Howdy all, a bit of a shorter video this time 'round! With this restoration done I've finally completed the full set of hardware in this design - I'm pretty stoked to finally move onto more interesting items in the near future haha. As always thank you for watching!
So I've restored one door to date and hope not to have to do another one for some time hahaha - It was lot more work than anticipated, though it was worth it in the end! I have a bunch of interesting items, both hardware and non hardware related that I can finally start taking on now that this set is done, and some time next year I hope to get some casting related projects done.
Much appreciated, Jody! I'm pretty excited to move onto different designs - This one is gorgeous but there are so many cool hardware sets I can finally get to restoring haha. Thank you for the support and have a nice weekend!
I appreciate it, Susannah! Now that this set of matching hardware is finally finished I'm pretty excited to move onto some really cool sets I've had sitting around just begging to be restored haha. Have a nice weekend!
Thank you, Chrysanthe! Just imagine how much time had to go into making the original mold for these hinges! Even more impressive is that these exact hinges were made in seven different sizes, each requiring a hand made mold. As always thank you for watching!
I never thought I would be so intrigued by door hardware being revitalized. It is soothing and you've really refined your methods. You've made me fascinated with the art deco look of a century ago. Keep it up!
Hey I appreciate the kind words! There are so many gorgeous designs like this from the late 1800s to early 1900s that it's hard to chose which is best haha. Thank you for watching, and have yourself a nice weekend!
Hey thanks a lot! I hope these'll be installed by this time next year, and I'll definitely need to make a video of them once installed. As always thank you for watching, and have a great weekend!
I definitely hope to put most of the hardware I've restored so far in it, though I still have a bunch of locksets that need restoring so it may take some time to get everything done up haha. As always thank you for watching!
I appreciate it, Craig! I'm excited to have this full set of hardware finished since now I should be able to finally take on some pretty cool sets with totally different designs. As always thank you for watching!
Very ambitious taking on such large hinges. I really liked the pattern. I LOVE the butterfly hinges! Looking forward to those videos. You realize you will have to do a video sometime when you start using all of these wonderful restorations in your home. Your fans will be waiting... :-)
I appreciate it! With this project I've finally finished the "Windsor" pattern hardware set so there should be a bunch of items with very different but cool designs restored in upcoming videos! Right, so I have three of those butterfly hinges (made by Norwalk Lock Co.) and all three are really damaged around the top knuckles. It'll likely be some time next year before I'll be able to start that project since I'll have to cast new ornamental tips for all three and I have to get a casting setup and a bit of practice before that happens - It should make for a very fun project and I'm sure they'll be gorgeous once fully restored! Haha yeah I think once all the sets are installed I'll make the grand tour of all the sets installed on the doors. As always thank you very much for watching!
Right, that one is such a gorgeous design! The knuckles on all three hinges in that patter I have are all very worn which should make for a interesting video I think. Thanks a lot for watching!
Thank you, Samantha! I hope to get a shot of all the hardware once it's all installed, though I don't have any doors yet which may be a bit of an issue hahaha. Have a nice rest of your weekend!
Hahaha well I mean with the steep increase of prank calls I've been receiving after this video was released I guess I should have just recommended calling them after all. Much appreciated!
Glad to see another one of your videos show up.. I don't know where you find all those vintage pieces, but I hope you get a chance to put all of them to good use.. take care my friend...
I appreciate it, Gary! I find many of these items on websites that sell architectural salvage - There are a surprisingly large number of websites that sell this type of hardware, though many have a small number of ornamental hardware listed at any given point and I have to check all of them frequently to complete full sets of hardware. This set should look pretty nice once it's finally installed! Thank you, have a great weekend!
Right, just imagine how long it would have taken to make the original mold for these hinges back in the day! you're right there, sad indeed. I appreciate it - Have a great weekend!
Now you know we are still waiting to see them in use. I'm going to joke with you about that till you have them up hahahaha They look beautiful and you did a wonderful job restoring them also!! Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Much appreciated, Bryce! I'm pretty happy to have finally finished off this complete set of hardware, as now I can move onto the many gorgeous sets I have just waiting to be restored. I actually spotted him in the mirror this morning and gadzooks does that guy ever need to shave hahaha. Have yourself a nice weekend!
He unfortunately didn't upload today. :( BTW, I asked you last year if you sell any of the knobs and mortises, as I finally got around to restoring my Eastlake style front door today and want to replace the modern knob with an original set. I don't remember what your response was.
Haha well maybe our next video's release will line up! Wow that's right I remember your original comment about restoring that door, time sure flies! I hope the door turned out well! Good question, it's a bit of a long response haha. So far I have not sold any of the sets I've restored - I think starting next year I will cut down on the number of videos since I really don't have as much time to finish projects as I would like to in order to get the results I want 100% of the time. A good example is this video - I likely would have refinished these hinges or outright not made this into a video since I honestly wasn't as happy with the finish as I would have liked. Until I'm able to get the quality I'd like with 100% certainty I wouldn't feel comfortable restoring hardware for someone else. It wouldn't likely be until around spring of next year that I'd be able to start a restoration for someone else. With that said if you're willing to wait you'd be at the very top of the list when I finally swap to the new video release schedule. I think the biggest difficulty for your door is that the hole drilled for modern day doorknobs is usually wider than the backplates on antique hardware and unfortunately I think you'd have to fill in the newer drilled holes before you'd be able to install an antique set. It's a lot of work but probably worth it in the mend! Aside from that hurdle there are so many gorgeous designs to choose from I think you should be able to find one to match your door really well!
