Bridle problem

[schloss]

I'm still in the process of putting together a Siler lock kit. It's hard to get enough time get much accomplished recently...

Anyway, I got it to the drill press today, and everything was looking pretty good until I drilled out the bridle. There was a little air pocket in the thick part of the bridle, and the drill bit followed it, leaving me with a crooked and oval hole.

Anybody run into this before?

 

[Stophel]

I've not had that specific part have a void, but sooner or later, you WILL run into a cast part with voids in them. Just get another. If you don't want to wait for a new one to come in, you can saw one out of 3/8" thick mild steel, which I sometimes do. It takes a LOT of elbow grease.

 

[J.D.]

Do you have a friend with a mig welder? it could easily be migged. Or, drill the hole to a larger diameter and insert a bushing. If those ideas don't work, get out your hack saw and files and make a new one, as Stophel suggested.

 

[schloss]

My inexperience is leading me to just order another one. I have a few other items that I need, so I was just going to order all of it at once.

 

[schloss]

Another thing I've run into is the fact that the tumbler doesn't fit through the tumbler hole on the plate. The shafts on the tumbler are machined to the right size already, I'm guessing I need to ream out the hole in the plate some. But what bit or ream should I use to enlarge the hole? Or should I just turn the tumbler down so it fits?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Who made the lock? Why not send it back to them to replace, or fix? A machine shop will have a variety of reamers to cut that hole the proper size, but the work will cost you more than the cost of another lock! Why bother? Someone didn't marry the tumbler with the hole in the plate. Send it back!

 

[schloss]

It's a large Siler kit.

 

[wulf]

LIKE WE ALL SAY "SEND IT BACK"

 

[Stophel]

Yes, you need to drill out the hole in the plate. I forget what size I usually do them. It needs to be slightly smaller than the tumbler, then turn the tumbler down to fit. And horror of horrors, I just drill the lockplate, I don't have a reamer. It works perfectly fine. You need letter drill bits, if I remember correctly, somewhere in the L,M,N,O,P range...

 

[schloss]

I went ahead and drilled it out yesterday. I'm happy with the fit. So far anyway. I guess time will tell. I'm going to order a new bridle in a few days or so.

Thanks.