Replacing my kitchen hatch locks and handles

WilliamA

As Monk would say: "See....Here's the thing..." (Love that guy. Except for the neatnick, clever part, I'm EXACTLY like that....er...well, I have the psychosis part down)

Since I have my awning that uses the hatch as a structural component, I came up with a way to prevent damage to the awning fabric from the large-ish protruding T-handles by using a pool noodle. It works fine, but, well...it's a pool noodle...okay? I determined to come up with a solution when I built the awning. That was a year ago. That's about right. Time to do it. I ordered 2 long reach cam locks from Zorro and will be replacing the T-handles as soon as the locks get here. I need to make some attractive filler plates for both the inside and outside but have that worked out. I'll post a process thread in a few days. In the interim, I'm going camping....

https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-standard-keyed-cam-lock-key-c346a-1xtd5/i/G0100177/

WilliamA

Michigan_Mike

Gotta love them “all purpose” pool noodles! They are right up there with duct tape! :-)

Sharon_is_SAM

We have made good use of those pool noodles. I'm buying stock in them!!!

WilliamA

Here's the progress report. I did some work out in the yard today in anticipation of the new lock set. I have the architectural drawings of the new locks with dimensions so I was able to make some progress.
Drivers' side t-handle:

Underneath that:

All cleaned up and caulk removed:
Waterless hand cleaner and a paper towel works fine to remove the road gack once the caulk is scraped off with a razor blade.

Blank piece of aluminum cut to length. It's 1 1/2"X1/16" thickness, about 3 1/2" long:

Radius cut and filed, laid out for drilling:

Drilled and filed for the lock. These won't be the bolts I'll be using, but close in design and depth.
I happened to have an extra lock in the same diameter as the ones I ordered. It's just too short for the job:

Side angle of same:

Top angle:

Crappy comparison photo of height difference between new and old:

Side by side of new and old locks.

I have both outside pieces cut and drilled. I also cut and drilled one inside piece but dare not go any further than that until I get the locks. I will be making the pieces fit together in such a way that if I lose a key I will be able to, with a bit of fussing, remove the lock sets to access the kitchen without explosives. I have it all worked out and we'll see how that goes. According to UPS, my package will arrive here on Thursday. I am leaving for a weekend campout with the TearJerkers on Friday morning so that's not enough time to do a proper, patient job of installing the locks. That'll wait until my return next week. In the meantime, I'll cut and finish the inside pieces, then reassemble the stock T-handle...

WilliamA

WilliamA

A few more photos by way of explanation of what I am working toward...

All of the filler pieces cut and polished. I can't fine-tune them until the locks arrive:

Here's the T-handle up under my awning sans the pool noodle to hold the awing off of them:

The ubiquitous pool noodle, in and ugly:

WilliamA

BBsGarage

Isn't it now going to be resting on the hatch with its sharp corners?

WilliamA

@BBsGarage said:
Isn't it now going to be resting on the hatch with its sharp corners?

Bill,
Congrats! You get a cookie for catching that! I have a solution but won't do it until I get things installed. I had considered putting a glue-up patch directly on the canvas but have some concerns about that messing with the rollup. I have the enormous piece of plastic I cut off the roof vent trim ring and cut 2 pieces to fit the corners of the hatch like shields. I can just stick them on with double-sticky tape. I've also considered grinding off the corners of the hatch to a softer 1/2" radius and sanding off the weld seam a bit. Then I could get some clear automotive weather shield and stick it on. While the last option is the most fraught with potential problems, it's my favorite (of course) so I'll get out the grinder and make it so. Lots of work? High risk of calamity? Low chance of success? Sign me upl

Actually, the awning material I used is stiff and robust as a tire so I'm less worried about scarring or cutting it, but concerned about the oxidizing aluminum leaving smears and marks all over the awning.

On another note: I just got an email that my package of locks is due here a day early, or well....today! I gotta run and get some bolts and washers....

WilliamA

BBsGarage

A cookie? NICE!!! I like oatmeal raisin.
I figured you had a plan, but I did have to ask.

KKrieg

@Michigan_Mike said:
Gotta love them “all purpose” pool noodles! They are right up there with duct tape! :-)

A pool noodle was the first item I bought for my T@G. I used them all the time with my popup. They make great cooler gaps when the camper is in storage, hand them on tie down lines on awnings to make them more visible, etc.!

WilliamA

40 yards of pool noodles lashed to the trailer and I'll probably wash away and drown. Trailer should float like a duck though....

WilliamA

WilliamA

The UPS guy and I are on the fringe of a relationship. He said he has talked to the boss about dedicating a route to my trailer projects. Not sure how to take that...

Here's the finished job, minus a bit of detailing and some weather seal and caulk:

I drilled the back-side plates to 5/16" and put in some rivnuts, size 10-24. I picked up some stainless screws and washers this morning and cut them to 1 1/4" length, then cleaned up the threads:

This side tucks into the door from the kitchen side:

Inside view of the lock assembly all in and tight:

I didn't have to raise the catches up but decided they will be stronger the closer they are to the barrel on the lock. At this height, the drawer for the fridge just barely clears the catch. Any higher and it would hit. If I had needed to, I'd have cut a relief in the drawer slide face for clearance, but it worked out fine:

A closeup. Once I am sure of placement and how it works, I'll put thread locker on the screw. The screw is beefy and has a 1/4" shank with coarse threads so I'm thinking about putting in a stud with a nut on the back:

Here's the outside with the stainless hardware. I need to pull it all back apart and put some sealer on it. I also need to get to the wood core of the door with a bit of urethane and a Q-tip to seal the wood:

Close-up of same. I'm pretty happy with the way it worked out. There's some putzing left to do, but first it's time to camp for the weekend.

Both locks are indeed keyed alike. I'm liking this company that I sourced the locks from. In case I didn't say, it's: "Zorro.com" All sorts of gadgets and thousands of locks for just about everything. I called them for this order and the person I talked to steered me right. I think they are in Chicago....

Well that'll do for now. I'm going to just use it for a bit and see how everything goes.

WilliamA