@@randomrestoration6858 Thanks! I'm probably going to try to find a knob and mortise online, as I want to install it sooner than later. Do you have any recommendations for size/model/etc, for the door. I can send pics. Oh, I hit a major snag today. I stripped about ten layers of paint off but got down to a greenish layer that would NOT budge. I researched it for over an hour, to find out it's milk paint which is literally a pigmented glue. I discovered that common ammonia, steel wool, and elbow grease take it off pretty easily.
@@mrknittle532 Haha fair enough! Haha it doesn't sound like much at first but it's shocking how much work has to go into restoring a single door! So it really depends on the size of the hole that was drilled for the modern hardware - In my experience I have never been able to find a normal set that will perfectly cover the oversized holes frilled for modern knobs, so unless the hole you have in your door is smaller than normal you may have to spend a bit of time filling it which will be quite a lot of work unfortunately. Entry sets were always double key locks and had larger backplates that could potentially cover the holes. Alternatively if you find a store door lockset it's likely that those backplates would be more than wide enough to cover the holes, but sets like that usually need a lot of work before they're ready for use and are usually a bit harder to find. So the Sargent easy spring locks (which were offered in a couple ornate designs like the Arcadia and Ekado designs) are the best designed locks of their time - They have few parts inside, so they usually are in great shape still and generally don't need any work done to them - They also have a separately tensioned latch bolt and door knobs which many locks surprisingly didn't have. This means the latch bolt is very lightweight and you don't need to slam the door in order to close it. Mallory Wheeler & Co. had great locks, though without a separately tensioned latch bolt/knobs. They did however design their locks to compensate for wear between the hub and lever which means they should still work like new after many decades of use - They're very sturdy locks and are probably the best built locks of the time. Also Hopkins & Dickenson made very good locks that should both be reliable and they had a few really gorgeous designs. There are many other companies that sold ornamental sets that were pretty hit and miss when it comes to how well the locks are designed a few examples being Lockwood, P.&F. Corbin, Norwalk, Branford and Reading Hardware - Some of their locks are really great, others are pretty trash haha. Although they had some lovely designs I'd stay away from locks by Branford, Nashua -(though they have a bunch of cool designs the locks don't hold up over the years and commonly won't function due to wear between the levers/hubs), Union Door Knob Co. (UDK Co.), Gilbert Lock Co, Yale & Towne and Russel & Erwin due to questionable build quality or locks that usually need a lot of work to get them back to a functional state. You may have luck finding the right lock for your door by contacting a few architectural salvage website - They should hopefully be able to hook you up with a complete fully functional ornamental entrance set that will work with your door, and you may also be able to find some matching hinges!
Tremendas bisagras! Hermosos herrajes! esta restauración también quedo excelente! Probaste alguna vez pintar el fondo de los grabados con el color rojo? Esta muy bien que sea pintado de negro porque así se respeta la originalidad de la restauración al 100%. Quedaron magnificas. Después de ver y comentar tres vídeos en tu canal solo me queda suscribirme porque las restauraciones me resultan muy buenas. Me suscribo.
¡Gracias! Todavía no he probado el rojo porque me gusta combinar los colores originales usados, pero cuando encuentre el proyecto adecuado, definitivamente probaré el rojo. El hardware un poco más antiguo que estas bisagras presentaba combinaciones de colores más interesantes y espero encontrar algunas para restaurar en videos futuros! En mi próximo proyecto y video, las áreas empotradas serán verdes. ¡Gracias de nuevo por mirar y por el apoyo!
Eventually hahaha. I plan on building a house in the next few years and each door will have a different complete set of antique hardware. Thank you for watching, Maury!
My partner and i love your videos! We recently bought a small 1880s victorian with beautiful hardware on the doors. Several are pretty busted and not too sure how to restore them, but your videos keep us optimistic. What type of lacquer are you using? Currently attempting to restore a light fixture for the house.
Thanks for sharing this insightful video. Why did you chemically copper plate the hinge pins? Was it to avoid corrosion? If the original hinges were not copper, will the dissimilar metals experience a galvanic interaction? Wishing you a blessed week, gentle weather and restful evenings. Peace
Good question, so the copper plating was for rust prevention. It was very common at the time for iron hinges to have either brass, bronze or copper plated steel hinge pins which would have come in contact with the non plated areas inside the hinge knuckles - In this instance the different metals coming in contact with each other won't cause any issues considering the environment they're installed in. Thanks a lot for the kind words, take care!
