Mortice Latch not parallel Post your questions and get answers concerning many areas of this subject

[PhilA]

Hi,

The hole i drilled in my internal door for the mortice latch (tubular) is not parallel. When i fit the latch it does not sit quite straight in the door. I cant see a way of redrilling the hole again or opening it up as the 25mm diameter hole does not give you much rom left between hole and edge of door.

The latch barrel has a height of 22mm which fits in the 25mm hole, is it posible to get a barrel with a smaller height?

Any suggestions on how i can fix this?

Thanks

Phil

[alavapint]

As the damage has already been done .... I would find a 25mm dowel (usually a wooden brush handle) that fits snuggly in the hole you have drilled. Place it all the way into the hole and mark it off with a spare bit stuck out of the edge of the door ( leave as much as you like stuck out).
Remove the bit of wood and rub it all round with coarse sandpaper...
Get yourself some wood glue such as PVA ... put plenty of it in the hole using a small brush, also plenty on the wooden peg. Then just tap the peg into the hole. Wipe of the excess glue with a damp cloth.
Leave it overnight. Then the following day cut off the protruding peg using a fine tooth saw, and finish with sandpaper and maybe a bit of filler ... !

A little tip when you have another go at drilling...tap a wedge under the edge of the door as it means you have less to think about when concentrating on getting the hole horizontal and central.