Antique "gun" safe

[Stonewall]

I wasn't sure which area to post this but weapons seemed like the best fit, seems like this forum has been a little slow so maybe a few project threads with get things going again. 

 I purchased a large antique safe a few weeks ago and with everything being shut down I finally have some time to start working on it. It is a York Safe and Lock Co double door safe, I had seen some of the smaller end table sized ones but this was the first very large one I had seen. It is in pretty rough shape but I do not want to repaint it and loose the original lettering so I am going to try polishing it up the best I can, if anyone is interested in antique safes I can post pics and update as I work on it.

[The War Wagon]

Sure - post some pics of the inside & outside - should be cool to see wotcha got.

I see some on Pittsburgh Armslist, that folks have fixed up and repainted - they bring a pretty penny!

[Stonewall]

[Zombie.Hunter]

Nice, Straight up old school.
It'll look great once you clean it up.

[Stonewall]

It is unreal how heavy this thing is, I will have to get it into the house and after that I hope to never have to move it again.

I planned to remove the wood shelves and turn it into a gun safe, I have started trying to trace the history of the safe and now I am having second thoughts about tearing out the shelves. I really have no use for it with the shelves but I feel bad for gutting something that seems to have some unique history

[The War Wagon]

It is unreal how heavy this thing is, I will have to get it into the house and after that I hope to never have to move it again.

I planned to remove the wood shelves and turn it into a gun safe, I have started trying to trace the history of the safe and now I am having second thoughts about tearing out the shelves. I really have no use for it with the shelves but I feel bad for gutting something that seems to have some unique history

 There's the rub.  Make it into something YOU can use, or fix it up, and sell it to someone, for THEIR use.  

[Stonewall]

I will probably build rifle racks in it and maybe add som battery powered lights. I think it would take a while to sell just because of the size and weight, most house floors would support that much weight and it is too wide to fit through most doorways.

From my research I believe the safe was used in a dry goods store in Frederick MD, the sign for the store can me seen in the only known photo of confederate troops marching

[Stonewall]

I am still working on cleaning up the safe, new digital lock was supposed and hardened repair pins were supposed to be here today but looks like they are still in usps harrisburg.

I thought some info on the construction of this safe compared to a modern safe might be useful, not saying anything bad about anyone's Liberty safe but her is a comparison of the construction to a USA series 50 gun safe:

Liberty USA series uses one layer of 12 gauge steel (7/64 inch) followed by 5/8 drywall for fire protection, three layers in door and floor with one layer everywhere else. Carpet/felt lining on interior. 42x25x60 is the dimensions of the 50 gun safes and it weighs 646 pounds

Antique York safe is slightly larger 42x31x59 not counting the wheels but its estimated weight is between 3,300 and 4,200 pounds, I do not have any way to weigh it but that is the weight range of similar size/constructed antique safes. The exterior is 1/4 inch steel with 2.5 inch wide steel banding on the corners and in the center, behind that is 4 inches of concrete followed by another 1/4 inch steel plate.

The safe was located about an hour away from me and when I went down to buy it I was expecting it to weigh around 1200 pounds, it was certainly a surprise when we tried to move it

[The War Wagon]

The safe was located about an hour away from me and when I went down to buy it I was expecting it to weigh around 1200 pounds, it was certainly a surprise when we tried to move it

I'm guessing you DIDN'T stow 'n' go the seats in the Caravan, and roll it home in that!  

[Stonewall]

Well I had watched a youtube video from a safe company of two guys moving a 1200 pound safe, they tilted it against the back the truck then grabbed the bottom and just slid it in. Luckily I wanted to be sure we could move it so I hired three guys so we had a total of five guys plus my wife, we got it to the back of the truck and got it tilted against the back of the truck. From that point we could not even move it, we used 4x4 and digging bars to try and lift and we never even got the other two wheels off the ground. I ended up having to run out and rent a very low trailer and we were able to get it laid down onto the trailer, I strapped two eight foot 4x4 to it to give us leverage and basically turn it into a i big hand truck.

When we went to unload it I used a jack to left it and get metal pipes under it so it would roll, we rolled it off the trailer so the bottom was off the trailer and resting on the ground. I went to get more lumber from the back of the vehicle and noticed that the weight on the back edge of the trailer had caused the front to tilt up lifting the back tires of my jeep liberty off the ground. Somehow we managed to get it stood up and rolled into my garage.

It was supposed to go to a local locksmith and antique safe "expert" to get repaired but after all that I did not want to have to move it again so that is why I am doing the repairs