Not bad, just curious I know you’ve been restoring a house for you and family,in between your real job,how far have you gotten on finding and restoring all of your door hinges and latches for the house,or you just keep telling the wife,I’m working on it.that’s probably more accurate.LOL. As always nice finish,looks like it came right out of the production line.beautiful work,just keep doing what your doing and carry on 😎😎😎👍👍👍
So it's a bit of a long story but I'd estimate I'm about 10% there hahaha. I plan on restoring a few more sets than I need to decide which ones I like most since there are so many great designs to chose from. With these hinges completed I've finally finished up this "Windsor" design and I can now finally take on other interesting sets which should go a bit quicker - Making videos of the while process slows me down immensely but over the next couple years I hope to have everything finished up. I think next year I want to take on some casting related projects - It sounds crazy but I'd love to make a complete set of hardware in this style from scratch with my own design in the future, but I that's a bit of a long term goal haha. I appreciate it! Have a nice weekend, and as always thank you for watching!
I don't know where anyone would install these, but if they were on my doors, they would be all opened. Who wants to hide these gorgeous hinges.Just make sure the door itself complements the hinges.
Haha well luckily the design on the backs of these hinges sticks out from the door so that you can see the ornate design so that you can still see the design when closed, though I totally agree, I'd have a hard time closing my doors with these installed hahaha. Thank you for watching!
I appreciate it, Mark! These were mostly restored just for fun, but also these are the matching for the double door store set I've been working on for a bit now. With these hinges restored I finally have the complete set, though I still will have to make a strike for the lock at some point next year. I'm pretty excited to finally be able to take on some different ornamental hardware since I've featured this design so much haha. As always thank you for watching, and have a great weekend!
Hey RR Hope you are well this Saturday. As always, great outcome 👍🏻 I keep forgetting to ask; Is the lacquer/paint you use, a certain kind for metals? I always think the clear coat will peel off. Take care
I appreciate it, Tim - Hope you're doing well! Good question, so long story short there's not a whole lot of documentation out there about it so I can't say with 100% certainty, though all of my earliest tests (which took place some time before the first video that featured the lacquer) have all held up beautify with no signs of cracking or pealing. Admittedly there are a couple projects that I have had to paint strip and redo due to issues with rust contamination - Specifically projects featured in my "Rusty Ornate 1800s Drawer Pulls Restoration" and my "Very Rusty Ornate 1880s Mortise Lock Restoration" videos, though this was due to having to rush the projects a bit more than I would have liked more than a fault in the lacquer. I'm still working on perfecting it, but it's a bit tricky since I choose new ratios each project and also usually end up applying a different number of coats each time which effects how weak or strong the finish is. It can be very strong if done right haha. With all that said, in my Corbin Ceylon video (titled "Rare Ornate 1890s Mortise Lock Set Restoration") I just used a rather cheap Rust Oleum clear coat and aside from some slight cracking near some of the screws (which happened when installing it in the display) has held up very well over the past nearly two years. Using a store bought lacquer made specifically non ferrous metal would be way better than a normal clear coat since it would be formulated for polished surfaces rather than something that's intended for applying over a base coat which could have adhesion issues. As always thank you for watching, and enjoy your weekend!
Any chance you could share a materials list? I'm working on restoring some mortise locks from my house and I'm flailing a bit. All of your restorations turn out so beautiful!!
Thanks a lot! Hey I'll do my best haha. So first off I better say to read all instructions on all the products listed since some of them contain some pretty harsh chemicals that you probably should take some precautions with, and others you may have awful results with if you don't supply correctly. Long story short, here's the list: Paint Remover Steel/Brass wire brush Soapy wooder Evapo-Rust Wire wheels Sand paper Polishing wheels Polish Brake cleaner Acetone Clear lacquer Gold tint Primer Gloss black base coat Low lint paper towels Spring steel For the paint stripper (pretty nasty stuff that you'll need some chemical resistant gloves for) I used "Aircraft Paint Remover" by Klean Strip. You can find an aerosol and gel version of this, each seem to work okay, but may need a couple coats to remove stubborn stuff. I use a steel wire brush to scrub the paint off, though a brass wire brush would be a bit less abrasive. Soapy water should remove paint striper residue pretty well, though I use a very strong degreaser that I never dilute because that's too much effort haha. I use a five gallon bucket of Evapo-Rust which works great and isn't too expensive for how much you get - You can also buy in smaller sizes I use a Dremel tool, mainly with wire wheels to clean the hinges/mortise lock case/etc. and to clean up the small parts I usually use these specific wire wheels: shorturl.at/ETY04 shorturl.at/bdhU7 After this it's usually time for sanding - I usually sand through 240-800 grit for cast iron, and bronze items I sand through 400-800 grit, but sometimes up to 2,000 grit if I'm going for a mirror finish. You should be able to find sandpaper assortments which generally have grits ranging from 80-3000ish. There are many options to choose from on Amazon. After sanding I polish everything. Hinges like these I did with a bench buffer, though recently I've started polishing more with the Dremel tool since with ornamental hardware it's less abrasive on the raised details. Lock faceplates and backplates are two things that from here on out I'll polish with the Dremel tool, and door knobs with the bench buffer. I use these to polish: shorturl.at/pQZ45 shorturl.at/rtY35 shorturl.at/fprsx I clean everything with brake cleaner (very nasty stuff but effective at removing polish) followed by Acetone (also very nasty stuff haha) which removes any brake cleaner residue. The lacquer I make myself and is a bit of a trade secret, sorry! That said, I recently have tested out applying tint to metal followed by either clear coating it or by lacquering it if it's bronze. You can find alcohol inks online which are commonly used to tint epoxy - Just make sure they aren't a solid color! I'd give a link but the ones I bought are no longer for sale :( I've successfully mixed mine them with this cellulose nitrate lacquer: shorturl.at/ovX79 I was able to dilute my tints in acetone and apply them with a small brush, though after testing I sprayed it on for better consistency by spraying the clear lacquer into the airbrush cup, applying a couple drops of tint, followed by a couple thicker coats straight from the can. I always leave lacquer for a week before applying paint. For many of my projects I've used a gloss black paint by Rust Oleum, though I'm on the search for a higher quality paint that is of the correct consistency that it doesn't cover the recessed texture but is also thick enough to not flow off the raised areas. I now spray the paint on followed by removing the paint from the raised areas with a low lint towel folded over many times to make it rigid. I apply a small amount of paint thinner to speed up the paint removal. For locks I may need to make springs. You can sometimes find sets of springs like this one: shorturl.at/o1278 For lock cases I usually use a flat black primer, followed by the same gloss black paint I used to paint the recessed areas. Hopefully I haven't missed anything, and sorry for the extra long comment haha. Thank you for watching, and if you have any more questions feel free to ask!
