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Locating latches

comments (1) January 31st, 2011 in Project Gallery        
45 users recommend

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Photo: Drawing by Chuck Miller

Here's a fast, accurate method that I use for locating the centerpoints for door latch and dead-bolt mortises. First I center a hole for a 6d nail in the end of a short piece of dowel (a 1-in. dia. dowel for a typical lockset). Then I drive the nail partway into the hole, cut it off and sharpen the remaining shank to a point.

After boring the holes for the lockset in the door's stile, I insert the dowel into the hole that will contain the latch tube, as shown in the drawing. Then I close the door, and simply push the dowel marker toward the jamb. The sharpened nail marks the exact centerpoint for my latch or bolt hole.

 

Bernard H. King, Mechanicville, NY 

From Fine Homebuilding 55, pp. 28

 


posted in: Project Gallery, windows, doors

Comments (1)

lindalan lindalan writes: Great, simple idea. Thanks.
Posted: 5:48 pm on March 22nd

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