Reader Ratus was not happy with the simple lock that came with the COM safe (and probably the same goes for many others of the type) so he upgraded the lock. I am copy and pasting his original email and links here.
Okay, I’ve got some updates for you, it can be done but it’s not exactly a drop in replacement.
I will not call it a “pick proof” lock, but it requires a specialty pick and practice vs the stock one that could be picked almost any type of wire
So, I received my locks from eBay from two different sellers, but only one out of the three fits.
Also, the replacement is slightly taller.
Of the one that fits it’s a different tail piece then the current square one. So you can reuse the stock hook.
But, with about 15-20 minutes with a hacksaw and a file I made it work.
Mostly.
This when I found out that it is slightly taller than the stock one.
A trip to Lowe’s fixed that with the addition of a washer to take up the difference.
It works and still holds the same amount as before. A nice feature is that it’s key retaining in the open position, so you can’t leave it unlocked and think it’s locked.
A Dremel would probably be faster, but I wanted to see if it could be done with the most basic of tools. Of course a vise is very helpful, too.
All together it’s just over $10 with tax for everything.
I’ve attached an album, you can use everything except the pistol photo.
Also, I don’t get anything from the ebay seller.
Let me know if you have any questions.
5/8″ High Security Abloy key style Finland Tubular Cam Lock (key retaining) | eBay
Hillman 2 3/4-in Steel Machine Bushing in the Spacers & Machine Bushings department at Lowes.com
Thank you very much, Ratus. I keep saying this blog has some of the best readers out there and you guys keep proving me right.
Ahhh… my late night emails are not the best grammatically.
It’s “can’t be reused” and I think I’m missing a couple of articles of speech like “is”, my brain is always out running my typing.
I’m going to blame auto correct for any errors.
Also, I’ll try and answer questions if anyone has them, on this episode of the lockpicking blogger. 😛
LOL… If they have questions, they will ask. And thank you again!
It does no one any good to say “that sucks!” without explaining why and giving an alternative option to fix it.
Probably a good upgrade either way that will prevent picking, though I don’t think that is our primary worry. Just keep in mind that a cheap abaloy style lock or copy might just copy the key shape and cut all the tumblers or whatever they are called on an abaloy lock the same.
Edit – man replies seem to go in weird spots now. I though I was replying in the main comment box.
Thank you for the tips and documentation Ratus! This is mighty handy