Beautiful! What kind of product did you use to tint the lacquer? Is there anything that you'd recommend for use in concert with a basic spray can clear coat?
You know, I've not seen you polish something. Just something that needs it for decorative reasons. Like a brass railroad lantern I did for a neighbor. She wanted it to shine and it indeed does. Broke my heart but she's 85 and if she wants shine she's gonna get it. Just wondering as I suspect your methods and tools might be quite educational. Your wife got a teapot from a relative she never cared for? Buff it up for her.
Well hey I'm sure she appreciated it! Hahaha yeah it's been a while since I've polished something non hardware related, and I haven't done any properly polished non hardware related items so far. I'll have to be on the lookout for just the right project that I can get polished up to a nice mirror finish! Thanks for the recommendation, and have a nice rest of your weekend, Mark!
Right, it's such a cool design! So I ended up buying these form an architectural salvage website, but I can't remember which one it was (I frequent many haha) since I bought them about a year ago. Thank you for watching, and have a nice weekend!
Haha well I mean all puns aside as long as I've mangled the hinges of nearby house the night prior with a sledgehammer I reckon I could sell a fair few number of these bad boys for a steep price of course 😁
Haha good question - I'd say the best place is an architectural salvage website which may be able to hook you up with as many sets of a certain designed knob/backplate/hinge/etc. as you need. I've bought a decent number of items from a website called Olde Good Things (no, not a sponsor haha) but there are a decent number websites out there to choose from. Thanks a lot for watching!
Good question - The copper plating this time ‘round was mainly for adding a little rust protection, but also as a way to test/gain experience with the chemical plating solution since I haven’t had a chance to use it much and would like to test it out on a larger project in the future. Thanks again for watching!
Howdy all, a bit of a shorter video this time 'round! With this restoration done I've finally completed the full set of hardware in this design - I'm pretty stoked to finally move onto more interesting items in the near future haha. As always thank you for watching!
Like doors?
Please do a video showing everything.. I love this set!
So I've restored one door to date and hope not to have to do another one for some time hahaha - It was lot more work than anticipated, though it was worth it in the end! I have a bunch of interesting items, both hardware and non hardware related that I can finally start taking on now that this set is done, and some time next year I hope to get some casting related projects done.
I'd like to show the whole set once it's all installed on the doors!
Looking forward to your next project!!
DUDE! a full set is an Accomplishment! and these hinges are phenomenal!
Much appreciated, Jody! I'm pretty excited to move onto different designs - This one is gorgeous but there are so many cool hardware sets I can finally get to restoring haha. Thank you for the support and have a nice weekend!
Excellent restoration 👍👍👍Thank you for sharing. Be safe🇨🇦
Hey thank you very much! Have a great weekend!
Your videos never get old. Love these hinges! ✌🏻🎨☕️
I appreciate it, Susannah! Now that this set of matching hardware is finally finished I'm pretty excited to move onto some really cool sets I've had sitting around just begging to be restored haha. Have a nice weekend!
Beautiful hinges
Thank you, Larry! Right, they should look even better once installed I’d imagine!
Beautiful workmanship brought back to life. Great job!
Thank you, Chrysanthe! Just imagine how much time had to go into making the original mold for these hinges! Even more impressive is that these exact hinges were made in seven different sizes, each requiring a hand made mold. As always thank you for watching!
Its just .... beautiful ! :)
Thank you, Bobby!
Beautiful 👍
I appreciate it, Anne!
I never thought I would be so intrigued by door hardware being revitalized. It is soothing and you've really refined your methods. You've made me fascinated with the art deco look of a century ago. Keep it up!
Hey I appreciate the kind words! There are so many gorgeous designs like this from the late 1800s to early 1900s that it's hard to chose which is best haha. Thank you for watching, and have yourself a nice weekend!
