why oh why ...

[Duncan Di Saudelli]

... do "they" (the manufacturers) make the bit that the bolt shuts into the same diameter, but for a few microns, as the bolt shaft?

If I fit a bolt to a door, and the "loop" that the bolt shaft shuts into fits to the door frame, the two line up and the bolt works nicely. However, if the door sags, or the wood expands, the sodding line-up alters by a millimetre or so, and now the bolt is a bugger to push home.

Especially on outside doors e.g. double garage/workshop doors ... my garage door bolt worked beautifully in the summer but now I need a bionic hand to open/shut it.

So why aren't the bolt "loops" made to be (bolt diameter + 50%) in size, to allow for misalignment?

(for reference:

the bit on the left's diameter is too small for the bit on the right)

DDS

[Jules]

You can probably drill the "loop" out a little to give it a bit more slack. I think they're usually pretty soft metal. I know what you mean for those types of bolts, though.

If it's something like a back door or outside door I'll usually use a larger bolt, and those do have a bit more 'slop' in them. I've usually seen those smaller bolts on internal doors (bedrooms etc.) where sagging's less of a problem.

[John]

It is down to the way thay are made - all cut from the same extrusion.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Duncan Di Saudelli" saying something like:

Because it's cheaper to cut them from the same piece of profile.

[The Medway Handyman]

And the people who design/make/import/wholesale/retail them don't give a toss about the poor buggers who install them. The list is endless.

[brass monkey]

If you have loose ones they rattle like hell on your bog door.

[John Rumm]

use slim screws and don't nip them up tight. That way the loop can move a little on its fixings.

[Duncan Di Saudelli]

That's true enough - I hadn't thought of that detractor.

In that case, I think I'd like to see the bolt shaft either made oval at the mating end, or have an offset - so when you push the bolt home into an oversized "loop" the bolt goes in easily, then when you rotate the bolt through 90 degrees, the mating end tightens in the loop in order to engage snugly.

[Duncan Di Saudelli]

That would certainly work for our indoor toilet door, seeing as the bolt is small (2" long or thereabouts). I'll give it a try tonight; as for the workshop door, it's got great big coach bolts going through most of it (maybe not the actual loop though, come to think of it) so it may be more tricky there. Worth a look at though, and thanks for the tip!

DDS

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "brass monkey" saying something like:

Shut the window, then.

[JimK]

messagenews:KHqGm.3071$ [e-mail]...

bad vibrations?