1963 modernist House--Any experts on Mortise door Lock Entry / Entrance ?

[northwesty]

I

have taken out and put in many of these mortise locks, as you mention they still make them. In some ways they are simpler than modern ones. I do agree that that shaft is really strange.

At the salvage yards here there are 100s of knobs and shafts and locks, though there are odd ball makes that there might be only one or two of. Looking at yours I am guessing that the new one with the threaded shaft will work but you are stuck with the glass handle it comes with. Brian

 

[zenithtv]

I apologize for not responding sooner, I lost track of this discussion. The shaft you have currently appears to be designed for an installation that only had a doorknob on one side. The shaft is split into two pieces that can be inserted from one side of the door, the tab on the end holds the shaft in the lockset. Since the latch on these locksets can typically be actuated with the key in the cylinder as well as the doorknob, it may be that there originally was no knob on the outside of the door, though that seems like a really easy way to get locked out.

I am including a few photos of different shafts from my "collection" of these. The first two show a shaft that is two different sizes, which is screwed together in the center. The third photo shows a standard size shaft that is also screwed together in the center. The fourth photo shows the inside of a lockset, showing why the two-piece shaft is used.

Also note when looking at knobs, sometimes the knobs are permanently attached to the shaft with a pin, this was typically used on commercial applications so the knob couldn't be stolen or removed to bypass the lock mechanism. The knob in the first two photos is attached like this.

I hope this offers a bit of help. Good luck with the project.