Fitting doors

[m3jappa]

I'm quite confident about the trimming, the chiselling and pretty much everything but the one thing thats worrying me a little is when i fit the actual handles/latches, is there any room for error. Lets say the backset is 67mm does it mean when i drill out for the centre of the rose/handle does it mean i have to be mm perfect for the spindle to sit on the latch or is there a few mm for play?

Got 10 to do and this one thing is concerning me a bit.

[Simpo Two]

Just lay the lock on the door, mark through the hole and then drill a slightly larger hole than needed to allow for 'contingencies'.

The issue I had when changing my door locks was that the screws that held the knobs on each side would, if not carefully arranged, jam the operation...

The chiselling is the hardest bit IMHO.

[Kneetrembler]

Use a router for that amount of doors, much more accurate, set up a jig and test it first, then all you have to do is square the corners with your sharp chisel, and use a marking gauge to mark the positions of where the lock spindles and key or snib go through.

[Simpo Two]

If you're talking about the main slot where the body of the lock goes, the (ordinary) router I have only goes about 1" deep, far short of the 3" or so that is required. I set my doors up vertically and used a pillar drill with flat bit to do the bulk of the work, then tidy up wth a chisel as you say.

[ChrisnChris]

Simpo Two said:

I set my doors up vertically and used a pillar drill .

Crikey that's some throat you have on your pillar drill....I'm impressed...assuming were talking internal, not cabinet doors.

The rose is there to cover the spindle hole, so you should havea fair amount of room to play with.

If you're having a real "crisis of confidence" get hold of a piece of timber the same width & thickness as the door stile & do a "dry run"...that should ease your mind

[FROSTYR1]

m3jappa said:

I'm quite confident about the trimming, the chiselling and pretty much everything but the one thing thats worrying me a little is when i fit the actual handles/latches, is there any room for error. Lets say the backset is 67mm does it mean when i drill out for the centre of the rose/handle does it mean i have to be mm perfect for the spindle to sit on the latch or is there a few mm for play?

Got 10 to do and this one thing is concerning me a bit.

Drill a 20mm hole with a flat bit or Auger drill for the handle.

This will then be enough for the 10mm spindle to pass through the door and also clearance for the handle mechanism to work smoothly.

[Simpo Two]

ChrisnChris said:

Simpo Two said:

I set my doors up vertically and used a pillar drill .

Crikey that's some throat you have on your pillar drill....I'm impressed...assuming were talking internal, not cabinet doors.

I used an old chest of drawers, opened the appropriate drawer 2" and rested the door sideways on that - the pillar drill went on the top, turned round so the base wasn't in the way. Crap photos:

Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 29th October 13:23

[kirsty-s2k]

Piece of masking tape round the drill bit so you know you've gone in far enough is handy too.

[ChrisnChris]

Simpo Two said:

ChrisnChris said:

Simpo Two said:

I set my doors up vertically and used a pillar drill .

Crikey that's some throat you have on your pillar drill....I'm impressed...assuming were talking internal, not cabinet doors.

I used an old chest of drawers, opened the appropriate drawer 2" and rested the door sideways on that - the pillar drill went on the top, turned round so the base wasn't in the way.

Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 29th October 13:23

Ingenious, love that kind of stuff.
I'll file that one away for future reference. Not sure about the chest of drawers, guess a workmate either end would do the job & hold secure.

[Simpo Two]

ChrisnChris said:

Ingenious, love that kind of stuff.
I'll file that one away for future reference. Not sure about the chest of drawers, guess a workmate either end would do the job & hold secure.

There's always an answer if you think hard enough. Preferably before you start though - I once sawed through a rising main; ended up with my head in the cupboard with my finger over the leak wondering how I could get to the other side of the room to get the tools without letting go. Can't remember how I got out of that one!!

If you're wondering why I sawed through a rising main, I'd used a freezing kit but it hadn't, er, frozen

kirsty-s2k said:

Piece of masking tape round the drill bit so you know you've gone in far enough is handy too.

Or if using a pillar drill, use the depth stop.

I'm glad I didn't have a drill like the 150lb monster on the other thread - my cheap Screwfix one was quite heavy enough to cart from garage to bedroom!

Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 29th October 20:28

[Spudler]

ChrisnChris said:

Simpo Two said:

ChrisnChris said:

Simpo Two said:

I set my doors up vertically and used a pillar drill .

Crikey that's some throat you have on your pillar drill....I'm impressed...assuming were talking internal, not cabinet doors.

I used an old chest of drawers, opened the appropriate drawer 2" and rested the door sideways on that - the pillar drill went on the top, turned round so the base wasn't in the way.

Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 29th October 13:23

Ingenious, love that kind of stuff.
I'll file that one away for future reference. Not sure about the chest of drawers, guess a workmate either end would do the job & hold secure.

Or cut two lengths of 4x2 about 800mm long, cut a notch out of the middle @ 2" deep x the thickness of the door and lay on the ground about 1.7m apart, place the door in the notches and your ready to go.

[ChrisnChris]

Simpo Two said:

I'm glad I didn't have a drill like the 150lb monster on the other thread

That's like mine......2 man job to lift it. It belonged to my grandfather & was born circa 1940's I think