I was surprised to read that they filled their hole with old carbide drill bit tips and J-B Weld (a two-part epoxy). I was expecting it to be welded closed.
Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
21–30 of 52 posts
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#22I once bought a vacation home that was a century-old English cottage that went through 7 different owners over time. It once belonged to a US state senator. Another time it belonged to a prominent local businessman who went to jail for white collar crime, and went through a nasty divorce. Anyway, the house had a TL-15 Star Safe embedded in the wall in the master bedroom. The previous owner did not know the combinatio…
Very interesting. A TL-15 is an excellent container, but I'm not familiar with a 5 wheel combination lock in commercial service in the US. I have a S&G vault lock which has 4 wheels. I don't doubt 5 wheel locks exist though, especially if the safe was possibly installed for a US Senator. Would definitely be interesting to see some photos of the lock (both outside and inside) if you still have any.
Reminds me of this: https://blackbag.toool.nl/?p=31
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
The first thing I though about when listening to his description of moving the dial was a servo motor with a torque measuring shaft hooked to a microcontroller. It sounds like you could just graph torque required to turn it over 360 degrees to get the same info he was getting.
This is called the "soft drill". And strangely, this can still be a destructive attack. There are systems that can do proper manipulation by graphing out the gates, and there are systems that just do brute force attacks by dialing every combination. I've been told that the brute force machines that try every combination typically wear the lock out and it needs to be replaced afterwords.
Yeah, I certainly figure someone has done this before with varying success. At the extreme end I imagine someone could just design a dial with a centrifugal clutch that if spun beyond a certain speed clutches out permanently and locks the dial shaft. My limited understanding of anti-theft mechanisms in safes is they are generally destructive, making it impossible for anyone to open the safe once activated.
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#24I was surprised to read that they filled their hole with old carbide drill bit tips and J-B Weld (a two-part epoxy). I was expecting it to be welded closed.
Likely stronger than welding against drilling. Weld bead is generally pretty easy to drill through. Carbide drill bits you’d need diamond to cut through. Sure you could cut through the JB weld, but you’ll obliterate your drill bits as soon as you hit the carbide.
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#25I just posted this amateur documentary about a guy that prides himself in saving safes from the drill. He only does manipulation. He uses a stethoscope and sometimes a laser pointer to visualize the wheel angles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hz_kjTc8DQ
The first thing I though about when listening to his description of moving the dial was a servo motor with a torque measuring shaft hooked to a microcontroller. It sounds like you could just graph torque required to turn it over 360 degrees to get the same info he was getting.
If you are interested in safe cracking there are training tools available, at least for the consumer-style S&G locks.
https://www.sparrowslockpicks.ca/product_p/sdial.htm
(Sparrows makes good stuff, but note how the .com website doesn't list where they are actually located. The .ca is out and proud about their real address.)
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#26They have machines that try every combination. (For example: https://blog.enbewe.de/2023/01/26/opening-a-safe-the-diy-way... ) If you know how many digits and the Left-Right pattern, wouldn’t this be the best way to do this, assuming you have a week to run it?
Came here to say this! What a great device.
Cracker: "So I brute forced your safe"
Customer: "I asked you not to damage it!"
Cracker: "No damage. The combo is 27, 32, 14"
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#27I was surprised to read that they filled their hole with old carbide drill bit tips and J-B Weld (a two-part epoxy). I was expecting it to be welded closed.
Likely stronger than welding against drilling. Weld bead is generally pretty easy to drill through. Carbide drill bits you’d need diamond to cut through. Sure you could cut through the JB weld, but you’ll obliterate your drill bits as soon as you hit the carbide.
Carbide junk in a hole will not only shatter weak drill bits but also deflect the stronger bits sideways, likely snapping them. Many security devices insert carbide debris, usually ball bearings, as protection over areas likely to be drilled.
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#28The Lock-Picking Lawyer shows the modern way to do this.[1]
Yes, there is an app for that.
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#29I once bought a vacation home that was a century-old English cottage that went through 7 different owners over time. It once belonged to a US state senator. Another time it belonged to a prominent local businessman who went to jail for white collar crime, and went through a nasty divorce. Anyway, the house had a TL-15 Star Safe embedded in the wall in the master bedroom. The previous owner did not know the combinatio…
Very interesting. A TL-15 is an excellent container, but I'm not familiar with a 5 wheel combination lock in commercial service in the US. I have a S&G vault lock which has 4 wheels. I don't doubt 5 wheel locks exist though, especially if the safe was possibly installed for a US Senator. Would definitely be interesting to see some photos of the lock (both outside and inside) if you still have any. Reminds me of this:…
Here is a picture of the inside: https://ibb.co/sF8RLDv I can't seem to locate a picture of the outside.
The politician owner was not a "US senator" but a "state senator", IOW not a member of the US Senate but of the state senate. So not as prestigious as you think :)
Re: Unlocking a Gary TL-15 Round-Door Safe (2009)
#30That style of writing. It really goes down easy.
but who's the author?