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I recently found reason to change the combination on my Liberty gun safe and found little to no information or manufacturer support to accomplish this.
Liberty actually told me it is impossible to change the combination. I took it apart (with no prior knowledge of the locking mechanisms workings) to see for myself, and found that that that claim was inaccurate.
The process is very simple and quick, at-least on this particular safe. I thought it might be of benefit to post a walk-through because I didn't find one in my searching.
I apologize in advance for the poor cell-phone pictures but I think they should be sufficient.
First things first, this is the safe and the dial configuration of my safe if there any questions about that. The locking mechanism itself appears to have been manufactured by TSI - Tristar Inc.
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1- Open the safe door and leave the handle in the open position.
2 - Locate the six plastic screw cover trim pieces on the door panel and pop off these covers, exposing Philips head screws.
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3- Remove screws referenced in step # 2
4- Set aside the door panel (it will make re-installation easier if you remember which side was up)
5-Locate the center lug of the locking mechanism. There is a 17mm nut on the end of this shaft that is secured by a nut retainer.
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6- Bend the tabs on the nut retainer back to allow removal of the nut.
7 - Take note of the position of the metal piece directly behind the nut retainer. There are only two possible positions for this piece, but if it falls off unintentionally it would be beneficial to know what position it was in.
8 - Remove the 17mm nut and nut retainer from the stud at the back of the locking mechanism. Note that this stud and nut secures the dial to the safe and it can now come out the front. If the nut cannot be loosened because the shaft spins this is because your handle has been moved to the closed position.
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9- Remove the piece mentioned in step 7, rotate 90 degrees, and re-install. This is the part that is actually changing your combination.
10- Re-install the nut retainer and nut. Note that the torque of this nut adjusts the thrust of the dial, so if you tighten it too far it will be difficult to turn and if it is too loose it will feel sloppy. Don't forget to bend the tabs on the nut retainer back.
11- Now its time to find out what your new combination is. Decide which way you want to rotate your lock for the first number, you can end up with two different combinations, I wrote both down to see which one I liked more. Turn the dial several times to reset the plates on the inside ( you will know this has happened when all 3 plates are rotating on the inside of the locking mechanism.
12- Turn the dial until the plate closest to the door lines up to the opening position (there is only one slot on each plate long enough for the handle linkage to move far enough to open the bolts of the door), this should be easy to see, especially if you took note of its operation when you first took it apart) Write this down, it is your first number.
13- Rotate the dial one full rotation the other direction and then do the same thing with the middle plate in the mechanism. When it is lined up write down that number, this is your second number.
14- Reverse the rotation one more time to find your final number when the large slot in the plate furthest from the door lines up with the other two plates that should already be in the correct position. If the handle does not open and close freely now, you did something wrong. Go back to step 11.
15- Try it out 2, 3, 4, or 10 more times to make sure you are confident in the combination you have written down, and then re-install the door panel.
Congratulations, you have now changed the combination of your safe.
Liberty actually told me it is impossible to change the combination. I took it apart (with no prior knowledge of the locking mechanisms workings) to see for myself, and found that that that claim was inaccurate.
The process is very simple and quick, at-least on this particular safe. I thought it might be of benefit to post a walk-through because I didn't find one in my searching.
I apologize in advance for the poor cell-phone pictures but I think they should be sufficient.
First things first, this is the safe and the dial configuration of my safe if there any questions about that. The locking mechanism itself appears to have been manufactured by TSI - Tristar Inc.
1- Open the safe door and leave the handle in the open position.
2 - Locate the six plastic screw cover trim pieces on the door panel and pop off these covers, exposing Philips head screws.
3- Remove screws referenced in step # 2
4- Set aside the door panel (it will make re-installation easier if you remember which side was up)
5-Locate the center lug of the locking mechanism. There is a 17mm nut on the end of this shaft that is secured by a nut retainer.
6- Bend the tabs on the nut retainer back to allow removal of the nut.
7 - Take note of the position of the metal piece directly behind the nut retainer. There are only two possible positions for this piece, but if it falls off unintentionally it would be beneficial to know what position it was in.
8 - Remove the 17mm nut and nut retainer from the stud at the back of the locking mechanism. Note that this stud and nut secures the dial to the safe and it can now come out the front. If the nut cannot be loosened because the shaft spins this is because your handle has been moved to the closed position.
9- Remove the piece mentioned in step 7, rotate 90 degrees, and re-install. This is the part that is actually changing your combination.
10- Re-install the nut retainer and nut. Note that the torque of this nut adjusts the thrust of the dial, so if you tighten it too far it will be difficult to turn and if it is too loose it will feel sloppy. Don't forget to bend the tabs on the nut retainer back.
11- Now its time to find out what your new combination is. Decide which way you want to rotate your lock for the first number, you can end up with two different combinations, I wrote both down to see which one I liked more. Turn the dial several times to reset the plates on the inside ( you will know this has happened when all 3 plates are rotating on the inside of the locking mechanism.
12- Turn the dial until the plate closest to the door lines up to the opening position (there is only one slot on each plate long enough for the handle linkage to move far enough to open the bolts of the door), this should be easy to see, especially if you took note of its operation when you first took it apart) Write this down, it is your first number.
13- Rotate the dial one full rotation the other direction and then do the same thing with the middle plate in the mechanism. When it is lined up write down that number, this is your second number.
14- Reverse the rotation one more time to find your final number when the large slot in the plate furthest from the door lines up with the other two plates that should already be in the correct position. If the handle does not open and close freely now, you did something wrong. Go back to step 11.
15- Try it out 2, 3, 4, or 10 more times to make sure you are confident in the combination you have written down, and then re-install the door panel.
Congratulations, you have now changed the combination of your safe.
