Change or rekey · London
Vintage Mortise Lock Service in London
The old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves.
In plain words
The trim on the door face is the other half of the lock. The knobs ride on a square spindle that passes through the hub of the case, held by small set screws, and the escutcheons cover the spindle and keyholes. Slack in a knob, a knob that pulls off in your hand, or a thumb-turn that spins without moving the bolt usually traces to a worn spindle, a stripped set screw or a hub whose square has rounded. The service replaces spindle and screws, matches a hub or lever from stock or makes one, and fits everything so there is no free play before the latch starts to move.
How the visit goesThe old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves. Last week it took three tries. You have one key and no idea where a second could come from.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
How the visit goes
Who owns the door
The first check has nothing to do with the lock. The locksmith confirms that the person asking for the work owns the home or lawfully lives in it, since a serviced lock and a freshly cut key are, in the end, a way into someone's house. Photo identification and something tying you to the address usually settles it in a moment. On a rental, the landlord and the tenant are expected to agree on lock changes and share keys, so the locksmith asks who should hold the new bit keys or cylinder keys and notes it. This small formality protects the household as much as anyone, and it is done before a screwdriver comes out.
Reassembly and setting the trim
The case slides home and is screwed off, then the cylinder or keyhole escutcheon goes on, followed by the spindle, knobs and rosettes. The spindle is trimmed to length so the knobs sit against the door without pinching, and the set screws are tightened so there is no free play before the latch moves. The thumb-turn is aligned with the deadbolt tail so it throws with a light touch. Paint is cleared from the faceplate and strike edges where it was catching. Then the door is closed and the whole lock is worked from both faces with the key, the knobs and the turn, several times, listening for the latch to seat.
How to lubricate it, and how not to
A serviced mortise case wants very little. Once a year, a single drop of light lock oil into the latch and the bolt from the door edge, with the faceplate screws briefly backed off if needed, keeps the levers gliding. If the lock has a pin-tumbler cylinder, that cylinder gets dry graphite or a PTFE lubricant in the keyway instead, because oil in a cylinder gathers grit and stiffens the pins. General-purpose spray lubricants belong nowhere on this hardware; they flush out the little oil that should stay and leave a film that dust settles into. The locksmith will show you where the drop goes so you are not guessing.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
In the van
Hub followers and lever packs
Spindle and knob set screws
Light lock oil
Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
Reproduction mortise case
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
What affects the quote
Extras you choose on the day
A high-security cylinder, a lockbox for a spare bit key or a separate modern deadbolt above the original are optional additions. None is required to make the old lock work, and each is priced as its own line.
Condition of the wood
Stripped screw holes, a loosened pocket or a split at the door edge need dowelling, shimming or gluing before the case can be trusted. That woodwork is quoted once the locksmith has seen the pocket empty.
Whether the door has to come off its hinges
Some mortise cases can be serviced with the door hanging in place, while a tight jamb or a stubborn case sometimes means lifting the door off its hinges onto a level bench. That step is identified once the case is open and the repair needs are clear.
What to have ready
- Is the property designated as a heritage building?
- How many keys would you like to have afterwards?
- Do you own the home or rent it, and who should receive the keys?
Vintage Mortise Lock Service: questions
QuestionsCan a modern cylinder be fitted to my old mortise lock?
Often, on cases that already take a threaded cylinder. Mortise cylinders are made in standard thread sizes and lengths with different cam shapes, and a new one is selected to match the case and the door thickness. That gives you keys cut on a machine and the option of keying the door alike with the rest of the house. A bit-key case has no cylinder to swap; its keys are made on the bench instead.
The key turns all the way round but the bolt stays put. What is wrong?
On a cylinder mortise lock this points to the cylinder rather than the case. The set screw that holds the cylinder in the door has loosened or stripped so the whole cylinder rotates, or the cam on the back of the cylinder has worn or is the wrong shape and no longer catches the bolt lever. Both are fixed by resetting or replacing the cylinder and its set screw, and the case itself is usually fine.
Why does the deadbolt scrape or need a shove to throw?
Two causes cover most cases. Either paint has built up on the faceplate, the bolt or the strike so the bolt drags across it, or the door has dropped so the bolt is entering the strike pocket at an angle and rubbing its edge. Occasionally a bent deadbolt lever inside the case adds friction. Cleaning the paint back, adjusting the strike and checking the lever all happen as part of the service.
Related services
- Deadbolt InstallationThe old deadbolt has grown lazy.
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe house is fifteen years old and every exterior door still wears the light hardware the builder fitted: a short bolt, a thin strike held by two small screws, and a knob lock that never suited a street entrance.
- Smart Lock InstallationThe deadbolt is a stiff double-cylinder model that needs a key from both sides, and in the dark hallway finding it is a nuisance.