Change or rekey · Ballantrae
Vintage Mortise Lock Service in Ballantrae
The knob flops loose on its spindle and never springs back to level.
In plain words
Most old mortise locks fail for boring reasons. A coil spring that has been compressed a hundred thousand times since the house was built finally breaks, or the grease inside the case dries into something like wax and the levers stick in it. Neither justifies cutting a new hole in a solid oak door. The service opens the case, cleans out the old lubricant, replaces the springs with the right size, matches any worn follower or lever and lubricates the mechanism lightly. The same case goes back into the same pocket, and the knob returns to level with the crisp snap it had decades ago.
How the visit goesThe knob flops loose on its spindle and never springs back to level. When you turn it the latch pulls in, but you have to push the knob back yourself, and lately the latch has started staying inside the door instead of catching.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
How the visit goes
Bit key or cylinder
Older mortise locks come in two families, and the check sorts out which one is on the door. A keyhole shaped like a small keyhole silhouette takes a bit key, the skeleton key style, and the case works on wards and levers that the key's bit must match. A round face on the door with a slot for a flat key is a pin-tumbler cylinder threaded into the case. The distinction matters for everything that follows: how a lost key is replaced, whether the lock can be rekeyed, and what to do if the mechanism is worn out. It also settles whether a spare can be filed on the bench or cut on a key machine.
Springs, levers and followers
Springs are the usual culprits and the easiest fix. Broken coil and flat springs are matched from stock by length, wire gauge and shape, and fitted so the latch snaps out and the knob returns to level. A worn or cracked lever is matched from a donor case where one exists; where it does not, a replacement is filed from stock to the original's profile, which is slow, careful bench work rather than magic. A rounded hub is replaced or bushed. When every part moves as it should, the case is closed and cycled by hand with the cover on until the action is smooth and even in both directions.
A lock that feels new and looks old
What you get back is the door you had, with the lock working as it was designed to. The knob returns level with a snap, the latch catches when the door is pushed shut, the deadbolt throws with a light turn of the key or the thumb-turn, and the key goes in and out without a wiggle. Nothing on the face of the door has changed except that the brass has been cleaned where it was handled. The locksmith runs through each function with you from both sides before leaving, so the standard of what has been done is something you have seen, not something you have been told.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
In the van
Cylinder set screw
Mortise cylinder and cam
Light lock oil
Reproduction mortise case
Bit key blanks
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
What affects the quote
Number of locks in the visit
One entry lock is the simplest case. A whole floor of interior latches, or the front and back doors together, is a longer visit, and each case is quoted on its own so the total is easy to follow.
Missing or mismatched trim
Sourcing a knob, escutcheon or thumb-turn to match the survivors, from salvage or reproduction stock, is quoted as parts plus the search. Reusing your own trim from another door avoids that line.
What is actually broken inside
A clean and new springs is the lightest job. A worn hub, a cracked lever or a part that has to be fabricated to match the original adds bench time, and the assessment names which applies before any of it starts.
What to have ready
- How many doors need attention, and are any of them interior doors?
- What does the knob do when you turn it: return, sag, or not come back?
- Do you own the home or rent it, and who should receive the keys?
Vintage Mortise Lock Service: questions
QuestionsWhat information helps before you come out?
Whether the door takes a skeleton-style bit key or a flat key in a round cylinder, roughly when the house was built, what the knob and bolt are doing, and whether the trouble is worse with the door closed. A photo of the faceplate in the door edge and one of the keyhole side is worth a great deal. Mention how many doors are involved and how many keys you would like afterwards.
What do I get at the end of the visit?
A lock you have tested yourself from both sides, keys counted into your hand with a spare, any parts that were removed if you want them, and a short written note of what was done: case type, parts replaced, keys made, strike adjusted. For a bit-key lock the locksmith keeps the details needed to cut further keys later. You also get shown where the yearly drop of oil goes.
Why does my knob turn without moving the latch?
Most often the square hole in the hub inside the case has rounded with age, or the spindle has worn, so the knob turns a good way before it grips. Loose knob set screws produce the same slack. Less often a latch spring has broken and the latch is simply sitting inside the door. All of these are corrected during service by replacing the spindle and screws, bushing or replacing the hub, or fitting a new spring.
Related services
- Deadbolt InstallationThe bolt on the front door is keyed on both sides.
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe century home's original mortise lock takes a key the size of a spoon, sticks in humid weather and has worn its strike to a groove.
- Smart Lock InstallationYou have just taken possession of the house and the previous owners handed over a keypad deadbolt with a code nobody wrote down and an app account you cannot get into.