#Mortise lock installation series#

This has led to popular confusion, as the term 'mortise lock' was usually used in reference to lever keys in traditional European terminology. Older mortise locks may have used warded lock mechanisms. Mortise locks have historically, and still commonly do, use lever locks as a mechanism. Dead locks are commonly used as a secure backup to a sprung non-deadlocking latch, usually a pin tumbler rim lock. A simpler form without a handle or latch is termed a dead lock. Mortise locks may include a non-locking sprung latch operated by a door handle. Pin tumbler locks are still the most common kind of mortise lock used today. This innovation allowed keys to be shorter as they no longer had to reach all the way through a door. Up to this point, the lock mechanism was always on the outside of the door regardless of the bolt location. Linus Yale, Jr.'s pin tumbler mortise cylinder lock put not only the latch or bolt itself inside the door, but also the tumblers and the bolt mechanism. The next major innovation to mortise lock mechanisms came in 1865. Pin tumbler lock, commonly used for mortise locks in the US

#Mortise lock installation series#

In the modern lever tumbler lock, the key moves a series of levers that allow the bolt to move in the door. Again, the term refers to the lock mechanism, so a lock can be both a mortise lock and a lever tumbler lock. Three English locksmiths, Robert Barron, Joseph Bramah, and Jeremiah Chubb, all played a role in creating modern lever tumbler locks. Warded locks were used in Europe throughout the medieval period and up until early 19th century. Warded locks contain a series of static obstructions, or wards, within the lock box only a key with cutouts to match the obstructions will be able to turn freely in the lock and open the latch. The term 'warded lock' refers to the lock mechanism, while the term 'mortise lock' refers to the bolt location. The mortise locks used at Monticello were warded locks. Warded lock mechanisms are rarely used for mortise locks, owing to the physical depth required. Similarly, mortise locks were used in primary rooms in 1819 at Decatur House in Washington, DC while rim locks were used in closets and other secondary spaces. However, the locks were still expensive and difficult to obtain at this time. While closets received rim locks, Jefferson ordered 26 mortise locks for use in the principal rooms.ĭepictions of available mortise lock hardware, including not only lock mechanisms themselves but also escutcheon plates and door pulls, were widely available in the early nineteenth century in trade catalogues. In 1805, Jefferson wrote to his joiner listing the locks he required for his home. Īn early example of the use of mortise locks in conjunction with rim locks within one house exists at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Rim locks have been used in the United States since the early eighteenth century. Other rooms used box locks or rim locks in contrast with embedded mortise locks, the latch itself is in a self-contained unit that is attached to the surface of the door. Until the mid-nineteenth century, mortise locks were only used in the most formal rooms in the most expensive houses. Eventually, pulls were replaced by knobs. In these early forms, the mortise lock mechanism was combined with a pull to open the unlocked door. Mortise locks have been used as part of door hardware systems in the US since the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The design is widely used in domestic properties of all vintages in Europe. In most parts of the world, mortise locks are found on older buildings constructed before the advent of bored cylindrical locks, but they have recently become more common in commercial and upmarket residential construction in the United States. Right: the box keep, installed in the doorjamb.Ī mortise lock (also spelled mortice lock in British English) is a lock that requires a pocket-the mortise-to be cut into the edge of the door or piece of furniture into which the lock is to be fitted. This example has two bolts: a sprung latch at the top, and a locking bolt at the bottom. Left: the lock body, installed in the thickness of a door. ( July 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. Below we offer instructions and guidance on working with our custom hardware and accessories.This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. We understand that after these pieces leave our hands, the preparation and installation are just as important. Rocky Mountain Hardware offers hand-crafted premium bronze hardware and accessories.Įach piece is meticulously designed and crafted by artisans to last a lifetime.