Soothing and relaxing. Don't know how many times I've fallen asleep during his videos. 🙂
Another awesome one. 👍 Can't wait to see these installed.
Hey thanks a lot! I hope these'll be installed by this time next year, and I'll definitely need to make a video of them once installed. As always thank you for watching, and have a great weekend!
My goodness , if you put these in your house along with all the other things you restored your house is going to be gorgeous.
I definitely hope to put most of the hardware I've restored so far in it, though I still have a bunch of locksets that need restoring so it may take some time to get everything done up haha. As always thank you for watching!
@@randomrestoration6858 I hope you have as many doors in your house as I do. Lol
@@gayle525 I figure if I restore too many hardware sets I just need to blast a hole in the wall here and there to add an unnecessary door hahaha
Just brilliant work as always. Look forward to seeing what you do next. 👍 👌👌
I appreciate it, Craig! I'm excited to have this full set of hardware finished since now I should be able to finally take on some pretty cool sets with totally different designs. As always thank you for watching!
Very ambitious taking on such large hinges. I really liked the pattern.
I LOVE the butterfly hinges!
Looking forward to those videos.
You realize you will have to do a video sometime when you start using all of these wonderful restorations in your home.
Your fans will be waiting... :-)
I appreciate it! With this project I've finally finished the "Windsor" pattern hardware set so there should be a bunch of items with very different but cool designs restored in upcoming videos!
Right, so I have three of those butterfly hinges (made by Norwalk Lock Co.) and all three are really damaged around the top knuckles. It'll likely be some time next year before I'll be able to start that project since I'll have to cast new ornamental tips for all three and I have to get a casting setup and a bit of practice before that happens - It should make for a very fun project and I'm sure they'll be gorgeous once fully restored!
Haha yeah I think once all the sets are installed I'll make the grand tour of all the sets installed on the doors. As always thank you very much for watching!
Lovely! I vote for the dragonfly pattern set to be done next!
Right, that one is such a gorgeous design! The knuckles on all three hinges in that patter I have are all very worn which should make for a interesting video I think. Thanks a lot for watching!
Awesome job!!! Now we just need a video showing all the hardware installed!!!
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, Samantha! I hope to get a shot of all the hardware once it's all installed, though I don't have any doors yet which may be a bit of an issue hahaha. Have a nice rest of your weekend!
A lot of effort which results in a great finished product. Thanks for the video sir.
Much appreciated, Terry! This may be a short video, but gadzooks these took a lot longer to restore than I expected haha. Thanks a lot for watching!
Looks great, well done.😊
I appreciate it, have a nice weekend!
Stunning 🧡
Hey Deena, thank you very much! Have a nice week and thanks for stopping by!
I haven't seen any of these contraptions, ever since 4 years ago. Good to see them back on display.
Hahaha I really couldn't believe my last hinge restoration was over a year ago - Time sure does fly!
Hey, if we can't call Ghostbusters, perhaps you are the lucky one.😀Anyhow the hinges look like new, so job well done.
Hahaha well I mean with the steep increase of prank calls I've been receiving after this video was released I guess I should have just recommended calling them after all. Much appreciated!
These sets of hardware are awe inspiring. Your restoration process is magic!
Thanks a lot, Elizabeth - Have a nice weekend!
Glad to see another one of your videos show up.. I don't know where you find all those vintage pieces, but I hope you get a chance to put all of them to good use.. take care my friend...
I appreciate it, Gary! I find many of these items on websites that sell architectural salvage - There are a surprisingly large number of websites that sell this type of hardware, though many have a small number of ornamental hardware listed at any given point and I have to check all of them frequently to complete full sets of hardware. This set should look pretty nice once it's finally installed! Thank you, have a great weekend!
@@randomrestoration6858 you too RR...
Amazing! I wish I have the doors for these beauties 👏🤩💕
Thanks a lot! Haha yeah finding the right door to compliment these pieces is important. Thank you for watching!
Perfect🍀🍀
Thank you very much!
So beautiful! Craftsmanship and attention to detail died with mechanization. It is understandable but sad. Thank you for restoring this gorgeous set!
Right, just imagine how long it would have taken to make the original mold for these hinges back in the day! you're right there, sad indeed. I appreciate it - Have a great weekend!
Now you know we are still waiting to see them in use. I'm going to joke with you about that till you have them up hahahaha
They look beautiful and you did a wonderful job restoring them also!!
Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Hahaha hey fair enough I better get it installed asap 😆
I appreciate it, Oneshot - Thanks as always for stopping by, and have a nice week!
Another gorgeous outcome to your impressive collection. And, I hope you're able to track down that darned reprobate :)
Much appreciated, Bryce! I'm pretty happy to have finally finished off this complete set of hardware, as now I can move onto the many gorgeous sets I have just waiting to be restored. I actually spotted him in the mirror this morning and gadzooks does that guy ever need to shave hahaha. Have yourself a nice weekend!
@@randomrestoration6858 Now that's funny!
No Tom Johnson video yet this morning, so I guess I'll have to watch this...lol...j/k. Always love your content, expertise, and finished work.
