Lego Combination Safe

 by merijnvw
Featured
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Do you need a place to store your money, but you don't want to spend a lot on a strongbox? Then try this lego version, it's a little less theft-proof than a real one, but it comes close.

I've seen a few combination safes on youtube, but they all used an at least 5 times bigger mechanism than this one. So if you build this safe you have less chance to run out of lego bricks before you're finished.

IMPORTANT: Before you decide to build this, look at the second picture below! Those are the fancy pieces needed. The first, the nine curved bricks, are absolutely required, but not necessarily in red. The two springs, are not extremely important; without it, the door doesn't 'jump' open as you can see in the video below. All other pieces I used, are common lego pieces which belong in an average lego collection, or are well replaceable by a surrogate.


So if you decide to build it, proceed to the next step!
 
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Step 1: The Rotors

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1: A round brick. Take three of these, as you can see in the bottom of the image. Each will be a rotor, number them 1,2, and 3, because later on, we'll treat each one different.
2: Place three curved bricks around it, leaving a gap which will be the rotor's notch.
3: A 4x4 plate on top of it.
4: Another round brick, on top of the plate.
5: Cover the rest with tiles.
6: Another plate, on top of the round brick, only for rotor 1 and 2.
7: Now place a 1x1 round brick on the top plate, the place of it will influence the number sequence of your safe. See the next image, an animated gif, to learn where you can put it.
8: Rotor 2 should be exactly like this. Rotor 3 aswell, but without the plate plus 1x1 round brick at the end. For rotor 1 you only need to add the two round plates at the beginning, without the stuff sticked in them.
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Enjoying Electronics says: Nov 8, 2012. 7:49 PM
Genius
Infinite_minus_zero says: Aug 3, 2011. 12:45 PM
Thus the problem remains: legos come apart. :P
someguyfromUK in reply to Infinite_minus_zeroMar 8, 2012. 9:29 AM
Just use a hot glue gun to stick the casing together. That's what the proffesional lego artists and people @ lego land do...
jobard in reply to Infinite_minus_zeroAug 10, 2011. 7:19 AM
This is not supposed to be really "safe". I wouldn't put anything valuable inside it, but it's a great gadget
Infinite_minus_zero in reply to jobardAug 10, 2011. 8:56 AM
haha, ya. or maybe you could glue the pieces together.
pickle5 says: Jul 6, 2011. 9:47 AM
i have like a TON of parts but not the right ones for any lego instructables
skolsox in reply to pickle5Dec 10, 2011. 7:03 AM
you can order individual pieces on the cheap form lego.com under pick a brick
ipwnupeep says: Dec 24, 2010. 5:45 PM
id just get a hammer and smash the whole thing open and jack the money
LegoScorpion381 in reply to ipwnupeepNov 6, 2011. 5:45 AM
Ya funny thing...Still an AMAZING idea
jharvison says: Jul 18, 2011. 4:15 PM
do you think you could add a parts list because its a real pain to go through the whole thing and come up with a list it would be extremely helpful and i hope it wouldnt be to hard to do please reply
merijnvw (author) in reply to jharvisonJul 26, 2011. 4:17 AM
look at the date, I made this intructible more than two years ago. I don't feel like updating it in eternity. I think I already mad it very comprehensible compared to most other lego ibles.
the most important bricks are the curved ones and the technical parts. the rest are regular bricks that you either already have or can find really easily, if not grey then a different colour
jharvison in reply to merijnvwJul 26, 2011. 1:57 PM
im sorry i was kinda in a bad mood when i posted it and now that i look at it i completely agree with you about it being comprehensible and i guess i can just make my own sorry about snapping at you like that i hope that in the future we can have better conversations than this
NE patsrock says: Jul 24, 2011. 9:48 AM
OMG
jhawthorne1 says: Jul 20, 2011. 8:54 AM
forgot ma com and why cant i breack into mine
pickle5 says: Jul 6, 2011. 9:44 AM
i have like a ton of parts but i seem to not have enough for lego instructables
akõre1 says: Jun 28, 2011. 3:54 AM
its so so COOL ,i want to bild it but i can t
lego dude 305 says: Jun 25, 2011. 2:23 PM
cool but can you make a mechanism with less of the curve pieces
ninjaaa says: Jun 17, 2011. 4:18 PM
Awesome!
cornonthecobert says: May 15, 2011. 11:11 AM
Anyone know a way to download the instructions without having to pay to be a pro member?
merijnvw (author) in reply to cornonthecobertMay 16, 2011. 9:56 AM
you need to be a pro member to see the text?? is this different from other 'ibles? I don't remember this ever happened to me, only sometimes the photos...
cornonthecobert in reply to merijnvwMay 19, 2011. 8:35 PM
@merijnvw, you don't need to be a pro member to see the text, but you need to to download as PDF (or print, @TheGeek1984
TheGeek1984 in reply to cornonthecobertMay 15, 2011. 11:44 AM
At the top click "Print PDF" then right click the link and click "Save As", choose where you want it saved, and click "Save".
cornonthecobert in reply to TheGeek1984May 19, 2011. 8:35 PM
@merijnvw, you don't need to be a pro member to see the text, but you need to to download as PDF (or print, @TheGeek1984)
soccernoodle says: Dec 20, 2010. 12:03 PM
wow this is amazing but i only have 8 of the curved pieces :( i am currently searching for the 9th one. wish me luck!
pie R []ed in reply to soccernoodleMay 15, 2011. 10:49 PM
make it with 1 less rotor...
merijnvw (author) in reply to soccernoodleDec 27, 2010. 8:13 AM
good luck
scistone in reply to merijnvwMay 15, 2011. 11:26 AM
I DON'T HAVE ANY! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
scistone says: May 15, 2011. 11:27 AM
U think I could make it without using legos?

