Tips for cracking a safe?

[Kinsters]

DH tried with a cheap stethoscope but couldn't hear the clicks. Now he's going to try with a dremel with a disc that can supposedly cut through steel, looks a bit small to me though. Any other bright ideas? Other than hire a locksmith, obviously. We will do that if we have to but it would be nice to be able to do it ourselves.

Not sure what's in the safe.

Can you get a Hacksaw blade into the gap at the top of the drawer?
It’s probably just a single metal arm rotated by the lock which is latching into the top of the cabinet.

Are any of the drawers below unlocked? And can you do a close up pic of the little brand logo at the top of the cabinet so we can try and find out the make please?

The other drawers don't open and we've no suitable keys. Apparently the combination will have been pre-set so not likely to be a known numb.

Love the hacksaw idea. Not sure we've got a hacksaw but might be able to find something suitable. In the meantime I'm fashioning some lockpicking tools!

You can order lock pick sets from Amazon.

If they're anything like my in-laws there will be a series of hiding places (very much like an escape room ) for the combination and keys (I get shown approx every other visit now much to dh's disgust as he's never been shown it lol) along the lines of:-

1. Loose tile in bathroom which boxes in waste pipe (contains cash and a few papers)
2. False shelf in wardrobe behind which is safe
3. Filing cabinet in another wardrobe contains key to yet another filing cabinet in spare room, which contains her papers and safe combination etc etc

Good luck!

Tries not to get excited over a new safe thread after the disappointment of last and fails.

@iknowimcoming

If they're anything like my in-laws there will be a series of hiding places (very much like an escape room ) for the combination and keys (I get shown approx every other visit now much to dh's disgust as he's never been shown it lol) along the lines of:-

1. Loose tile in bathroom which boxes in waste pipe (contains cash and a few papers)
2. False shelf in wardrobe behind which is safe
3. Filing cabinet in another wardrobe contains key to yet another filing cabinet in spare room, which contains her papers and safe combination etc etc

Good luck!

I'm sure there is some system like that but there's so much stuff in the house that we'd have no idea where to even start.

If my paperclips don't do the job then I'll order some proper tools.

Invested!! but as pp say, please don’t leave us all hanging when you get into it!

(Still cross and bitter about that safe in the cellar thread that never got resolved)

I vaguely remember the safe in the cellar thread (or might be thinking of something else, was it a safe in a house they'd moved into?). If the OP doesn't say what's inside then I'd assume it's something exciting enough that they don't want to update for fear of the daily mail or similar picking up the story.

Ooh I hope there's something worthy of all the effort in there!

Could you use a saw to cut the locks out of the front of the drawers or cut out a panel out to at least get an idea of what's inside?

Yes, DH's plan (if my lock picking doesn't work) is to kind of cut around the lock or pull it out somehow and cut into the back. Will have a better go at the weekend when DH is not working. Had a look for the big bunch of keys that I'm sure I saw previously but can't find them. I don't think the safe key would be on a keyring though tbh.

Turns out it's actually not embedded into the wall, it extended back into the room behind this one. Must be about 1m deep and the back is very sturdy and heavy (or perhaps full of files/documents so it sounds solid when you hit it). Anyway, DH managed to kick it forward a bit and we can see someone drilled into the top of the safe previously. The metal on the top is very thick. I just remembered we actually do have a little camera that should fit through the hole so hopefully we can use that to see what (if anything) is in there and also to crack the safe - DH assumes that is what the hole was drilled for previously.

You can get the house deeds online if you need it for probate.
Hated going through my uncles stuff when he died. Didn’t know what we’d find.
I hope you manage to get in it somehow. I bet there’s a key abs combination somewhere.

DH drilled out the lock. It's basically a massively sturdy filing cabinet so a fire safe is probably correct. Full of files and documents so nothing very exciting but exactly what we were after.

No hidden wads of cash or antique jewellery...? Dammit!

I'm glad you've got in eventually!

@SoupDragon

No hidden wads of cash or antique jewellery...? Dammit!

Sadly not! Theres two more locked drawers underneath this one which DH is now drilling as well. Someone has been in the safe before since the grandparents died though as the combination lock was bashed in. We assume that whoever opened it that time had the key but not the combination (most likely MIL).

Glad to hear you're got in. Anyone wanting a secure safe would be advised not to buy that on if it's so easy to break into

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

Glad to hear you're got in. Anyone wanting a secure safe would be advised not to buy that on if it's so easy to break into

Yep, very quick and very quiet to get into it. Wouldn't have been so easy if the combination lock hadn't been broken already though.