Hahaha we do suspiciously upload at approximately the same time usually! Thank you for the kind words!
He unfortunately didn't upload today. :( BTW, I asked you last year if you sell any of the knobs and mortises, as I finally got around to restoring my Eastlake style front door today and want to replace the modern knob with an original set. I don't remember what your response was.
Haha well maybe our next video's release will line up! Wow that's right I remember your original comment about restoring that door, time sure flies! I hope the door turned out well!
Good question, it's a bit of a long response haha. So far I have not sold any of the sets I've restored - I think starting next year I will cut down on the number of videos since I really don't have as much time to finish projects as I would like to in order to get the results I want 100% of the time. A good example is this video - I likely would have refinished these hinges or outright not made this into a video since I honestly wasn't as happy with the finish as I would have liked. Until I'm able to get the quality I'd like with 100% certainty I wouldn't feel comfortable restoring hardware for someone else. It wouldn't likely be until around spring of next year that I'd be able to start a restoration for someone else. With that said if you're willing to wait you'd be at the very top of the list when I finally swap to the new video release schedule. I think the biggest difficulty for your door is that the hole drilled for modern day doorknobs is usually wider than the backplates on antique hardware and unfortunately I think you'd have to fill in the newer drilled holes before you'd be able to install an antique set. It's a lot of work but probably worth it in the mend! Aside from that hurdle there are so many gorgeous designs to choose from I think you should be able to find one to match your door really well!
@@randomrestoration6858 Thanks! I'm probably going to try to find a knob and mortise online, as I want to install it sooner than later. Do you have any recommendations for size/model/etc, for the door. I can send pics. Oh, I hit a major snag today. I stripped about ten layers of paint off but got down to a greenish layer that would NOT budge. I researched it for over an hour, to find out it's milk paint which is literally a pigmented glue. I discovered that common ammonia, steel wool, and elbow grease take it off pretty easily.
@@mrknittle532 Haha fair enough! Haha it doesn't sound like much at first but it's shocking how much work has to go into restoring a single door!
So it really depends on the size of the hole that was drilled for the modern hardware - In my experience I have never been able to find a normal set that will perfectly cover the oversized holes frilled for modern knobs, so unless the hole you have in your door is smaller than normal you may have to spend a bit of time filling it which will be quite a lot of work unfortunately. Entry sets were always double key locks and had larger backplates that could potentially cover the holes. Alternatively if you find a store door lockset it's likely that those backplates would be more than wide enough to cover the holes, but sets like that usually need a lot of work before they're ready for use and are usually a bit harder to find.
So the Sargent easy spring locks (which were offered in a couple ornate designs like the Arcadia and Ekado designs) are the best designed locks of their time - They have few parts inside, so they usually are in great shape still and generally don't need any work done to them - They also have a separately tensioned latch bolt and door knobs which many locks surprisingly didn't have. This means the latch bolt is very lightweight and you don't need to slam the door in order to close it.
Mallory Wheeler & Co. had great locks, though without a separately tensioned latch bolt/knobs. They did however design their locks to compensate for wear between the hub and lever which means they should still work like new after many decades of use - They're very sturdy locks and are probably the best built locks of the time.
Also Hopkins & Dickenson made very good locks that should both be reliable and they had a few really gorgeous designs.
There are many other companies that sold ornamental sets that were pretty hit and miss when it comes to how well the locks are designed a few examples being Lockwood, P.&F. Corbin, Norwalk, Branford and Reading Hardware - Some of their locks are really great, others are pretty trash haha.
Although they had some lovely designs I'd stay away from locks by Branford, Nashua -(though they have a bunch of cool designs the locks don't hold up over the years and commonly won't function due to wear between the levers/hubs), Union Door Knob Co. (UDK Co.), Gilbert Lock Co, Yale & Towne and Russel & Erwin due to questionable build quality or locks that usually need a lot of work to get them back to a functional state.
You may have luck finding the right lock for your door by contacting a few architectural salvage website - They should hopefully be able to hook you up with a complete fully functional ornamental entrance set that will work with your door, and you may also be able to find some matching hinges!
Tremendas bisagras! Hermosos herrajes! esta restauración también quedo excelente! Probaste alguna vez pintar el fondo de los grabados con el color rojo? Esta muy bien que sea pintado de negro porque así se respeta la originalidad de la restauración al 100%. Quedaron magnificas. Después de ver y comentar tres vídeos en tu canal solo me queda suscribirme porque las restauraciones me resultan muy buenas. Me suscribo.
¡Gracias! Todavía no he probado el rojo porque me gusta combinar los colores originales usados, pero cuando encuentre el proyecto adecuado, definitivamente probaré el rojo. El hardware un poco más antiguo que estas bisagras presentaba combinaciones de colores más interesantes y espero encontrar algunas para restaurar en videos futuros! En mi próximo proyecto y video, las áreas empotradas serán verdes. ¡Gracias de nuevo por mirar y por el apoyo!
I sure hope you’ll have a door/room/house to use all these pieces and show them off!
Eventually hahaha. I plan on building a house in the next few years and each door will have a different complete set of antique hardware. Thank you for watching, Maury!
