Repairing Old Baldwin Mortise Locks

Today we were called out to adjust an old entry door with a twenty five year old Baldwin mortise lock. With a few bar clamps and six inch screws we were able to get the rail and stile reattached. The mortise lock gave us a little more trouble, it had a few missing screws and a few more that had been striped. A Baldwin mortise lock is a puzzle that can only be completed if assembled in the correct order. The instructions are useless so it takes a lot of patience or experience to get the job done right. If you are a homeowner willing to attempt this on your own you will need to set aside four to six hours for door preparation and lock installation. Be careful, the templates provided with the lock have many holes marked for drilling. You are not supposed to drill every hole on the template, and some holes are to be drilled only half way though the door.

Tip 1. If the deadbolt is loose it can be tightend by removing the lock face plate on the edge of the door. Under the faceplate you will see a small sloted screw that is online with the deadbolt cylinder. Turn that screw untill the deadbolt is tight.

Tip 2. If the interior knob or lever is loose tighten the set screws on the bottom of the knob. These set screws hold the knob to the spindle. If that dosen't do it you will have to remove the deadbolt cylinder and the exterior trim. This will reveal the screw and washer that holds the splindle in the lock.