I don't have some of the peices.
jackerboy says: May 15, 2011. 10:12 AM
i want to make this but i dont have enough peices
atomiclegocreations says: Apr 19, 2011. 10:10 AM
my comment below states that the rotor gets stuck. I mean that the rotor will stop. I guess because it's lose. A good shake or tilting the thing works, so I guess I fixed it. the only problem is constructing the box. I have this little coin dispenser thing and I worked so hard on it that I'm just not willing to destroy it. Would this work as a box?: The base of the locking thing would link with the bottom of the safe, then the top of the lock would be covered up with Legos.
merijnvw (author) in reply to atomiclegocreationsApr 25, 2011. 12:18 PM
Hey man I reasd your comment, I will try to think about it later as now I am on vacation in Berlin and I don't have much time, in a few days I will re-read this, hold on. In the meanwhile good luck!
merijnvw (author) in reply to merijnvwApr 28, 2011. 6:44 AM
Yes it would do I think, I don't have pics but I imagine it would work. You say it would interlink with the lego safe lock through the base. In my version they interlink on the side, but you could also make the lock underneath the 'coin dispenser'. Either way you could rotate the coin dispenser sideways to use it the same way I did. I don't have pics so I can't say much about it, good luck!
atomiclegocreations says: Apr 27, 2011. 3:29 PM
Actually, don't bother to think about it now.

I took it apart to get pieces and now after a LOT of creations I've made a coin bank that can hold a lot of change.

Sorry about that (but hey, now you don't have to think about a loose rotor)

But hey, thanks!
uberdum05 says: Apr 23, 2011. 9:58 AM
I once made a lego safe that used the NXT set and a motor but it was easily defeatable by pushing a phillips head screwdriver into where the motor was located then turning it 90 degrees...
atomiclegocreations says: Apr 18, 2011. 6:08 PM
for some reason, the 2nd rotor (behind the rotor with the dial) gets stuck at a point when it grabs onto the 3rd rotor. I've tried to do something, but it keeps doing it. Could you help?
pgardner says: Apr 9, 2011. 3:47 PM
can i just use bricks to go around the red circle?
merijnvw (author) in reply to pgardnerApr 11, 2011. 10:54 AM
not straight bricks because the pins should rest still on them until they can fall in, so they should have a curve. Or in another way they should make a circle. If you have another method please tell.
Lego man 201 says: Mar 12, 2011. 7:07 AM
This is probaly the easiest thin i've made because my cousin is an awseome lego builder and sent me a whole bag and taught me how to do a lego thing. Pictures coming
dobie354 says: Jan 18, 2011. 5:40 PM
I cannot wait to try probably the hardest (and coolest) thing i have ever made
I made a different version of a safe but it wasn't as cool.
(it didn't have the padlock type thing)
C.D33 says: Jan 9, 2011. 2:56 PM
Can you please update it with a parts list?
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