by Norsesmithy on Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:30 am
The old Chubb safes, famous for being uncrackable (before the invention of cutting torches and dynamite) used two or three locks to secure a central hub that controlled 2 to 4 bolts per edge (including the hinge edge), depending on the size of the safe.
That, I think, would be the ideal solution, more than one lock and the largest, most robust bolts/motion you can fit in the door.
Another feature some high end safes have is a glass plate that, if broken, will cause the bolts to disengage from the motion, so if someone tries to drill the safe to get at the locks or motion, the safe becomes broken shut, requiring the destruction of the door to open it. I guess I always thought that a feature like that made sense if your contents had a value sufficiently greater than the cost of having a professional cut your door and replacing the safe, and your safe was heavy enough to make removing it from the premises impossible (IE bullion).
Realistically, though, I think that I'd not want to deal with the worry that I might crack the glass slamming the door or whatever, and just accept that if a dedicated professional wants in, I can't do anything to stop him short of being there with a gun.
Given that, I think we want the safe to be as resistant to smash and grab as we can make it without making it impossible to take it with me if I move, we want it to protect its contents in the case of fire, we want it to be mounted such that it is as close to impossible to remove without opening it as possible (I like the idea of putting it on a joisted floor, and securing it to steel beams held to the bottom of the floor above the ceiling below, and having the steel beams be 8 foot or so long, so if someone decides to try and pry it off the floor, they have to tear up the bit of floor they're standing on, making that a bit tricky).
I don't think we need to worry about opening it in a hurry, because we are probably going to have at least one loaded firearm accessible to us when we are at home. Or at least I do.