York Ely-Norris cannonball safe with pie timelock

vlad0002 · 2008-06-04T18:54:30+00:00

Just wanted to share some pictures of my ‘new’ Ely-Norris cannonball safe. I have extaracted it from a banks vault in nothern Iowa. The name of the bank is on the safe. Everything is original and complete, all the timelock keys are there. Timelock functions great. Finish is very well preserved. However, from temperature/humidity fluctuations in the vault, the finish underlayer got loose, causing the paint to crack, ‘breathe’ and chip off easily. To remedy this problem I’ve sprayed several coats of Krylon triple-thick glaze. This helped a lot – finish now stays put, but not sure for how long. Because the safe is so nicely preserved overall, I was thinking of not refinishing it. Instead I would like to patch up the areas where the finish is gone. Any pointers here? One guy told me that a color-matched epoxy might do the trick. Also, any kind of info about this type of safe will be highly appreciated. Like an old catalog, maybe? What might be a value of such safe in the condition shown? The safe is 45 inches high, weights 3,000 lbs. I saw this timelock alone going for ~$1000 on eBay not long ago… Thanks again.

Doug MacQueen

Oh How I love a good debate. The difference here is that you used your ignorance of the subject as a rebuttal to refute the facts that were given you. Boy doesn’ t that sound familiar. Anyway, yes the door is quite solid for several inches of hardened and tempered manganese steel separating the outer and inner locking mechanisms. You will never be happy until you get that outer door unlocked. At least I wouldn’t.

1977Vega

You’re very eloquent, I give your that. Sometimes simpler language is more effective in the form of “this won’t get you there, this don’t work, and don’t bother trying this”. Anyways, I’m not really interested in having it drilled only because of the front being somewhat decorative. If it can’t be manipulated, then it’ll remain decorative, which is why I really bought it in the first place. I got it for a good price considering what cannonballs go for on ebay. It’s missing a few items, the key for the time clock door and wind up keys. The door needs a slight adjusting as it doesn’t close all the way, not enough to engage by using the crank. All in all, still happy with it.

Doug MacQueen

Professional safe drilling to find a lost combination is usually is done with a ¼″ or smaller hole. Some techs have extremely small scopes so the drilled hole can be much smaller than a ¼″. Either way the hole is filled and can be fairly well hidden, sometimes extremely well. There have been many safes I have opened where I did not notice a drill job until I looked on the inside. In the safe trade, cannonballs are considered mechanical marvels, and that Yale time lock automatic bolt motor is nothing short of ingenious. Being that you have mechanical interests, you would enjoy it being fully functional. Jeff is close enough, whatever you invest in it will only increase its value.

1977Vega

Yeah, it would be neat to have it fully functional, but I have some work to do on the door to get it to close properly. I paid 800 for it so I did extremely well on that front. Is there any way to find out lineage or any type of records through serial numbers? I’ve noticed various areas with the same number stamped in it. The guy I purchased it from had bought it in October of 88, from a pawn shop in Gary Indiana, which is still in business today. He got it because his wife wanted it, so he made the trip from New Jersey with a UHaul trailer. The safe is labeled as a Wells Fargo safe, be cool to find out if there is any truth to it

1977Vega

Here’s another picture

1977Vega

Try that again

00247

That is a very nice safe that deserves the effort to get it operational again. Unfortunately, there are not many who have a good understanding of the mechanics of this safe or other brands of cannonballs. There are even fewer who are willing to share their knowledge.

Doug has been an invaluable source of information for me (and many others) with my safe projects even going out of his way to provide a rare bolt missing out of one of my Mosler/Yale 5H locks. I would review his answers as your question was answered.

I too like to do all aspects of my projects, but at times I have to swallow my pride and seek assistance from those who know more than me. Each time I come away a bit smarter. Keep us posted on your progress. It is always fun to see these beauties preserved.

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