Winchester gun safe fail (and fix idea)

my safe wouldnt open and I had to cut it to get inside. I created this video in the hopes that this wouldn't happen to someone else.

[@frederickgrayson5177]

That pin is called a relocker. If a thief were to use a punch to pound the lock off the door from the outside the pin is spring driven into place to prevent the door from opening. Yours was malfunctioning and could have been corrected. Removing the relocker significantly reduces the security of the safe.

[@williamgrowiii1244]

That's good to know. How would one correct a malfunctioned relocker if the safe was locked closed?

[@frederickgrayson5177]

@@williamgrowiii1244 You will have to gain entry via drilling or cutting. I suggest that when you buy a safe, you immediately remove the panel on the inside of the door that hides the lockworks and photograph all the mechanicals along with a ruler or tape measure in the picture, determine drill points, and other factors that will let you gain entry later if needed. Having a ruler in the photographs will let you determine the locations of these important items from the outside. The idea is to know exactly where to cut or drill such that you gain entry and do minimal damage that is more easily repaired. The time to figure all this out is before you need the information, not later when you can't determine what information you need.

[@michaelslaughter6557]

​@@williamgrowiii1244You would dial the company's customer service and troubleshoot. Also investigate the problem online, and look for answers. Locksmiths also know locksmithing.

[@elliotlee233]

Yep that kind of device is a fail safe device called a relocker, they have been common on the majority of safes for about 100 years, generally they are fitted directly to the locking mechanism and are triggered by physical force (like the one in your safe, if someone tried to knock the electronic locking bolt off the back of the door, it would take that flat piece of metal with it, releasing the spring bolt), on more sophisticated safes the relocker can have several means of activation ranging from wires under spring tension with heat sensitive crimps forming the wires into loops, so if they are exposed to excessive heat (like from a cutting torch) the crimp melts releasing the loop and triggering the relocker, or a very common one is mounting the locking devices on a tempered glass block that will break if someone attempts to drill through it, or if anyone hits the door, this type of glass trigger has been known to break and activate the relocker just because the door has been slammed shut too hard). Relockers in general are much harder to overcome than just a locked safe, this is exactly what they are designed to do/be, and on lower end safes it's actually cheaper to just do what you have done and buy a replacement safe.

[@neonnight34609]

Some expensive safes have glass relockers. This is why they tell you to open the safe before moving it

[@MainePredator]

Thanks for the great video ! That's a shame about your safe , just a thought but do you think a really strong magnet could lift that pin from the outside of the door ?

[@williamgrowiii1244]

Unsure. I'd probably just take the inside cover off, and remove the pin to be honest. An ounce of prevention and all that

[@customerservice95]

Let us know when you remove the relocker from your next safe and I'll send some to test the functionality for you:)

[@uknowbass]

Can you service my safe? Winchester customer service reply: egy perc 😂. Never go cheap on a potential nightmare; liberty mechanical dial. Interesting video tho