Lovely handmade wooden door latches

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By Sean Michael Ragan
Posted 2011/01/27 @ 11:48 am
Category Craft, Tools

Matthias Wandel writes:

My dad originally started making wooden door latches for the cottages he built at Amogla camp. Conventionally available doorknobs and strike plates don’t allow for a lot of latitude in terms of dealing with shifts in the buildings from frost heaving. That, and the available door hardware just didn’t suit his style.The door latches pictured above are for the house he built for the main house, more than 10 years after making his first door knobs and latches. They are an evolved version of his original door handles.

Matthias’ site bills itself as “an engineer’s approach to woodworking.” If you like what you see here, chances are you’ll find it worth the click.

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BY Sean Michael Ragan

I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I write for MAKE, serve as Technical Editor for MAKE magazine, and develop original DIY content for Make: Projects.

In the Maker Shed

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6 Responses to Lovely handmade wooden door latches

vrandy.myopenid.com on January 27th, 2011 at 2:18 pm said:

One potential disadvantage(or advantage) to these door latches : You don’t need thumbs to make them work.

Any sufficiently clever individual could open these doors with their paws.

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Maker Dino on January 27th, 2011 at 2:49 pm said:

Nice design and woodworking. I’ve designed and made a few of these with stainless steel.

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vrandy.myopenid.com on January 27th, 2011 at 2:54 pm said:

The marble machine posted on that same site is fantastic.

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liv_well on January 28th, 2011 at 5:18 am said:

I came across Mr. Wandel’s site years ago, and it is a gem. Do yourself a favor and take a deep dive. Matthias has done (and documented) some amazing stuff.

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99centurions on January 28th, 2011 at 7:13 am said:

they look great, but for another $0.15, I would have liked to see button plugs or something to hide the screws. well done otherwise.

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Magaret on March 10th, 2011 at 7:12 am said:

Very green door latches,but if install a video monitor doorbell,it will be more security.

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