Door Hardware

Today while Tracy shopped online for lighting fixtures, I cleaned the original door hardware for 301 Grand Avenue.  The process took several hours.

You can see the three stages of cleanliness for the escutcheon on the coffee table (L-R): Original condition, after acetone and buffing, and after two grades of steel wool.

Before and after: I took this photo before cleaning the final escutcheon.

The rest of the hardware assembly consists of two door knobs, a spindle, mortise lock box, and corresponding screws.   Most were covered with many layers of paint, as you can see here on the mortise lock face plate.

The antique mortise lock set is really well designed.  I opened more than half of the boxes to improve the functionality of the lock and/or latch.  All but one lock is in working order as a result.

I can't wait to get all of this back on the doors.  I even cleaned the screws, as it was impossible to find replacements on  short notice.