Message from discussion Safe Manufacturers [Was Re: Anyone Know About Sturdy Safe Company?]

Path: sparky!uunet!think.com!ames!haven.umd.edu!mimsy!psilink.com
From: p00...@psilink.com (Julius Chang)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Safe Manufacturers [Was Re: Anyone Know About Sturdy Safe Company?]
Message-ID: <2942368967.5.p00302@psilink.com>
Date: 28 Mar 93 22:31:13 GMT
Sender: mag...@mimsy.umd.edu
Organization: Performance Systems Int'l
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Approved: gun-cont...@cs.umd.edu
In-Reply-To:    <jrh.2bb404a7-e@mustang.dell.com>


	The 1991 Gun Tests Buying Guide has an article on choosing
	a gun safe.

	Summary:

	1)  Look for the heaviest door and body that you can deal with.
	Typically, the door is thicker than the body.

	2)  Look for lots of heavy bolts.

	3)  Choose a safe that uses multiple relockers to defeat
	assaults by heat, impact, and drilling.

	4)  Look for protective hard plate to stop drilling attacks to
	the lock mechanism (basically heat-treated steel plates with
	high Rockwell C hardness).

	5)  Manipulation-resistant locks (Sargeant & Greenleaf is the
	most common brand although there are several versions of S&G
	combination locks).

	I'll add my own criteria:

	6)  Reinforced door frame.

	7)  Hinges that ride on ball bearings.  My safe has hidden hinges
	but I don't think that it is a big deal as long as the door has
	locking bolts on both sides.

	8)  Removable door (useful for moving really heavy safes since
	a lot of the weight is in the door; and useful if a burglar attacks
	the door -- just replace it rather than the whole box).  Consider
	if you need a door that opens left or right.

	9)  Tight-fitting door to resist prying/peeling attacks.

	10)  At least one feedthru so that you can run electricity inside
	the safe (for a heater or a light).

	11)  Feedthrus so that you can anchor the safe to the floor and/or
	the wall.

	Whatever you get, I suggest anchoring it to something relatively
	immoveable (like the house).  My Liberty L-25 weighs about
	600 lbs. empty and I was able to move it into my house solo.
	My short Mosler fire safe weighs about 300 lbs. and that is very
	easy to move.

	I weigh 145 lbs. and used a refrigerator dolly to wheel the
	suckers around.  Didn't deal with going up any stairs, but
	gravity will be on the burglar's side anyway.

	A mover actually put the Mosler on his back using a "hump" strap
	and walked the safe down a long flight of stairs when I moved
	recently.

	Another friend of mine has a Browning Pro-Steel and an FFL-friend
	has some of those lighter-weight Treadlok gun lockers.

	Part of the cost involved includes a fancy paint job if you are
	concerned with aesthetics.  I thought that National Security had
	a great paint job.  If you don't care, Amsec has some big safes
	at a lower price (last I saw, they used a crinkle-type paint).

	-Julius