Door knob latch hole is too big...

[gk245]

I am trying to replace a door knob for a very old door and it seems like the latch hole for the door is very big compared to the new knob latches they make nowadays. Its much easier to make something smaller, but here its the opposite. I am wondering if i should get a new door or are there workarounds this issue?

Thanks.

P.S. Here is a pic of the latch hole, its the 9th picture from the top and has somone with a chisel on it:

pic caption says: "The we used a 1" wide chisel to carefully cut out the recess for the latch".

Its that latch hole that is at least 4-5inches long in the old door and the knew knob i bought has a latch that is only like 1.5inches long.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sounds like the old mortise type setups I had in my last house. Why not make a big plug to fit the existing hole? Glue it in place, use a little filler, then re-drill as needed.

Before you replace the door, stop and take a good look at what you have. Some older homes had very nice solid wood panel doors. In the sixties people tore them out to put in modern crappy luan flush doors as that was high style for the day. Now they are paying a fortune to get the panel doors back.

You may be able to find a new handle and lockset from a restoration supply house. That way you would have a good working, authentic style door and hardware. Ed [e-mail]

[Bob S.]

Also, you may want to look at the "Commercial" latches. They are typically longer than a standard door latch and available at the borgs.

Bob S.