I own a mid 50's home that i've been working on for the past little bit. I recently bought new door hardware (knobs, strike plates, hinges, etc) to replace the old with. Half of the old one do not work correctly or at all. The problem is the old one are the "double" skull lock type, where the knob is on top and the lock on the bottom of ALL the interior doors. this, of course, when removed, leave a huge hole on the end of the door and two hole on the side. The new knobs are only the knob, there's no lock on the bottom. Is there any way to "fill" the hole, or am I going to have to replace the doors as well? Thanks in advance to all... Ross

 

Welcome to the forums! Not sure what a "skull" lock is, but what you are describing is a rimlock or mortise lockset. Unless you replace it with a like set, you may have problems putting a modern lockset in it since your door isn't as thick as modern ones. 2 3/8" is normal. Measure your thickness and let us know what it is.

 

I think Chandler meant 1 3/8" is a normal thickness.

It's ok, Chandler...the week is almost over...lol.

 

Double Skull Lock type = Mortise Lock!

Option one: (86 to 161) (Mortise to Cylindrical) face plate for the Mortise pocket + Scar plate(s) for the handle and thumb turn holes.

Option two: Plug Mortise pocket using wood block & filler like Bondo. Fit & glue wood strip on style (Mortise faceplate recess). Almost fill handle and thumb turn holes with Bondo, then top with exterior Spackle & sand smooth. Bore cross bore & latch bore for Cylindrical Lock. Prime & Paint.

BTW, guys: at one time mortise locks were popular on single & multi-panel interior style & rail doors. My money is on a single panel.

 

Thanks everyone for all your help. My doors are 1-3/8" thick. That was actually the first thing i thought about. The new hardware will "fit", its just a matter of it looking good with no holes in the door. As I had mentioned, i thought about getting all new doors. The problem is that my home is older and not exactly "square". Keeping the old doors that already fit correctly would be easier in that regard.

Thanks, too, for welcoming me to the forum. Its a very cool site.