It's gotta be done...

You read instruction leaflets? That is not in the spirit of DIY.

...

Colin Bignell

Three divided by four times twenty five point four is 19.05 mm so use an Imperial 3/4" bit !!!!!!

AWEM

It probably was an imperial to metric conversion that came up with

You didn't mention the fact that it was being installed by an idiot. As for the screws, try using the proper tools then, rather than the crap that you buy - it's easier, quicker and a damn site safer!

Perhaps you were 'bad' and couldn't understand the leaflet. As for the Torx screws, surely you had the right tools for the job before you started it?

Didn't you check the measurements of the sink before you cut the hole for it - or did you simply mis-read them and...?

Try the old 3/4 inch bit, that'll work nicely thank you, and as a so-called 'professional' (ha, ha) handyman, why the f*ck do you need to read instructions to fit a mortice latch of all things - didn't you think to simply measure the diameter of the bloody latch and go from there?

Most properly trained people doin' the work for cash, usually have no trouble fitting such simple items, but from your many posts, you seem lack that knowledge and are a walking disaster area on most stuff,

Not really - and that's the difference between properly trained tradesmen and a half-baked Medway handyman..

The tradesmen simply gets around the problems using his experience - but the half-baked handman acts like the proverbial whining drama 'queen' and blames his tools and everyone else for his failings.

I found this post so bloody funny I just had to dig you out of the rubbish bin to respond to it (I'll be chuckling at the thought everytime a fit a mortice latch) - and now it's time to put you back where you belong. ROTFLMFAO

Mortice latch, intended for a wooden door?

Your jealousy knows no bounds.

Quite incredible, isn't it?

OK, it may have been another size, or whatever - I can't remember - but at the time the size they recommended wasn't available.

That isn't the point though.

The point is that many instruction books are crap, many of the screws/fixings are crap and many product designs are crap.

A web site offering factual reviews & suggestions for improvements just might get people to listen & improve things.

Spade bits really are ugly things, and tend to chew up the wood around as t hey go in. Never mind the exit wound ! I'll never forget the time on DIY SOS when Billy the spark was battering hi s way though some josts with a something like 25mm spade bit and it was tak ing him ages. One of the chippies came in with a lovely auger bit and, whoo sh, one joist, whoosh, the next one etc. 'Twas pretty funny the look on Billy's face.

Simon.

As I am sure you have discovered, the first thing to do with those is bin them and use your own... having said that, life would actually be easier if they did not bother with included fixings unless they are usable.

Common on white goods these days - perhaps they are following suit.

I find its often errors in translation between metric / imperial (at least on the those occasions its not just "wrong")

Could always stick such things in the wiki.

Its obviously a 3/4" drill converted to metre.

Get one of these flat 20mm drills and grind a bit off of it.

It just crawls out of its pathetic little s*it pit, spews nonsense and slithers back again. Never anything useful or constructive to say, just oral farting! BTW, I fitted some mortice catches that said 19mm; used ¾" and the hole was too small. For the next one I used 20mm and it was a snug fit. Hey ho.

Sigh. I've just checked and it was a 17mm bit suggested, which that particular Wickes didn't have on that particular day.

But it doesn't matter what size it was, the point is that the instructions specified a drill bit they didn't stock.

Failure affects some people that way.

That's exactly my point!

What is obvious about it? We have been using metric long enough for even things made in Britain to be made in metric sizes, while many imported tools probably never were made in Imperial.

Colin Bignell

That sounds more reasonable, although 16mm is a more usual size for mortice locks. 19mm is more than half the thickness of an internal door.

IME Wickes virtually never has what I want in stock.

Colin Bignell

I've got a 19mm SDS masonry bit you can borrow:-)