Yep the downside to a small safe is that its portable. Even if just bolted to studs they could beat out out..or get your saw out and cut it out. I like those thin safes that go between the studs that you place a picture over unless they move every picture on your wall they won't find it...and dont just put it in your closet.
I bought a Gun Safe that's fire rated at Costco, on close out ($400 or $450 I think it retailed for $1100) Lets just say its in my basement and it will stay with the house if I ever move. Cause I'm not moving it again. I just helped move my buddies down to his basement, he also bought his on close out at Costco too. I used a home made skid buckled it on and winched it down his stairs. But always buy bigger than you think you'll need. Good luck
Depending on size you get of course, I would suggest putting a second small fire rated safe inside the first fire rated one. Pictures and zip drives don't like heat and the second smaller safe like a small lock box office type at the bottom of your larger safe will greatly increase the chances of them surviving a fire. Of course this only works if you get a safe that is larger than you think you need!!!
Safes are a part of my business. Most have offered good points here, and I will repeat the ones I feel are important. Fire rated safes are an absolute for your use. Know that these ratings vary though. A real fire safe will carry a rating of 60 minutes. The rating means that the interior of the safe will not exceed 350 degrees as the exterior temperature max's out at 1700 (this number will vary too). Most gun safes are reduced time spans and exterior temps. 45 minutes at 1100 degrees is a common rating for those. Safes referred to as record safes are usually smaller, and have the full 350/1700 rating. For your price point I would be looking at gun safes from Tractor Supply, but when they are on sale. They carry Cannon and Winchester safes that I feel are decent products. I am partial to the Winchester. They each weigh around 550lbs. If you put one of those in the house, backed up to a wall, you can drill holes through the back of the safe and bolt it to the wall studs with 3/8 lags. One lag toward the top and one mid way down should hold that safe fine. Since the fire rating is not a true record safe type of rating, add another small fire box that you see on the shelves at big box stores to hold the cash, paper and media. That box is about the size of a boot box or small cooler. This should offer sufficient protection. One thing that really makes a safe better than the next is the quality of the bolt work and dial. Dials referred to as Group II dials are what you want. Bolt work is tough to determine by the layman. I have seen the insides of the two safes I mentioned an am comfortable with the workings. I have also had to open many Sentry and similar econo safes when the owner had a valid combination, but failure within the workings caused lockout. Good record safes can be had by American Security Products, and Gardall. The most common size record safe measures 15 x 12 or thereabouts, as an inside dimension. That size allows for files and full sheets of paper to be stacked flat and maximize capacity. Those safes run about 700 bucks and weigh around 250 lbs.
Jack Straw , Home Depot has small safes' on one day sale today if you are still looking. http://www.homedepot.com/SpecialBuy...eting-_-affiliate-_-featured-_-img_1bc-_-alp&
Lowes I think had some of those baby safes on black friday sale. I bet every store has some sort of sale on safes. There a big item.
This is the safe that grandma left in the house. Is it of any value? How much would you trust it for as old as it is? how old is it? Got combo and it works.
Holy necrobump batman! That's a good safe there greenstick! Those old safes hold value pretty well. Myway can tell more I'm sure, but with 1hr of fire protection and not rusty, I'd say that is worth $200 to $300 used (in my area) so that means get it out of the snow pile my man! To replace it with a new comparable one would cost at least $400 and probably not be as good of steel. The only downside I can see from the pics is 1 bolt on the door, and no mounting holes to bolt it to the wall.
That safe doesn't look too bad. My guess is from the 50's or 60's era. It does have a single bolt, but bolts on both sides of the door, so the hinges would not provide access if removed. Meilink is a decent name. The old safes can loose their fire retardant ability to some extent, but that one is not so old as to likely suffer from that. If it is free, it's for me. Just look into my garage sometime. The casters will make it easy to move, for both you and a crook. Drill 5/16 holes in the back and bolt it to a wall with 5/16 lags. Should do the trick. Unless of course you are packing it full of cash. And someone has an idea of that.
Probably not much. Old safes just don't bring much. There are plenty around, people just don't throw them out. They are also very difficult to move. My area it would get 150 or so. Some old postal safes can bring fair change, but they are usually loaded with wood shelves and such.
We just purchased a Superior Safe. Don't waste your time on the safes from Sam's Club or Tractor Supply. You will most likely only buy one in your lifetime. We bought ours from Parker Safes in Belmont Ohio and it has a very good warranty. Check the website for Superior Safes.
Being certified by a couple different safe companies, I have to respectfully disagree safes at TSC are not good. They may sell some inferior stuff, but the gun safes I mentioned I have been inside of the doors and seen the mechanics. They are just fine. There is better, for 2x the price.
