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Topic: Have a good way of mounting door locks? (Read 567 times) previous topic - next topic

Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Anybody have a good way of mounting those locks that we put in cabinets to keep them closed? Or magnetic latches? I have trouble lining them up so that they actually connect well with each other. I'm sure that there is a trick to it and I'm sure one of you crafty intelligent fellows will tell me. Last night I was trying to install a magnetic latch on a cabinet that's over my refrigerator and had a really hard time trying to get them the match up. Finally kind of got it. It's a magnetic latch and it's real sensitive to making sure the screws are on either side of the magnet or else it doesn't work well.
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
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Retired

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #1 –
Good Morning!
Unlike the people you've been dealing with so far in your life, this wood doesn't move.  Paper, pencil and a tape measure.  Cabinet makers use knife edge tool to score the wood for even more accurate marking.  You're smart.  You'll figure it out.

Me?  I miss my granite surface plate, height gauge, 90 degree angle blocks and Dykem Steel Blue layout fluid.  It's really thin blue nail polish.  Lacquer.  And my 50X pantograph grinding machine.
Sigh.
I hate wood.
1992 Foretravel Grand Villa
U225 SBID Build No. 4134
1986 Rockwood Driftwood
1968 S.I.A.T.A. Spring
1962 Studebaker Lark
1986 Honda VF700C
1983 Honda VF750C
Charlie, the Dog was broken out of jail 24 Oct 2023
N1RPN
AA1OH (H)e who must be obeyed.

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #2 –
Not sure what magnetic latch you're using but I get the ones with two little barbs on the backside of the strike.  Then after mounting the magnet I just place the strike on the magnet and close the door,  forcefully pressing in leaving indentations in the wood for alignment.  You can also stick masking tape to the wood temporarily to get your marks as it's softer than the wood.

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #3 –
I wish the ones that I had did that but they don't.
Try putting double-sided masking tape on the magnetic side to see if it would stick to the wood and had limited success with that.
Not sure what Dykem steel blue fluid is but it sounds interesting and expensive. Lol
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
Instagram bobfnbw
Retired

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #4 –
For first timers etc what I sometimes do is put a piece  of masking tape both at top and side of cabinet so they hang out from behind door when closed. Use a sharp pencil and scribe a line alongside door to mark where it is on closing.
Then open door and measure down to the part on door and transfer that measurement to cabinet. Do it for both sides of the plate then also measure for the side  of  plate. Again transfer these measurements to back of door and drawin the shape of the object. This will give you a perfect location to put the opposite piece.
JohnH
Coachless, now use aircraft.
1994 Ford E350 ClassC,total renovation inside and out. Now sold.
2000 U295  36' Cummins 350 c/w Banks Stinger, Resonator upgrade,Solar, LED lites.Residential fridge with slide out pantry. Build 5674. Sold
ex 92 GV 022C ored Cummins. Sold
ex 95 GV240 cat 3116. Sold
2017 Mini cooper s & 2016 land Rover LR2 HSE  LUX.
jhaygarth@aol.com    SKP #130098
treat everyone as you would like to be.

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Journey, Roam, Explore –
Not sure what Dykem steel blue fluid is but it sounds interesting and expensive. Lol

Before we had digital readouts and vertical milling machines with accuracy that rival the Moore Jig Boring machines, and if we were making a onesy, we would layout what were were planning on the surface of the steel.  A fine ground surface and thin blue lacquer made a surface where the scribed lines, all of .002" wide, could be seen clearly.  Today we either turn the cranks and follow the numbers on the digital readout or for more than one program the CNC and make it do all the work.

If you choose to use John Haygarth's masking tape transfer you still need to measure, so a 6" steel scale makes a great addition to your pocket.  And a scratch Awl for, you know, wood.
1992 Foretravel Grand Villa
U225 SBID Build No. 4134
1986 Rockwood Driftwood
1968 S.I.A.T.A. Spring
1962 Studebaker Lark
1986 Honda VF700C
1983 Honda VF750C
Charlie, the Dog was broken out of jail 24 Oct 2023
N1RPN
AA1OH (H)e who must be obeyed.

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #6 –
Using the same locks FT use on the cabinets.  I install the lock on the cabinet frame first, the I insert the lock plunger in the lock.  I put a good double sided tape on the back of the plunger.  Then close the door slowly sticking it to the plunger.  Carefully open the door with the plunger making sure it stays attached to the door.  Drill and screw.  If you don't want to use the double sided tape, just close the door and mark the plunger location with masking tape.  Then open the door remove plunger and place it in the marked location, drill and screw.

Hope this helps,
John M.
John & Carm Morales

"We travel not to go anywhere, but to just go.  We travel for travel's sake.  Our great desire is to move."

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #7 –
Coming to to this discussion blind!
The locks on the cabinets?
Overhead cabinets?
The same ones we have had come open and send stuff flying?
Is there a recommended fix, the struts do a reasonable job of keeping them closed, But not against the FORETRAVEL folders full of documentation that tried to kill me going around a sharp turn at an intersection with opposing cambers.
What should I be doing? 
David & Emma Roche
Dino (Golden Doodle)
1999 U270 WTFE 36' Build # 5534
Xtreme "Lights, Stripes & Roof"
Motorcade# 18321
Dayton, Ohio
Towd: Jeep Grand Cherokee
Two Townie Electra Bikes

Life is made to enjoy, the Foretravel helps!

Re: Have a good way of mounting door locks?

Reply #8 –
Quote from: "Irish" –
Coming to to this discussion blind!
The locks on the cabinets?
Overhead cabinets?
The same ones we have had come open and send stuff flying?
Is there a recommended fix, the struts do a reasonable job of keeping them closed, But not against the FORETRAVEL folders full of documentation that tried to kill me going around a sharp turn at an intersection with opposing cambers.
What should I be doing? 

David I have a cabinet alongside my marine fridge freezer that had a mechanical mechanism to lock it in place which I wanted to change out to a magnetic catch. You can get magnetic catches that will lock your doors pretty well just have to go with the right amount of pounds that it will hold. My question had to do with how to line up the two sides of it. With the magnetic catches the metal plate has to be lined up right or else it won't hold well. You could use those for your overhead bins. But I would recommend not putting anything really heavy up there. If you can put them in a lower cabinet. A lot of my cabinets had plastic door catches that I'm slowly getting rid of and replacing them with the magnetic ones. Some of them have broken over the years and some didn't line up well.
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
Instagram bobfnbw
Retired