I put a couple of Schlage “Andover” locksets on for a customer and (they are retirees) the lady of the house hasn’t the strength to snap the lock button on the inside knob. These are real nice looking locksets and they have a 5″ backset latch available for them (which I need for one door). I am wondering if there is a way to loosen up the action internally or if I can get some sort of larger button for the lock which would give her better leverage? Or does anyone have another suggestion to help me deal with this problem? I can’t feel good about the project unless I can find a solution that she will be comfortable with.
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Take them apart, clean them up a little, and spray lightly with TriFlo or a similar Teflon spray lube. (A bike shop will have these if you can't find them anywhere else.)
The difference will be dramatic.
Look for burrs or shavings of metal on parts edges when you take them down too.
I once knew a guy named Lock Smith. His wife's name was Anne. There were jokes about naming future ofspring Black Smith or Metal Smith since they would have been forged on the Anne-vil
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16,267 posts, this one wins the prize for worst joke.
Joe H
It was a joke??
It wouldabeen if somebody'd laughed
;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
My firts choice is to use a dry powder-style lubricant on the lock works, as it tends to attract less crud.
But really, I will ask the fellow down to the local locksmithy what, A, the mfgr recommends, and B, what he actually uses. We often tend to agree on the powder lubes.
The powder lubes are messy, don't get where they need to go, and don't really work that well. A good Teflon spray goes on wet but dries to a non-greasy coating, and is probably 10, maybe 100 times slicker than graphite. I would imagine that there may be some Teflon-based powders, but I doubt that they will stay where you put them very well.
I like graphite spray in a can, goes on wet, drys to a powder...used it all the time on pipeorgans..good stufff
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Hi,
Before you lube it or whatever - see how it behaves when not mounted in the door. Sometimes they tend to bind a little after installation. In this case, aligning it (fine tuning) sometimes fixes the problem.
BTW - I took a look at the Schlage website - WTF is "Antuque Pewter" LOL