Peeking through a key hole

We have inched our way a little closer to finishing a kitchen/buttery update, which began in October, 2013.

At the end of these two adjoining rooms is our back door, which opens to the tomatoes.

Years ago a neighbor put an eight-window-pane door in his trash and I had the Duke of Earl pull it out to be upcycled for our back door.  It took considerable patience and skill to rework the "free" door, but it was a splendid addition to our house when it was finally swinging in place.

Au contraire, it has had the same door knob since it begun gracing our doorway some 20 years ago.  And it was looking rather shabby...and not shabby chic either.

See.

I wanted a new door knob!

The Duke objected, based solely on the fact, that he didn't want to buy a new "Made in China" piece of deficiency.

Practicing good lets-use-this-as-an-opportunity-to-strengthen-the-marriage skills, we talked about it.

From this conversation, it came to light that he had stored, in his new "old stock", an old mortise lock set.  He had purchased it himself, right off the shelf, at our local hardware store in 1970.  The original box has the trusty price tag of $5.95.  Remember the days before bar codes?

There were 2 issues with using this old entrance lock set.  

#1 it uses a skeleton key

and 

#2 it required that a pocket be cut into the door into which the lock would be fitted.

Security was the first discussion.  We decided that our backyard is secure enough to allow a skeleton key wielding old lock set on the door.  Plus I figured that the door has 8 panes of glass, so it is not going to keep someone one, who is bent on entering, anyway.

(I wonder what our insurance agent would think of such a door and lock?)

The Duke was confident in his ability to install the mortise lock.

(Wikipedia states that, "The installation of a mortise lock cannot generally be undertaken by the average homeowner since it is labor intensive and requires a working knowledge of basic woodworking tools and methods.")  I'm glad that the Duke of Earl is above average.

Here's the Duke using a Sawall to do the delicate job of cutting the pocket into the door.  I don't think this is the type of woodworking tool Wikipedia was talking about.

Ah, here's the fine wood working part...via hammer and chisel.

The mortise lock set came with brass knobs, but would accept many different styles of knobs.  I had a few to choose from.  (There are some advantages to having a man cave jam packed with old stuff.)  I love glass anything, so went with the glass knobs.

Here's the new "old" door knob fully installed.

What do you think?

I love it.  I love the way the new glass knob feels in my hand and in my home.  The outside knob has a slight yellowish tint to it.  The inside knob is clear.  Perhaps it will purple with more exposure to the sunlight.  

One thing I did not anticipate was the key hole.  You can see right through it!

I eased this drawback by sticking the skeleton key into the key hole, closing most of the open space.

Now to finish the base boards.

t.t.f.n. ~ Carol