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Reverend Recoil
07-20-2009, 11:28 AM
I have an American Eagle gun safe manufactured by Cannon Safe. The base of the combination dial is loose. I have to hold the base up and go throught the combination about ten times to get it open. Sometimes it seems to help if I rattle the dial base and door handle. I am concerned that it will get worse and I may never be able to get it open. I have removed the inside door panel but do not see a simple way of adjusting the lock assembly. Have any of you had this problem? Do I need to call out a lock smith?

JDFuchs
07-20-2009, 11:37 AM
Ive never expernced such, but I fear with things getting so loose in your dial, that soon somthing will realy fall completley out of place and completley lock it up. I would get some one out there sooner rather then later, call the Cannon Safe people and see about worenty work or at least a recomended locksmith, not all locksmiths know how to deal with safe's. Good luck!

StarMetal
07-20-2009, 12:21 PM
I have a Fort Knox. When they ship it to you they suggest you change the combination. They supply a little tool that looks like an Allen wrench that fits a hole in the back of the lock. I had told them I had a problem with one number of the combination and he told me to reset it with that tool. I suggest you call your safe company and talk to them. My dial has a key lock too, to just lock the dial. I can close the door, spin the handle, and just lock the dial without locking the combination. In other words don't spin the combination dial and just key lock it and I can use my safe as a key lock. Not what the key lock is for though. It's to lock the combination wheel.

Joe

cowboyt
07-20-2009, 01:14 PM
Rev- Don't attempt any fix-it yourself with this- I was a master lock&safe smith for fifty years-If you pm me with your location in la I will reccomend a good safe man for you- this needs to happen soon before you get a lock-out (and it will happen) the dial ring is held on by 2 screws to the door and their covered by the dial- to get to them you must remove the back door pan, remove the wheel-pack box cover (which may or may not control a relocker bolt) then pull the spline key from the dial spindle (taking notice notice of which of four settings)-lh,rh,vu or vd- those markings are stamped on the driver wheel that the dial spindle is keyed to-care must be used when removing the spline key as it should be made of soft brass and is delicate- then the dial may be unscrewed from the driver wheel and removed from the door, exposing the dial-ring screws-- If you where provided with the change key with the safe DON'T TRY TO USE IT ( setting combinations is not quite a sience, but there are a lot of do and dont's to it - most responceible safe dealers will not sell a safe with the change key in it as it usually ends up costing the owner alot of money. Please don't try all this yourself I just outlined the process to show you what you were getting into- Just pm me and tell me the biggest city in LA that your close to

cowboyt

Reverend Recoil
07-20-2009, 06:36 PM
Thanks for the information. I will call a lock smith tomorrow.

StarMetal
07-20-2009, 07:28 PM
Rev- Don't attempt any fix-it yourself with this- I was a master lock&safe smith for fifty years-If you pm me with your location in la I will reccomend a good safe man for you- this needs to happen soon before you get a lock-out (and it will happen) the dial ring is held on by 2 screws to the door and their covered by the dial- to get to them you must remove the back door pan, remove the wheel-pack box cover (which may or may not control a relocker bolt) then pull the spline key from the dial spindle (taking notice notice of which of four settings)-lh,rh,vu or vd- those markings are stamped on the driver wheel that the dial spindle is keyed to-care must be used when removing the spline key as it should be made of soft brass and is delicate- then the dial may be unscrewed from the driver wheel and removed from the door, exposing the dial-ring screws-- If you where provided with the change key with the safe DON'T TRY TO USE IT ( setting combinations is not quite a sience, but there are a lot of do and dont's to it - most responceible safe dealers will not sell a safe with the change key in it as it usually ends up costing the owner alot of money. Please don't try all this yourself I just outlined the process to show you what you were getting into- Just pm me and tell me the biggest city in LA that your close to

cowboyt

So according to you Fort Knox isn't a responsible safe dealer huh?

Joe

Storydude
07-20-2009, 07:37 PM
Fixing this is not rocket surgery.

Open safe. remove inner door covering. find square lock. remove 4 phillips screws from back of lock, push re-locker out of the way and hold in position with a pin. Pull the spline key out from center of wheel pack, and spin dial 1 turn clockwise(If dial is loose) and re-insert spline key firmly into same location in dial pack. If the dial base outside the door is loose, spin dial and shaft counterclockwise while holding dial pack stationary to remove dial and shaft. tighten up dial base screws, put dial and shaft back in, replace spline key in same slot it came out of.


it took me as long to type this as it'll take you to do it.

EDIT: here's the instructions for a Greenleaf Sargent lockset.
http://www.sargentandgreenleaf.com/pdf/630-674_8500_ins_op.pdf

Most are the same basic design.

cowboyt
07-21-2009, 03:24 PM
Joe- Fort Knox is a manufacter ( and they make exellent safes) their not in the business of servicing safe's while they may be able to reccomend someone in the area they themselfves do not service safes. I didn't intend to bash anyone and I suggest that you rethink your post

Regards
cowboyt

cowboyt
07-21-2009, 03:53 PM
Storydude-what you said IS the basics of it-but keep this in mind I and a lot of safesmith's make a very good living opening locked-up safe's that were worked on by good-natured and well meaning amatures-and I guess my point here is if you don't know what your doing don't do it and keep this in mind that what you can learn in a one or two page intructsion sheet on a safe is just enough to get you into a jam not out of one

Regards
cowboyt

hiram
07-22-2009, 01:12 AM
I am a licensed NYC locksmith. It was a sideline for me if my regular job fell through.

I have two suggestions:
1--Do not keep locking the safe. If you get locked out, you're really up the creek.

2--If you decide to try the repair, lock and unlock the combination lock two or three times with the safe door OPEN. Don't close the door and lock it expecting to get back in.

weasel 21
07-24-2009, 09:44 AM
I have an American Eagle made by Cannon. Cannon warranties these safes for life. I had a problem with my lock and Cannon took care of it pronto. Call Cannon.

StarMetal
07-24-2009, 02:07 PM
Storydude-what you said IS the basics of it-but keep this in mind I and a lot of safesmith's make a very good living opening locked-up safe's that were worked on by good-natured and well meaning amatures-and I guess my point here is if you don't know what your doing don't do it and keep this in mind that what you can learn in a one or two page intructsion sheet on a safe is just enough to get you into a jam not out of one

Regards
cowboyt

cowboyt,

That's like saying a man shouldn't work on or learn to do anything that he didn't go to school for. WRONG I didn't know anything about automobile or motorcycle engines when I was a kid. I learned and became as good at it as any of the pro's. I didn't know about building match tuned 1911 45's...I learned and I'll put my builds up against the best.

I think because you say you're a locksmith that nobody in the world should try to learn this. That combination lock isn't rocket science and no I will not rethink my post...perhaps you should yours and you slight arrogance.

Like I told a friend a long time ago on questioning how I knew a lot about many things. I said for one I study them, I read books, I talk to the people that designed them....I said stupid people don't write training books (well in todays day and age they might) and if you're smart enough to comprehend what you read, you very well can learn it.

Joe

StarMetal
07-24-2009, 04:17 PM
cowboyt and I have had a little offline pm discussion. I do owe him this: He's no doubt a competent locksmith and I no way meant that he wasn't. It boils down to does the fellow who has the safe lock problem have a high enough mechanical aptitude IQ? We don't know. If he does it's possible if he goes about the lock with knowledge he can fix it. If not, then he's better off in a long money run to follow cowboyt's advice. The old saying a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing may play an important role in this lock problem.

Joe