@@randomrestoration6858 That’s awesome! I hope we get a video tour!
@@mauryfeskanich4523 I'll probably do a shorter video once everything is finished! Thanks again!
My partner and i love your videos! We recently bought a small 1880s victorian with beautiful hardware on the doors. Several are pretty busted and not too sure how to restore them, but your videos keep us optimistic. What type of lacquer are you using? Currently attempting to restore a light fixture for the house.
Thanks for sharing this insightful video. Why did you chemically copper plate the hinge pins? Was it to avoid corrosion? If the original hinges were not copper, will the dissimilar metals experience a galvanic interaction?
Wishing you a blessed week, gentle weather and restful evenings. Peace
Good question, so the copper plating was for rust prevention. It was very common at the time for iron hinges to have either brass, bronze or copper plated steel hinge pins which would have come in contact with the non plated areas inside the hinge knuckles - In this instance the different metals coming in contact with each other won't cause any issues considering the environment they're installed in.
Thanks a lot for the kind words, take care!
epic
Haha hey thanks a lot!
Not bad, just curious I know you’ve been restoring a house for you and family,in between your real job,how far have you gotten on finding and restoring all of your door hinges and latches for the house,or you just keep telling the wife,I’m working on it.that’s probably more accurate.LOL. As always nice finish,looks like it came right out of the production line.beautiful work,just keep doing what your doing and carry on 😎😎😎👍👍👍
So it's a bit of a long story but I'd estimate I'm about 10% there hahaha. I plan on restoring a few more sets than I need to decide which ones I like most since there are so many great designs to chose from. With these hinges completed I've finally finished up this "Windsor" design and I can now finally take on other interesting sets which should go a bit quicker - Making videos of the while process slows me down immensely but over the next couple years I hope to have everything finished up. I think next year I want to take on some casting related projects - It sounds crazy but I'd love to make a complete set of hardware in this style from scratch with my own design in the future, but I that's a bit of a long term goal haha. I appreciate it! Have a nice weekend, and as always thank you for watching!
I don't know where anyone would install these, but if they were on my doors, they would be all opened. Who wants to hide these gorgeous hinges.Just make sure the door itself complements the hinges.
Haha well luckily the design on the backs of these hinges sticks out from the door so that you can see the ornate design so that you can still see the design when closed, though I totally agree, I'd have a hard time closing my doors with these installed hahaha. Thank you for watching!
Beautiful as always. Commissioned set or one for your pleasure?
I appreciate it, Mark! These were mostly restored just for fun, but also these are the matching for the double door store set I've been working on for a bit now. With these hinges restored I finally have the complete set, though I still will have to make a strike for the lock at some point next year. I'm pretty excited to finally be able to take on some different ornamental hardware since I've featured this design so much haha. As always thank you for watching, and have a great weekend!
Hey RR
Hope you are well this Saturday.
As always, great outcome 👍🏻
I keep forgetting to ask;
Is the lacquer/paint you use, a certain kind for metals? I always think the clear coat will peel off.
Take care
I appreciate it, Tim - Hope you're doing well! Good question, so long story short there's not a whole lot of documentation out there about it so I can't say with 100% certainty, though all of my earliest tests (which took place some time before the first video that featured the lacquer) have all held up beautify with no signs of cracking or pealing. Admittedly there are a couple projects that I have had to paint strip and redo due to issues with rust contamination - Specifically projects featured in my "Rusty Ornate 1800s Drawer Pulls Restoration" and my "Very Rusty Ornate 1880s Mortise Lock Restoration" videos, though this was due to having to rush the projects a bit more than I would have liked more than a fault in the lacquer. I'm still working on perfecting it, but it's a bit tricky since I choose new ratios each project and also usually end up applying a different number of coats each time which effects how weak or strong the finish is. It can be very strong if done right haha.
With all that said, in my Corbin Ceylon video (titled "Rare Ornate 1890s Mortise Lock Set Restoration") I just used a rather cheap Rust Oleum clear coat and aside from some slight cracking near some of the screws (which happened when installing it in the display) has held up very well over the past nearly two years. Using a store bought lacquer made specifically non ferrous metal would be way better than a normal clear coat since it would be formulated for polished surfaces rather than something that's intended for applying over a base coat which could have adhesion issues.
As always thank you for watching, and enjoy your weekend!
@@randomrestoration6858
Thank you so very much for your reply🙂
Great information RR 👍🏻
Any chance you could share a materials list? I'm working on restoring some mortise locks from my house and I'm flailing a bit. All of your restorations turn out so beautiful!!
Thanks a lot! Hey I'll do my best haha.
So first off I better say to read all instructions on all the products listed since some of them contain some pretty harsh chemicals that you probably should take some precautions with, and others you may have awful results with if you don't supply correctly.
Long story short, here's the list:
Paint Remover
Steel/Brass wire brush
Soapy wooder
Evapo-Rust
Wire wheels
Sand paper
Polishing wheels
Polish
Brake cleaner
Acetone
Clear lacquer
Gold tint
Primer
Gloss black base coat
Low lint paper towels
Spring steel
For the paint stripper (pretty nasty stuff that you'll need some chemical resistant gloves for) I used "Aircraft Paint Remover" by Klean Strip. You can find an aerosol and gel version of this, each seem to work okay, but may need a couple coats to remove stubborn stuff.
