TaylorM Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Hey guys and gals, I tried googling this along with iforgeiron, but I couldn't find any relevant discussions. I'm also not sure if this is the right place for this topic, but it didn't seem to fit anywhere else. I've attached a picture of the style of latch that I'm working with while building my wife a greenhouse (picture also attached). Just for clarity, I'm building this on the frame of an old dog kennel, so I'm reusing whatever I can, hence this style of latch. After getting the walls and windows in place and admiring the inside, I realized that I couldn't get out... there was nothing on the inside to pull up on the latch mechanism! Luckily I hadn't fully sealed the plastic around the edges yet, so I was able to stick my hand through and unhook the latch. I remedied this by drilling a hole through the doorframe and running a length of garage door chain through to the inside. Fool me once you cheeky bas.... Anyway, I'm trying to come up with something to use as a latch on the inside which will allow me to pull down on the chain and open the outer latch. I have some ideas on how I can do this, but I wanted to touch base with the resident experts to see if you had any cool ideas. Thank you for any insights you can give! Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 The type of latch mechanism where you have to lift the latch from the outside with a string or chain is a very old style. Sometimes it would just lift the bar that engages a depression in the fixed piece. In your type the latch automatically engages as the door is closed. There is an expession of welcome in the Western US of "the latchstring is on the outside." The string or chain could be pulled in for security purposes when necessary. Yours is more secure because it would be more difficult to reach something through the crack of the door to lift the locking mechanism than a simple moveable bar latch would be. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Being as this is a blacksmithing forum I'll toss out the obvious suggestion first and get it out of the way. Why not forge a latch, there are several suitable ones demoed here. If all you want it a pull cord run a piece of light cable through a hole drilled at an upwards angle in the door frame, clamp or whip a loop to the latch and a lightly weighted pull on the inside. Having the pull above the latch and pulling upwards reduces friction and potential for snags jamming the cable. You don't need anything fancy and chain will require a suitable pully or some friction reducing mechanism or it will be a bear to pull and it'll require a spring or heavy weight to pull it back to the latched position. Perhaps if you drilled the hole large enough to insert a piece of copper or plastic tubing a pull chain would work smoothly enough. Every level of complexity you add to a device increases the probability something will go wrong and those odds raise exponentially. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorM Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 Thanks for the replies. My thinking was to forge something like what I have in this picture (viewed from the side). It would have a pivot point spiraled around a base plate which is attached to the door frame. Then the chain would be attached where the little arrow is, allowing the chain to be pulled along the radius of the spiral. The weight of the door closing would force the latch closed and pull the chain back in the other direction. At least that's how I think it would work in theory... Frosty, I like your point about putting something in the hole to prevent friction. I hadn't thought of that, and I have some spare conduit that would be perfect for this job. It might also be worth it to swap the chain for a clothes line cable so there's even less friction. Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 How does the weight of the door come into play as far as the chain, cable, rope? I would add a bit of weight to that scroll to keep tension on your chain, cable, rope, and orient where it attaches a bit differently. Nice idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorM Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 It's not so much the weight of the door itself, more the weight of the door pin hitting the latch, as that will force the latch closed, pulling the chain towards the outside. This particular latch has a bit of a belly on the hook when it is fully open, so when the pin hits the belly it forces the hook downward, locking the pin in place. Where would you suggest I add the weight? You've touched on one of my main concerns, maintaining tension in the chain. Nobody likes a floppy chain... I originally thought of working a spring in to maintain tension, but as Frosty pointed out, more complexity means more areas of potential failure. A weight would probably be a far more simple solution. Thanks, Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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