Old floor safe - anyone know who made it?

[Veldro]

Hey everyone,

Recently got this old floor safe and been trying to figure out who made it, approx. date of manufacture, etc. I don't know much about these old safes and figured someone here knows much more than I do. Sorry for the bad picture, I'll be sure to post a few more later this afternoon when I get home. Also the paint was in horrible shape when I got it, hence why I am in the process of stripping it off. There are so many layers of paint on this thing, it looks like it's been painted and re-painted at least 5 times throughout its life.

Thanks for the help.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Welcome to Treasure Net !!
Is the dial in letters or numbers?
Is there any symbol or initial on the finger grip?
Don....

 

[Mackaydon]

You may wish to look at these sites for a model similar to yours:

• The Antique Safe Collector
• The El Pomar Carriage Museum - scroll to the next to last row of pictures.
• Minneapolis Wells Fargo Museum
• Goodman, Wesson and Associates Antique Firearm
• Anthony Martin safe collection
• Don.......

 

[Veldro]

Thanks for the quick reply!

The dial has numbers, not letters. I don't remember seeing any symbols on the grip, I'll check it out again as soon as I can this afternoon.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

do you have the combo? a lot of those old safes had makers plates inside, sometimes over the access for the tumblers... if you open that hatch you might find info in there as well, possibly a company name on the tumblers themselves.

Also, that thing is pretty cool! I've always wanted an old safe, I hope you'll pot pics of it when you're done

 

[Veldro]

do you have the combo? a lot of those old safes had makers plates inside, sometimes over the access for the tumblers... if you open that hatch you might find info in there as well, possibly a company name on the tumblers themselves.

Also, that thing is pretty cool! I've always wanted an old safe, I hope you'll pot pics of it when you're done

Luckily yes, I do have the combo. After the main door, there is another door that requires a key (which I also have). Inside that door, there are a few small shelves on the left, and a larger area on the right. The very top shelf on the left has another door which can be locked (the lock itself is missing). The inside of the whole safe is in really great shape. I briefly took off the inside panel when I first got the safe and didn't notice a label or company name. I will look again more thoroughly and let you know.

 

[ARC]

Hmmmm...

Did this come out of a mansion floor in Miami by chance ?

Once owned by a certain coke dealer ?
Heh.

 

[digging wv]

You can't always go on the safe being the same manufacturer as the lock. There are interchangable locks and modifications are always possible.

 

[digging wv]

This is a York. Might google them to check out some pics The hinges on this one is a little different, but it's in the ballpark.

 

[Peyton Manning]

by floor safe I thought you meant the ones from my teen years working at a gas station
they were round and set in concrete

 

[Veldro]

As promised, here are some more pictures. Also, the dial reads "Diebold," however, as digging wv pointed out, I have a feeling this isn't a Diebold safe...some of the overall characteristics don't seem to match other ones I've seen online. Again, I'm definitely no expert on these, so I could be completely wrong. It does seem to look very similar to the York that is posted, I will have to take a look online at some others and compare.

 

[boogeyman]

Well, the lock is a diebold. as said, there should be an access plate. Remove the plate to access the back of the lock mechanism. There should be a serial number on the lock mech. You can try googling that number, but you'll probably end up having to find a locksmith that has the books. If you can find the serial, post it & I'll look through my books as time permits.


Have you flipped the safe over & looked at the bottom? Some were stamped with a serial number & manufacturer, but I can't remember if Diebold did or not. The cash door in the upper left corner will take a regular cabinet lock, Sargent & Greenleaf locks fit the best & look more period so match better. Just a hint, try to access the lock & remove it when using paint stripper. Makes life easier getting the paint around it and saves having to do a bunch of extra work polishing the brass. Stripper plays heck with the brass.

If you don't mind me asking what'd you give up for it? Should turn out very nice with a good application of elbow grease.

 

[tamrock]

I came across this old safe that makes yours look a whole lot better in a vacant lot in Leadville Colorado last summer.

 

[digging wv]

If you take the lock off, be sure to get the dial ring back exactly where it came from. It doesn't take too much of a misalignment to make the combination off. Always make sure the lock will unlock with the door open! Much easier to fix a mistake that way. lol

 

[Veldro]

Well, the lock is a diebold. as said, there should be an access plate. Remove the plate to access the back of the lock mechanism. There should be a serial number on the lock mech. You can try googling that number, but you'll probably end up having to find a locksmith that has the books. If you can find the serial, post it & I'll look through my books as time permits.


