Doorknobs- old to new to old again

[phil]

new construction does happen in old buildings as well as new ones though, so it affects old buildings, for example if you built a suite under a permit the inspectors may apply the new regulations.
wen I was in France and Italy I noticed many doors had huge doorknobs in the middle of the door or giant keys. Its a shame to loose those historical features. I popped into a lock shop in Florence, wow they had a lot of neat old parts. what surprised me most is that so many were left bare wood and never painted in even though they had survived for centuries. Many of the old churches and historic buildings had really nicely maintained woodwork. some of the keys were like 6 inches long, Imagine packing those everywhere you go

[JacquieJet]

So, just wanted to come back here and say that I decided to go with the Nostalgic "prairie" sets in antique brass (with glass knobs), and just recieved them in the mail. Holy smokes are they heavy. The quality of the finish and parts in general seems excellent. Will update once I've installed a couple. So far, I'm impressed. They are a fairly good match to the surviving original knobs I have- not exact, of course, but close enough not to stick out like a sore thumb.

[phil]

check how well the knobs you have and if there is a sleeve in the faceplate.
what can happen with heavy knobs if they don't really fit the faceplates is that you could find some resistance to movement , because part of the faceplate was acutually functioning as a bushing and carried the weight of the knob. without that "bushing" sometimes there is too much friction and you may need to find a solution perhaps increasing the spring tension to return the knob to "neutral" If you take your new knobs and just stick them through you will probably be able to see if this will be an issue or not.

sometimes the outside face of the knob nearest the door is worn or the bushings in the faceplate may wear. If there is a bad mismatch in size then the weight of the knobs isn't well supported and the friction can overcome the spring tension resulting in a situation where you need to turn the knob back to center so the latch is out. if the knob isn't heavy this may be less of an issue,because friction is reduced with less weight. see how it works

if the face plates do match the knobs then they are probably sized to fit one another. probably best practice to keep the knob and face plate together when possible but often they are mismatched. sometimes people dont wan to change the face-plates because it opens a can of worms with respect to the finished look of the door.

im referring to the "bushing in the faceplate" it might not really look like a bushing , sometimes there is just a rounded edge on the stamped metal or it may be like a short piece of tubing. the edge of the knob should fit and ride in the opening. with wear the external size of the knob side decreases in size and the inner bore of the faceplate may increase in size resulting in a sloppy fit, or not very good support for the weight of the knob

originally the knobs and faceplates were often made to match one another. the square shaft of the knob will pass through a square hole and this isnt' really a bushing so the faceplates should keep the shaft centered allowing it to rotate and pull in the striker and allow it to return without too much friction. sometimes that spring also gets a bit weak.

[JacquieJet]

Thanks, Phil. The knobs did come with the back plates, but I don’t know if it’s a mix and match situation at the warehouse or not. Each complete set came together in one box. There are nylon bushings that came with it, it says they go between the knob and the backplate. Perhaps that’s to account for the pros single issue you described? I won’t know until I install one I guess. Seems fairly straight forward. We shall see!

[phil]

Yes best to just see how the parts fit. It could be that they added nylon “spacers ” to take up the wear. Nylon is a good bushing material for there as it doesn’t need lubrication and if you did lube that it would just be messy.
There is a nylon that has graphite, that might not show so much as it’s black in colour. Lasts forever and it can be turned in a lathe or drilled , cuts like butter. You can’t really file or sand it, so it’s a bit hard to “adjust”’

You could check the fit before you put screws to hold the faceplates in case you want to swap parts around.

When you position the faceplates the knob shaft might need to be positioned just right so they align with the hole in the inner parts, so it all moves freely. I’d poke holes with an awl through the faceplate before you start all the little screws so they don’t wander out of position.

[JacquieJet]

Thanks, Phil!
I got the first one installed... so far, so good!

[Gothichome]

JJet, both your door knobs and your new push buttons look great. I think you have taken the feel of your home almost back to its origins. Do your buttons have that satisfying heavy click when pressed. I can remember the heavy snap of those buttons from my grandmothers home in Toronto. I found a certain assurance that the lights were going to work with that heavy click sound.

[JacquieJet]

JJet, both your door knobs and your new push buttons look great. I think you have taken the feel of your home almost back to its origins. Do your buttons have that satisfying heavy click when pressed. I can remember the heavy snap of those buttons from my grandmothers home in Toronto. I found a certain assurance that the lights were going to work with that heavy click sound.

Thank you, Gothic! That’s what I was hoping for. We are getting there, little by little!
I’ve read that the new push button switches don’t have the “click”, but these definitely do! When the light is turned on, it’s just a normal press, but when you turn it off, it’s a heavy and solid “click” sound and feel. I’m very happy with them!

[phil]

That looks nice, other than that someone painted your antique door... but now I'm just ribbing you I should strip all mine too.

[JacquieJet]

That looks nice, other than that someone painted your antique door... but now I'm just ribbing you I should strip all mine too.

Funny enough, all of the doors and trim in this house were originally painted. I remived test strips to confirm. I think I have a thread floating around here about it actually. It’s a colonial revival home, and apparently painted wood was part of that style. The only wood in the whole house that wasn’t painted originally are the stairs and hardwood floors!