Guide To Ironmongery

On glazed doors the width of the “stile” (the distance from the leading edge of the door to the glazing bead) is very important when deciding the type of ironmongery that is to be fitted

Knob furniture should be fitted to locks or latches with a minimum backset of 4” (100mm).

A locking snib & outside release mechanism is selected for knob furniture for bathroom use

Where there is restricted space such as in corridors in boats the above type of door furniture is often specified

A rectangular base which a lever handle (or unusually a knob) rotates. Supplied plain for use with simple mortice latch mechanisms or with keyhole or cylinder mechanism piercing

Plate used as a mask for a keyhole or as dressing where the lock is operated by a cylinder mechanism (See section on cylinder mechanisms)

A round base on which a lever handle or knob rotates, supplied either with face fixing (Screws showing) or concealed fixing (Screws concealed)
e.g. knobs with Face Fixing Roses or knobs with concealed fixing roses

The square metal rod that operates the lock or latch mechanism

A fixed spindle that allows door furniture to be fixed dead (non operable) e.g. for decorative purposes on pairs of doors

Centre Door Knob

A simple pull that fits under the cylinder rim light Latch (Yale Lock) to pull the door closed

A pair of static security bolts fitted between hinges to prevent forcing open of the door on the hinge side

Types available are Doctor’s Knockers, Lion Head Knockers, Ring Knockers or a host of other country side and marine knockers depicting animals, fishes, pixies, Masonic emblems etc.

There are two vital dimensions required when replacing a letter plate

(a) the distance between the fixing studs and
(b) the length and height of the cut out in the door

If the letter plate to be replaced is fixed within some form of constricting panel the overall dimensions are required.

When selecting a replacement letter plate we advise to expand the aperture and to replace a very small plate (as supplied up until 1950) with a plate with a flap of approx. 200x50mm to accommodate A4 envelopes and to comply with post office regulations.

Letter plates with handles connected allow pulling the door closed

A flap on the inside of the door behind the letter plate to hide the fixing bolts, cut out draughts and cover the aperture in the door. It must be noted that this component does not give any privacy or security but is purely cosmetic

A letter plate as already described but with an integral knocker

A security mechanism to stop a door being pushed open by force by someone trying to make an illegal entry

The distance from the forend of the latch or lock to the centre of the follower

The ‘pin tumbler’ mechanism which enables a lock or latch to be keyed differently. Generically known as the ‘Yale’ System this type of mechanism has the greatest amount of compromise prevention owing to the many new and complicated systems available

The square hole turning mechanism through which the spindle of the operating knob or lever handle passes in order to operate the lock or latch

The front plate of a mortice latch or lock which is connected to the latch or lock case

A term used in mortice latches or locks to explain that the overall width of the case is usually greater than 100mm and if it is lock mechanism the control of the latch bolt is placed behind the control of the lock bolt

The simplest mechanism for closing a door without any additional locking bolt. A latch is simply operated by a pair of knobs or a pair of lever handles

The part of the latch or lock that contains the working mechanism

The overall distance from the forend of the latch or the lock to the back of the lock case. It is this dimension that is referred to when giving the size of a lock or latch

The system which enables a lock to be keyed differently from other lock case. It is this dimension that is referred to when giving the size of a lock or latch

A form of holding a door secure that can only be released by a key or turn mechanism

Whenever a latch or lock is described with the word ‘mortice’ it means that it is installed within the thickness of the door leaf i.e. ‘mortised in’

Whenever a latch or lock is described with the word ‘rim’ it means that it is installed on the face of the interior leaf of the door. E.g. a Cylinder Rim Latch is the correct terminology for what is commonly known to most people as a ‘YALE LOCK’

The Square section connecting bar that retracts a latch bolt by the turning of a knob or the depressing of a lever handle. In the UK the sectional dimension of a spindle is 8mm

Any method by which the knobs or lever handles are connected to the spindle usually by a hardened grub screw. Spindle fixing is a way to prevent any distortion of the face of the door by the constant pulling on the knob or lever handle

The box into which the latch bolt and/or lock bolt of a rim latch or lock engages

The plate into which the latch bolt and/or the lock bolt of a mortice latch or lock engages

A term used in mortice latches or locks to explain that over all width of the case is no more than 100mm and if it is a lock mechanism the control of the latch bolt is placed above or below the control of the lock bolt

Tubular Mortice Latch
Latch bolt operated by lever handles or knobs