1933 Auburn Door Handle Repair

I love it when the forum works: people helping people.

Hi,

TA-DAAAA!!!

Congratulations! I sense the sweet smell of success!

--Tom

I fixed my door handle. I cut the square rod flush and was able to drill it out the rest of the way. Surprising is that I was able to drill right on dead center. I used the largest drill possible to just touch the flat sides of the square piece. When I got to the bottom, the shaft actually began lifting out of the hole and I was able to pull it out. I had a near perfect square hole when done and I epoxied a new square shaft in place. I let it cure for a couple of days and the handle now works perfectly.
Thanks for all of the advice and great instructions.

Hi.

The reference to the lathe is to turn the replacement shaft round to epoxy (or Locktite) into the handle if the square stub cannot be completely removed. If you have a milling machine, the handle can be jigged and clamped to the work table and a milling end cutter can be used to drill out the stub to a round condition. If you have a drill press, the handle should be jigged and clamped in a work vise, but a center-punched starter location in the stub will be needed.

It s preferable to be able to remove the entire stub and have a square hole for the replacement shaft. However, if a round hole is all that can be accomplished, turning the end of new shaft round and installing it in the handle is the next best thing.

--Tom

Der Verweis auf die Drehbank soll [/ b] Ersatz Welle an Epoxy (oder Locktite) in den Griff wenden Runde, wenn die quadratische Stub kann nicht vollst?ndig entfernt werden. Haben Sie eine Fr?smaschine, das Handle Biosakte und in die Arbeitstabelle geklemmt werden kann und ein Ende mit zylindrischem Schaft kann verwendet werden, die Stub zu einer Runde Bedingung zu bohren. Haben Sie eine Bohrmaschine, das Handle Biosakte und in einem Werk-Schraubstock eingespannt werden, sondern eine Mitte gelocht Starter-Position in der Stub ben?tigt werden.

Es s m?glicherweise die gesamte Stub zu entfernen und haben eine quadratische Loch f?r die Ersatz-Welle vorzuziehen. Jedoch wenn ein rundes Loch alles, die was erreicht werden kann ist, ist das Ende der neuen Welle Runde drehen und installieren es im Griff die n?chste beste Sache.-Tom

How can I center the handle in a lathe?

Hi,

One question: Is the purpose of rounding the shaft because the hole cannot be completely cleaned out to it's square shape? If I clean the hole out and it is square, I am assuming that the shaft will not need to be rounded.

That is correct, and is why I suggested waiting until after drilling out the stub before rounding the replacement. I expect that once you have drilled out the stub, you'll be able to tap the remaining parts loose with a cold chisel and light hammer.

--Tom

I will give this a try. One question: Is the purpose of rounding the shaft because the hole cannot be completely cleaned out to it's square shape? If I clean the hole out and it is square, I am assuming that the shaft will not need to be rounded.

Also, as a side note, I have a lathe.

Thanks for your help

Nick

Hi,

I have done this.

Do you have a lathe? If so, after step 5 below, turn down the end of your replacement square shaft to 1/4" and rough up the round surface so that epoxy will hold on to it. If not, you have to remove the existing stub completely.

When you cut off the existing shaft, leave 1/8" or so of the shaft above the level of the handle. This gives you something to "bump" on in step 5 below.

This problem boils down to drilling a square hole in the handle. This is more easily done with a drill press than with a hand drill, and more easily done with a milling machine than a drill press. In any event, it can be done with patience and some skill.

The essentials here are:

1) Mount and secure the handle in a jig or vise so that it cannot move around on you;
2) find and center-punch an accurate center in the remaining stub of the 1/4" shaft so that you can drill it out accurately; if you are using a milling machine, you won't need the center punch--use an end mill.
3) apply and let soak Kroil, MB Blaster, or Lock-Ease to the location with the hope that it might penetrate the contact areas between the shaft and the stub and allow the remains of the stub to be picked out.
4) after a couple of days of soaking the shaft/handle location in penetrant, start drilling out the stub of the shaft with ever-increasing size drills. Start with 1/8" and move up to 1/4" from there.
5) with some luck you may find that the remaining corners of the square shaft can be bumped loose with a cold chisel and the pieces can be picked out of the hole with a pointed instrument such as a dental pick, which is what I did. If the stub simply cannot be removed, you can install the roughed-up rounded end of the new piece in powdered-steel epoxy.
6) If you cannot round off your new shaft AND the remains of the stub cannot be removed, patiently use a machinist's file to start squaring out the hole. Eventually, one way or the other, you'll have the square opening you need.

Have fun with this project. IAnd if it's not fun, why the heck are you doing it?

BTW, steps 1 through 5 work great for removing broken-off bolts and screws. For that job I use left-hand drill bits. Usually the old stud or bolt spins out on the drill bit after the drill has done most of the work.

--Tom

I have an exterior door handle that I need to repair. The square shaft was broken and repaired years ago. It was brazed. I would like to replace the entire square shaft rather than make a tempory repair. Has anyone ever done this type of repair? I am thinking of cutting the 1/4" shaft off and then drilling out the remaining portion that fits into the handle. I am not sure if all of the material will be removed when I drill it out. Once material is removed, I should be able to replace the square shaft. Can anyone offer any suggestions?[/img]