Oops! Should have left the screws in!

by Dan F
(Nashville, TN)

Last weekend I decided to take 10 minutes and remove the door closer assembly on my sliding glass patio door, tighten the two wood screws holding my wooden door handle that were constantly coming loose, then and then put it back.

Wrong! I should have read your blog BEFORE I started my task.

Now, two puzzling weeks later, after finding your blog online, I'm writing for help because I have no idea (1) how the two lock pieces I found fit together and (2) how to get them both back in the door without dropping them inside the door!

None of the door lock assemblies on your most recent blog page look anything like mine. It is probably fairly old, but as the latest owner, I have no idea how old it is.

The now empty keyhole for the lock is about 1" high x 1/2" wide facing the handle assembly. There is a single round 3/16" hole to receive the open end of the lock piece on the weather side of the hole.

The "knuckle lock" is a heavy single piece of metal (maybe machined steel?) that looks like a miniature submarine (1 5/8" long x 3/8" diameter) with a attached latch part/"sail" (3/4" long x 3/16". (See attached close-up.)

The thin rusted piece of sheet metal is about 3 1/2" long by 1/4" wide and 1/16" thick. I think it was attached somehow to the "knuckle lock" but it does not fit easily in any depression in either the lock or the outside back plate, so I have no idea how it fits into the lock piece.

The (indoor) metal door handle holder has the following inscription in it:

"Sash Controls Inc., Detroit 20,Mich."

Beneath it are the numbers "060 1255".


Hi Dan;

What a great set of pictures

Its an old Acadia lock, not made anymore I'm afraid

I have seen them but never had to take them apart but I will give my ideas about how it goes together.

The old rusty strip is a piece of spring steel. Hopefully its still got springiness in it and is not so brittle that it just breaks when you put it back in.

Looking at the handle you can see two slots one above and one below where the steel strip goes.

Im guessing the spring pressure in the strip holds the latch key in place in one half of the handle.

I would tie a piece of string around the latch key and the spring steel so you can fish it out of the door if it does fall out when you try to line up the two handles.

Once you have the two halves together, the latch key should be supported on both sides and you will be able to cut off the string with a utility knife.

The key to it all is that spring steel, you might have to poke around to find a replacement spring if the old one is not useable. A clock repair shop might have what you need.

Hope this makes sense, and thanks again for taking the time to document your repair !