Neal Clayton
06-19-2010, 1:36 PM
i need to build two sets of french doors, and am familiar with the old practice of rabetting the opposing stiles and then using a rabbeted lock, but i've never seen it in person. even my other original french doors from ~80 to 100 years ago aren't rabbeted, they just used a wooden astragal to seal them. unfortunately my one set of existing french doors lost their wooden astragal to the paint stripping shop, it didn't survive the hot chemical bath, so i need to retrofit those doors as well.
the rabbets in the doors are easy enough, the locks are proving difficult to find, though.
from perusing the aussie woodworking forums it seems that some of the manufacturers who sell hardware there sell replacement face plate kits that turn a regular mortise lock into a rabbeted one. i haven't seen such a thing in the US, though.
house of antique hardware sells one rabbeted type lock, but only in polished brass, i need the lock plate and strike plate to be black to match the other aged hardware around this room.
at this point since the hardware seems to be rare i think it would probably be better to source the locks first and build the doors to accommodate said locks, rather than the other way around.
anyone else know of a wider selection of rabbeted mortise locks and strikes somewhere?
the rabbets in the doors are easy enough, the locks are proving difficult to find, though.
from perusing the aussie woodworking forums it seems that some of the manufacturers who sell hardware there sell replacement face plate kits that turn a regular mortise lock into a rabbeted one. i haven't seen such a thing in the US, though.
house of antique hardware sells one rabbeted type lock, but only in polished brass, i need the lock plate and strike plate to be black to match the other aged hardware around this room.
at this point since the hardware seems to be rare i think it would probably be better to source the locks first and build the doors to accommodate said locks, rather than the other way around.
anyone else know of a wider selection of rabbeted mortise locks and strikes somewhere?