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Mortise lock retrofit

11K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  m1911  
#1 ·
Had to retrofit a door lock for Mom to replace the original 1942 model mortise lock.

That's right, 72 years of service for this lockset and door and Mom is hoping I can keep it going a little longer. The deadbolt portion has a broken spring and the internals of the lockset look like a Swiss clock :blink:

Told her I could probably fix it, but being I ain't Swiss and such, how bout we put a standard lockset in :thumbup:

A lil' Bondo glass, some primer and paint, we'll have it looking like new :whistling

Cant beat these old TDL doors, substantially heavy, hard and straight as an arrow...even the frames are a solid two inch :thumbsup:
 

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#12 ·
Who cares if it's a bump resistant deadbolt, you either cheap out and get any old lock or you get a real lock in the 200+ dollar range.

I've done the same thing super has done a few times replacing mortise locks with a cheap lock set. But I didn't handle any of the finishing and painting, final product looks good.
 
#16 ·
I don't have any keys but it looks like theyd all have the same simple key. Since they're all from interior doors and I'm using them on interior doors locking isn't important. My house was built around 1890's and these were scrap from a Chicago job in multi unit residential built late 1800's/early 1900's so they're pretty neat for free.
 
#17 ·
The client I was working for did his own painting and other miscellaneous stuff in the rental units. His "patching" of old mortises and knob holes was quite hideous to say the least. Basically slapped on a chunk of wood filler with no scraping or sanding. OP did nice job covering be up the old voids, but this guy was slop master extraordinaire and quite pleased with the results !