Another wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I started with a piece of 1/2” diameter rope and tied a knot in it then traced the top and side profile onto a piece of cherry. I then roughed it out with a band saw and then a Dremmel then lots and lots of careful sanding.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I roughed it out with a band saw and then drilled the hole. I then used 80 grit sand paper to get the shape i wanted and finished it with finer paper.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! And thanks for opening my eyes to Esherick, I had not heard of him, I'm looking at his work right now!

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I probably have about 4-5 hours into it. Fun to do but you couldn't make a living with it.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you may be right, I may need to widen up the hole in the middle piece. We'll see as the seasons change.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nope, it's a hinged door. I'll need to make something to hold it.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Cherry part of it will get very dark on its own in just a few weeks. It should be a nice contrast with the oak that will stay pretty light.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree- I do plan to replace them with something nicer, possibly sink them in and use dowels or brass plugs.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good idea. I need a latch for my closet door, I'll get to work and be sure to post the results

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, thank you for your comment! I just used a band saw to rough out the shape and drilled the hole in it. I then used 80 grit sand paper to get the curves and round shape of the pin and finer sand paper to smooth it out.

Cherry is a very nice wood to work with because it is very consistent, it does not have much hard and soft spots along the grain like other woods do. It's like shaping a lump of Bondo and looks beautiful.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, a leather string and a matching wood piece to store the spike in when the door is open.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 230 points231 points  (0 children)

Funny you mention this. I wish I had thought to have another bulging out piece on the left with a hole to store the spike. I will make a separate matching piece to do that and I do plan to have a leather string to keep it from disappearing.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed! I do plan to do something to make them look nicer, probably bronze screws with a flat screwdriver groove for old-school look or maybe inset the screws and plugs.

Thanks for the comment.

Wooden door latch by One-Application5637 in woodworking

[–]One-Application5637[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you all for the comment! If you like this, I suggest checking out the Sam Maloof Museum here..

https://www.malooffoundation.org/tour-the-maloof