The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-27
CALLS BURGLARS BUNGLERS.
SAFE LOCK EXPERT FEELS S(ORN
FOR THEIR WORK.
Never saw Cool Job Done by Cracks.
man. He Declares Part Of His Business
Is to Open safes for Careless Men
VINO Have FOrgO en- the COinDinat Il on.

mere u III lueU tuuL DuTSdtS wiz NC
vote themselves to safe breaking must be
skilled workmen in that line Of business.
A locksmith of long experience denies that
such is the case. He regards all burglars
as bunglers.
There may be few experts, he said.
"but have never had the pleasure Of meet
ing any Of them.
People have very peculiar ideas on the
subject Of safes anyway. When busi-
ness man forgets the combination OF his
safe he sends around to the shop for q
man to come and open the safe. He usually
believes that in a very few minutes he will
be able to get what he wants from 1t.
at Is true, Of course. that q locksmith
can sometimes hit upon the right combina-
ton by working on a definite system FOR
an hour or two, and 80 running through the
combinations that are most commonly
used. For instance, 1t Is a favorite plan for
men who own safes to choose combinations
on three dial lock like 10. 20 and so. or 90
40 and 90, or so, 90 and co. Other people
treble the first and second numbers. like
9, 18 and 5A
these and similar ways OF choosing
combinations are used because 1t makes
the numbers easier to remember than II
they had no relative significance. So there
are combinations that are used by hundreds
Of men on as many different safes.
when a locksmith fails to open safe
by these means there Is nothing left for
him to do but to bore small hole just above
the dials, 30 that he may see the internal
workings OF the lock- Then it Is very
easy matter for him to unlock tho safe.
But the boring Of the hole is long. diff
cult and laborious job. The drills used
are made Of the hardest kind Of steel. but
as a rule a part, II not all, Of the door IL
nearly as hard az the drills.
1T Is matter OF several hours and some
times of many hours before the hole is
drilled Although the Roadway made Is
exceedingly slow. the drills get dull fast
enough. One man is kept busy sharpening
them while another man dulls them.
Not long ago had to make hole In a
big safe ~ feet high. The outside casing
of the door Though which I had to drill
was ~ inches thick, and finished the job
in six hours.
A few days later had to drill hole
in a much smaller safe, The outer part
Of the door consisted Of 2 inches Of chilled
iron and five-eighths OF an inch OF steel; 1t
Il have had many amusing experiences
with men whose safes had to open. One
fellow, a shoe manufacturer. supposed
was going to try all the combinations that
it was possible to make. l explained to
combinations. two dial lock. 10000 COM
binations and three dial lock-, 1000 0o0
This mans safe had three dial lock-
Another business man who had for
gotten his combination over Sunday took
"a r hat ,tnr
because had set the combination for
him several years previously, Persons
frequently get the numbers Of their COM
binations mixed, and locksmiths are always
on the lookout for Just that thing.
once sent for for me because the lock Of his
safe was out OF order. He told me the
combination was II, "a, II. tried II, but
the lock did not respond for me any better
than it had for the owner.
numbers he had given me, and try H.. II,
a. When did 80 the lock responded.
Before knew as much Of human nature
as I do now a manufacturing jeweler in
Maiden Lane completely fooled me. His
lock was out OF order, ne said He gave
me the combination, but gained no re-
suits by it's use.
when asked him II he was sure he had
given me the correct combination he was
greatly amused. Why, OF course he had.
Hadn't he opened that safe every day for
the last twelve years on that same COM
Il could only believe that he knew what
he was talking about. After l had spent
half day boring hole in the door found
that he had made the same mistake as the
other man. that OF reversing two Of his
I'VE never do any damage that we can
not repair. That Is more than you can
say Of most cracksmen. 1t is also the rea-
son why it often takes US such long time
to open safe.
blow off the outside casing, Of the door,
so that they may get at the bolts. Others
take a sledge hammer and smash the door
to pieces. OF course they must do their
work more OF less hurriedly.
Even when burglars do drill holes in
work in one way or another: Their drills
break of In the hole or they bore the holes
so crooked that they are OF no use to them
after they are made
Although they occasionally manage
the swag, / have never seen a Job done by
a lawbreaker that was not botch and hich
could not have been executed more neatly
by a legitimate workman.
"Yes, indeed the craftsmen get their
skilfui at their trade. will admit that
there are and have been some exceptions
to the general run Of bunglers, although
never happened to examine the work done
by the really clever members Of the masked
fraternity.
"No, it does not impair the value Of
safe to bore hole in the door. We counter
sink the hole afterward, making 1t beveled
toward the inside. Then We put red
hot beveled plug in and rivet it on the in
side. 1t is impossible to remove the plug
without smashing the door.
when the door Is reprinted on the out
side it is next to impossible to discover a
plug is there. II an attempt ia made to
bore through the plug the latter invariably
turns after the drill has entered little
way, and thus impedes further progress.
"As / remarked before, we never do any
damage that we cannot repair. A we'll
known lawyer once called on me to open
his safe, the lock Of which would not work.
He said that important papers were In the
safe, and that he must have them inside an
hour.
"When explained to him that it meant
several hours at least to bore hole he asked
me II could not smash the door or the
lock. I told him that 1t could be done with
a heavy, sharp pointed sledge hammer
but that refused to do business that way
He sent me back to the shop for my tools.
when / returned found the door and
the lock utterly ruined The LAWYER had