How to Take out a Mortise Lock
Open the door., Look carefully at the shank of the inside knob., Remove the knob rose plate, if necessary., Remove the thumb-turn., Unscrew the lock cylinder., Remove the face plate.,If you need to remove the grip handle, this is usually either...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Open the door.
On the edge of the door you should see a long brass plate with a latch, a bolt and a couple of buttons.
On the inside there is usually a knob that actuates the latch, and a thumb-turn that throws the bolt.
On the outside, there is usually a grip handle with a small thumb actuated lever, and above this is a lock cylinder and escutcheon. , Usually there is a set screw or two that retains the knob on the spindle.
Once the screws are backed off you can then unscrew the knob.
The threaded spindle is usually in two halves.
One half will slip out and then the other half can be tipped out of the hole.
Note: if you have a threaded two piece spindle the correct way to orient the set screw is so that it squeezes the two halves together. (A variation here is a non threaded spindle.
Here the set screw goes into a hole on the spindle and the knob will slide of the spindle when the set screw is removed.) , The knob rose plate is usually screwed to the door with short little wood screws.
If you are painting the door you will want to remove it, if the lock needs to be serviced you can leave the knob rose plate in place., The thumb-turn is usually retained by two small screws.
Remove these and the thumb turn will pull straight off. (An uncommon variation is a thumb turn that threads in to the lock body, and is removed like the outside cylinder.), The lock cylinder is threaded into the lock body and is retained by a set screw.
Most often the set screw is exposed but sometimes it will be behind a cover plate.
The cylinder set screw will be in line with the cylinder on the edge of the door.
Here, you do not want to remove the set screw, but just to back it off enough so the cylinder will turn, (2-4 turns is usually enough) An easy way to unscrew the cylinder is to insert the key almost all the way, and use the key to unscrew the cylinder., Now the only thing holding the lock body in the door is 2 wood screws at the top and the bottom of the plate.
If someone has painted the lock body in place, you can usually cut through the paint film with a utility knife.
If you extend the bolt, you should be able to slide the lock body out of the pocket.
Sometimes, if the lock body is stuck, what works is to insert a screwdriver into the spindle hole and pull a bit until the face plate comes out a bit.
What you *DON'T WANT TO DO* is to try to pry the face plate.
This method messes up both the door and the face plate., -
Step 2: Look carefully at the shank of the inside knob.
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Step 3: Remove the knob rose plate
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Step 4: if necessary.
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Step 5: Remove the thumb-turn.
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Step 6: Unscrew the lock cylinder.
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Step 7: Remove the face plate.
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Step 8: If you need to remove the grip handle
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Step 9: this is usually either mounted with wood screws from the outside
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Step 10: or some have a through bolt(s) from the inside.
Detailed Guide
On the edge of the door you should see a long brass plate with a latch, a bolt and a couple of buttons.
On the inside there is usually a knob that actuates the latch, and a thumb-turn that throws the bolt.
On the outside, there is usually a grip handle with a small thumb actuated lever, and above this is a lock cylinder and escutcheon. , Usually there is a set screw or two that retains the knob on the spindle.
Once the screws are backed off you can then unscrew the knob.
The threaded spindle is usually in two halves.
One half will slip out and then the other half can be tipped out of the hole.
Note: if you have a threaded two piece spindle the correct way to orient the set screw is so that it squeezes the two halves together. (A variation here is a non threaded spindle.
Here the set screw goes into a hole on the spindle and the knob will slide of the spindle when the set screw is removed.) , The knob rose plate is usually screwed to the door with short little wood screws.
If you are painting the door you will want to remove it, if the lock needs to be serviced you can leave the knob rose plate in place., The thumb-turn is usually retained by two small screws.
Remove these and the thumb turn will pull straight off. (An uncommon variation is a thumb turn that threads in to the lock body, and is removed like the outside cylinder.), The lock cylinder is threaded into the lock body and is retained by a set screw.
Most often the set screw is exposed but sometimes it will be behind a cover plate.
The cylinder set screw will be in line with the cylinder on the edge of the door.
Here, you do not want to remove the set screw, but just to back it off enough so the cylinder will turn, (2-4 turns is usually enough) An easy way to unscrew the cylinder is to insert the key almost all the way, and use the key to unscrew the cylinder., Now the only thing holding the lock body in the door is 2 wood screws at the top and the bottom of the plate.
If someone has painted the lock body in place, you can usually cut through the paint film with a utility knife.
If you extend the bolt, you should be able to slide the lock body out of the pocket.
Sometimes, if the lock body is stuck, what works is to insert a screwdriver into the spindle hole and pull a bit until the face plate comes out a bit.
What you *DON'T WANT TO DO* is to try to pry the face plate.
This method messes up both the door and the face plate.,
About the Author
Jeffrey Martinez
Brings years of experience writing about DIY projects and related subjects.
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