I use a steel wire brush to scrub the paint off, though a brass wire brush would be a bit less abrasive.
Soapy water should remove paint striper residue pretty well, though I use a very strong degreaser that I never dilute because that's too much effort haha.
I use a five gallon bucket of Evapo-Rust which works great and isn't too expensive for how much you get - You can also buy in smaller sizes
I use a Dremel tool, mainly with wire wheels to clean the hinges/mortise lock case/etc. and to clean up the small parts
I usually use these specific wire wheels:
shorturl.at/ETY04
shorturl.at/bdhU7
After this it's usually time for sanding - I usually sand through 240-800 grit for cast iron, and bronze items I sand through 400-800 grit, but sometimes up to 2,000 grit if I'm going for a mirror finish. You should be able to find sandpaper assortments which generally have grits ranging from 80-3000ish. There are many options to choose from on Amazon.
After sanding I polish everything. Hinges like these I did with a bench buffer, though recently I've started polishing more with the Dremel tool since with ornamental hardware it's less abrasive on the raised details. Lock faceplates and backplates are two things that from here on out I'll polish with the Dremel tool, and door knobs with the bench buffer.
I use these to polish:
shorturl.at/pQZ45
shorturl.at/rtY35
shorturl.at/fprsx
I clean everything with brake cleaner (very nasty stuff but effective at removing polish) followed by Acetone (also very nasty stuff haha) which removes any brake cleaner residue.
The lacquer I make myself and is a bit of a trade secret, sorry!
That said, I recently have tested out applying tint to metal followed by either clear coating it or by lacquering it if it's bronze.
You can find alcohol inks online which are commonly used to tint epoxy - Just make sure they aren't a solid color! I'd give a link but the ones I bought are no longer for sale :(
I've successfully mixed mine them with this cellulose nitrate lacquer:
shorturl.at/ovX79
I was able to dilute my tints in acetone and apply them with a small brush, though after testing I sprayed it on for better consistency by spraying the clear lacquer into the airbrush cup, applying a couple drops of tint, followed by a couple thicker coats straight from the can.
I always leave lacquer for a week before applying paint. For many of my projects I've used a gloss black paint by Rust Oleum, though I'm on the search for a higher quality paint that is of the correct consistency that it doesn't cover the recessed texture but is also thick enough to not flow off the raised areas.
I now spray the paint on followed by removing the paint from the raised areas with a low lint towel folded over many times to make it rigid. I apply a small amount of paint thinner to speed up the paint removal.
For locks I may need to make springs. You can sometimes find sets of springs like this one:
shorturl.at/o1278
For lock cases I usually use a flat black primer, followed by the same gloss black paint I used to paint the recessed areas.
Hopefully I haven't missed anything, and sorry for the extra long comment haha.
Thank you for watching, and if you have any more questions feel free to ask!
This is great, thank you so much!!
Beautiful! What kind of product did you use to tint the lacquer? Is there anything that you'd recommend for use in concert with a basic spray can clear coat?
You know, I've not seen you polish something. Just something that needs it for decorative reasons. Like a brass railroad lantern I did for a neighbor. She wanted it to shine and it indeed does. Broke my heart but she's 85 and if she wants shine she's gonna get it. Just wondering as I suspect your methods and tools might be quite educational. Your wife got a teapot from a relative she never cared for? Buff it up for her.
Well hey I'm sure she appreciated it! Hahaha yeah it's been a while since I've polished something non hardware related, and I haven't done any properly polished non hardware related items so far. I'll have to be on the lookout for just the right project that I can get polished up to a nice mirror finish! Thanks for the recommendation, and have a nice rest of your weekend, Mark!
Where do you find al these things, they're awesome!!
Right, it's such a cool design! So I ended up buying these form an architectural salvage website, but I can't remember which one it was (I frequent many haha) since I bought them about a year ago. Thank you for watching, and have a nice weekend!
Nice job 👍 Are you going to sell them door to door? 🍻
😅
Haha well I mean all puns aside as long as I've mangled the hinges of nearby house the night prior with a sledgehammer I reckon I could sell a fair few number of these bad boys for a steep price of course 😁
@@randomrestoration6858 Sold at the fall of the hammer? A Random Restoration style auction 😝👍🍻
I would like to know WHERE I can purchase one of these ornate door knobs.
Thank you
Haha good question - I'd say the best place is an architectural salvage website which may be able to hook you up with as many sets of a certain designed knob/backplate/hinge/etc. as you need. I've bought a decent number of items from a website called Olde Good Things (no, not a sponsor haha) but there are a decent number websites out there to choose from. Thanks a lot for watching!
Why copper plating on the pins?
Good question - The copper plating this time ‘round was mainly for adding a little rust protection, but also as a way to test/gain experience with the chemical plating solution since I haven’t had a chance to use it much and would like to test it out on a larger project in the future. Thanks again for watching!
LOL
Took the words right out of my mouth hahaha