Beyond the Big-Box Catalog: The Hunt for Quality Box Locks
When you pour dozens of hours into a specialized woodworking project, the last thing you want to do is compromise on the “jewelry”—the hardware. However, as many of us have...
Replacing an old Hope Chest Lock – Part 3
After reducing the volume of the original half-mortise using two strips of wood and addressing the crack in the shallow recess of the catch plate (read part two of the...
Replacing an old Hope Chest Lock – Part 2
After fine-tuning the quirks with the new replacement lock and its brass catch plate, I turned my attention to the cedar hope chest’s half-mortise. I measured and compared the existing...
Replacing an Old Hope Chest Lock, Part 1
Last winter, a friend gifted me an old cedar hope chest. The piece was made by her late father-in-law, an amateur woodworker. Since she and her husband were preparing to...
Pick the Perfect Lock
The key to selection is knowing the terminology and how a lock works. Locks protect our worldly goods from outsiders who wish to take those goods from us. In earlier...
