Mounting ball catches

[Leon]

Use double stick carpet tape to hold the pieces in place until you have the fit you want. Stick the cabinet side piece where you think it should go along with the door piece engaged. Put the tape on the door piece also and close the door. If you have the right "feel", you have the correct location. If the door does not close, move the cabinet side piece back. If the door does not stick to the tape move the cabinet piece forward. Then add the screws.

In the future, "IF" you wait to put in the back panel or glass panels last you can access the catch through the missing panel hole for proper placement.

[none]

Mount the part of the catch with the spring-loaded balls first. You can use double-sided tape to hold it in place while you pre-drill the screw holes. Once that part of the catch is secure, place screws in the holes of the other half of the catch and snap the two halves of the catch together. Close the door and hit it with your hand. The points of the screws will leave marks where you need to mount the second half of the catch.

[Kate]

Hi Guys,

I am nearing the end of my Sideboard project and am now getting ready to mount the hardware on the cabinet doors.

The original catches were a ball catch, but were missing pieces. I ordered new catches and they're great - just a wee bit smaller than the originals. That's just fine with me. I had to fill the existing holes because they had been moved, redrilled, moved again and replaced about four times. It was a mess. Point being, I cannot use them for a reference point.

Do any of you know a trick to aligning these for mounting? I bought the catch marked "B" in the image on this website:

plan on mounting them on the side, not on the bottom. As I said, there were a lot of holes and I want a good solid foundation for the mounting screws.

Thanks in advance,

Kate O|||||||O

[mike hide]

For what it is worth I would assemble the catch in the closed position on a flat piece of card or thin ply. Mark all the mounting points including where the cabinet door and the case edge is and use the card to make a template and drill for as many catches you desire .

[Kate]

"Leon" wrote

Use double stick carpet tape to hold the pieces in place until you have the fit you want. Stick the cabinet side piece where you think it should go along with the door piece engaged. Put the tape on the door piece also and close the door. If you have the right "feel", you have the correct location. If the door does not close, move the cabinet side piece back. If the door does not stick to the tape move the cabinet piece forward. Then add the screws.

In the future, "IF" you wait to put in the back panel or glass panels last you can access the catch through the missing panel hole for proper placement.

** Thank you Leon,

The doors did not have removable panels. It sure would have made things a LOT easier! It's an OLD sideboard that had been bady abused. I am restoring it to a usable piece for my dining room. I had to paint most of it because of the damage that it had but it is looking really good so far.

I was able to retain enough of the pretty walnut to give it nice accents and it should be a family heirloom when I'm finished... with luck that is.

I love rescuing old things and loving them back into usability (is that a word ? LOL)

I'll see what I can do with your tips.

Kate O|||||||O

[Kate]

Posted a couple of photos to alt.binaries.photographs.woodworking

Kate O|||||||O

[Kate]

Crap make that:

alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

Kate O|||||||O

[Peter Huebner]

Get a couple of scraps with one squared edge, one needs to be exactly as thick as the door, you may have to plane s.th. down to that if you can't find one.

Close the ballcatch, clamp the two scraps together simulating what it would look like when the cabinet door is closed, in the position where you want it to end up (offset, flush). Put the closed ballcatch into position behind and mark the holes. Now, all you have to do is disassemble the two scraps and measure back to the marks from the front edge, and you have the final measurements that you can transfer to the cabinet. Don't forget that you have to allow for the clearance of the door opening!

-P.

[Kate]

Thank you Peter, I will give it a try!

Kate O|||||||O

Get a couple of scraps with one squared edge, one needs to be exactly as thick as the door, you may have to plane s.th. down to that if you can't find one.

Close the ballcatch, clamp the two scraps together simulating what it would look like when the cabinet door is closed, in the position where you want it to end up (offset, flush). Put the closed ballcatch into position behind and mark the holes. Now, all you have to do is disassemble the two scraps and measure back to the marks from the front edge, and you have the final measurements that you can transfer to the cabinet. Don't forget that you have to allow for the clearance of the door opening!

-P.