe could no longer remember the combination to open it. With a firearms inspection due it needed opening urgently so we headed to the home in Bolton to open it up for him. It is unusual to find these with mechanical combination locks but we got it open without any damage as we would have done with the key locking versions.
Chubb Leamington Disconnected Bolt
We were called to this Chubb Leamington safe at a college in Ashton-under-Lyne as the door would not open despite the handle being in the open position. The problem we discovered was that one of the opening edge bolts had disconnected from the boltwork and therefore could not be retracted by the handle. We dealt with the problem to open the door and repaired the bolt so that the safe could be used again.
Fort Knox Exchequer Under Floor Safe
The key would no longer work in this Fort Knox Exchequer under floor safe in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan. We decided to bring it back to the workshop for an overhaul. With a replacement lock, a service and two new keys she’s good to go again.
NoveTek Digital Safe Opening
We were called to this NoveTek digital deposit safe at a shop in Manchester as the owner could not get it to open. It’s not a brand we have come across before and appears to be of Italian origin, despite not being familiar with it we got it opened and working again for them.
Milners’ Thief Resisting Door Stolen Keys
This is the second time we’ve worked on this Milners’ door in the past six months. This time a set of keys had been stolen from the pub in Southport and they required the lock to be changed. We rekeyed the lock for them and provided new keys to prevent the old ones from working.