Have you flipped the safe over & looked at the bottom? Some were stamped with a serial number & manufacturer, but I can't remember if Diebold did or not. The cash door in the upper left corner will take a regular cabinet lock, Sargent & Greenleaf locks fit the best & look more period so match better. Just a hint, try to access the lock & remove it when using paint stripper. Makes life easier getting the paint around it and saves having to do a bunch of extra work polishing the brass. Stripper plays heck with the brass.

If you don't mind me asking what'd you give up for it? Should turn out very nice with a good application of elbow grease.

Didn't see any numbers on the lock mechanism. Also tried looking underneath and didn't find anything there either. I got the safe for $200. I'm looking forward to restoring it to its former glory, just want to do my best to identify it correctly.

Found two safes online that look very similar to the one I have. One is a J. Baum, the other is a Hall's.

 

[Veldro]

Ok, I think I've found the right match this time. Found these pictures of some Schwab safes, they seem to be a perfect match: wheels, hinges, dial placement, and even the interior color all match. What do you guys think?

 

[boogeyman]

Nice! Pretty good deal!

If you don't want to hand paint the trim & name on the front, Testors (plastic models) has decal sheets that you can print on then place like we did with our model cars. I've been using this to do the graphics for everything from antique engines to old plumbers torches. If you can set a good picture of a label it's a breeze to touch it up in photo shop & print it out just as good as new! That & a little clear coat.

 

[Anduril]

Nobody's asked (that I know of)...
Isn't it a bit curious that this safe has wheels on it?

Nice safe, and should look very ole-timey once restored!

Speaking of safes: And this is directed to all forum members out there who might have a safe in their home...
Do Not Confuse a "fire-safe" with a "burglary safe".

I doubt TreasureNet is the right forum for this, but just a word of caution to everyone that many popular modern home-variety "safes" can be opened (i.e., defeated or bypassed) quite easily without knowing the combination or having a key. If in doubt about your particular safe, please spend a little time with Google. A lot of these safes make great fireproof containers, but absolutely terrible places to put your valulables. And obviously, if your safe is small enough to carry, you really should find a way to bolt it down.

 

[Ryans Rust]

Nobody's asked (that I know of)...
Isn't it a bit curious that this safe has wheels on it?

Nice safe, and should look very ole-timey once restored!

Speaking of safes: And this is directed to all forum members out there who might have a safe in their home...
Do Not Confuse a "fire-safe" with a "burglary safe".

I doubt TreasureNet is the right forum for this, but just a word of caution to everyone that many popular modern home-variety "safes" can be opened (i.e., defeated or bypassed) quite easily without knowing the combination or having a key. If in doubt about your particular safe, please spend a little time with Google. A lot of these safes make great fireproof containers, but absolutely terrible places to put your valulables. And obviously, if your safe is small enough to carry, you really should find a way to bolt it down.

A little more to add...

A lot of safes have wheels. Easier to get into place and then the wheels come off.

When bolting the safe, put it in a corner and hinges away from the wall. Harder (not impossible) for a crowbar to pop open the door.

As the previous poster mentioned, google your safe. A certain new electronic safe can be opened with just a large rare earth magnet.

Even bolted safes can been removed. (Salvation Army NC 2013 200lb safe bolted with 2 redheads) Even heavy safes can be lifted easily nowadays. Read a story of a guy who had his 1000+lb safe stolen and they did not even scratch a wall. He was confused how they did it. How I think they did it... Two Hydraulic Dollies. Can be bought for $700ea. or rented. Each can hold 4k lbs. Spend a little more and you can buy one that will drive the safe out.

So all in all a safe is not safe by its self. Most burglaries are from someone you know or someone you know who told someone else. Hide you safe. Have a decoy safe. Have cameras and a alarm. Have items stashed in different areas. Good Lighting, dogs, always locking doors/windows. Never posting on social media "I'm off to Hawaii for 2 weeks!" ect. Make them find an easier target.

It used to be open the safe on site using pry bars. Now with saws/torches that can cut thru anything, they prefer to move the safe.

I was just in Harbor Freight last week and a guy was asking me if I knew where the safe that was on sale was. It was behind me and I researched the safe previously. I told him all about the cons and how just a little bit more spent would be a much better bet. He didn't care. It was on sale! Made me want to say...."ok buddy, mind if I follow you home?" lol

 

[Ryans Rust]

Edit- The safe I thought was a match is not. It's a Southern California Safe Company (Distributor). It has different hinges among other differences.