Safe recommendations

[Frank Cox]

I have an old safe that was here when I bought the building. Really old. It looks like something Al Capone would use.

Long story short, I'm thinking that it might be time to replace it.

I measured the interior storage area and it's 15x20x13; the exterior is much bigger, of course.

I really don't know anything about safes so I wonder if any of you fine folks have a recommendation for something similar to replace this old monster with?

[Randy Stankey]

Old safes can still be good if they were well made in the first place. Older locking mechanisms might be antiquated by today's standards but it might still take a skilled safecracker to open them. Another question is whether it's fireproof or not...or whether the fireproofing is still good. Is a fireproof safe even important to you?

What company manufactured it? Is there a model/serial number on it? You might be able to look it up and find out whether it's still good. Who knows? It might be worth money on the collectibles market.

If the safe is the kind that is bolted down, you might be able to replace the lock with a more modern version as long as the door and body are still good.

Is there a reputable locksmith in town who could come and take a look at it?

[Frank Cox]

The body is rusting out and is pretty much shot. The inside "lining" is also torn up and whatever was between that lining and the outer walls has disintegrated and disappeared.

I actually did have the locking mechanism replaced about 20 years ago and if that was the only issue I'd have it replaced or repaired again. But since the body seems to be falling apart now, I think it's past the "rehab" stage.

[Randy Stankey]

Yeah, if the thing is rusting out you'll want to get it replaced.

It could be lined with asbestos. If the asbestos is intact, no problem but, if it's crumbling you ought to get rid of it.

[Carsten Kurz]

In most reports that I read about burglary around here, a safe was simply taken out and cracked open somewhere else. Appears to me that a safe is only useful if it is securely bolted to a massive wall.

[Jim Cassedy]

In most reports that I read about burglary around here, a
safe was simply taken out and cracked open somewhere else.

That's what I've seen here too, TWICE in a couple of theaters I worked at.
At one of them, they took the safe into the auditorium, and smashed it open
in there. They brought a huge sledge hammer and chisel-thing, but it still
probably took them some time to smash it open, but being as how the
auditorium was pretty sound-proof, it probably couldn't be heard from outside.
Unfortunately, for me, I've been the one who discovered the break-ins three
times, since I was the first one to arrive at the theater to do some projector
maintenance or film inspection, the police also considered me as a suspect.
I know they looked into my background and bank accounts to see if I had
any sudden increases of income or made any large deposits that couldn't
be explained. But except for some parking tickets and some tax trouble I
got into over a decade ago (and which was resolved) I'm pretty 'clean'.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Seems these days any small office/business safe is subject to the "just walk away with it and open it later" problem. If you do replace it make it something equally substantial, or bolt it to a concrete floor, better yet pour a concrete floor/wall around it. ;-) Or use the old school trick of making it harder to find. The classic office safe hidden behind a painting or wall panel trick that is in so many movies.

Gun safes might be cheaper and an adequate surrogate, and are usually larger. There is probably market segment driven pricing at play.

[Lyle Romer]

In most reports that I read about burglary around here, a safe was simply taken out and cracked open somewhere else. Appears to me that a safe is only useful if it is securely bolted to a massive wall.

The two keys to any safe are:

Film-Tech Forums - Make it as difficult and time consuming as possible to remove and take somewhere else
Film-Tech Cinema Systems - Make it as difficult and time consuming as possible to open on site

Given enough time and effort, any safe can be removed or opened by an unauthorized person. The goal is to make it difficult enough that the reward isn't worth the risk of getting caught.

[Dustin Grush]

The two keys to any safe are:

Film-Tech Forums - Make it as difficult and time consuming as possible to remove and take somewhere else
Film-Tech Cinema Systems - Make it as difficult and time consuming as possible to open on site

Given enough time and effort, any safe can be removed or opened by an unauthorized person. The goal is to make it difficult enough that the reward isn't worth the risk of getting caught.

I've done some research in this area and these are spot on with the pro's recommendations. If you have space, it might be a good idea to keep your old one as a decoy and make the new one harder to find. Old safes seem to pop up on FB marketplace around here on the regular and are often better quality than stuff made today. I've even seen them "free if you can move it" type listings. I've got both new and old. I could probably open the new one with hand tools in 15 minutes or less. The old is 3000# and nearly killed me getting it inside. Price was the same, guess where the money is...