Installing a Half-Mortise Lock
The half-mortise lock for the Ellis organizer is easily installed following the steps you see here. The lock comes from Horton Brasses, and as you see in detail ‘a,’ the keyhole on the lock is not centered on the mechanism. It’s important that you center the keyhole opening and the escutcheon on the door. When the layout is done, start by cutting the shallow recess for the back plate of the lock you see in Figure 1. Next, carve away the waste for the body of the lock, as shown in Figure 2. Follow this with making the recess for the top of the lock (Figure 3). Now you can focus on the keyhole.
KEYHOLE. Start by drilling the hole for the head of the keyhole opening. Then waste away the tail material with a coping saw. Figure 4 shows these steps. To complete the lock installation, tap the escutcheon in place (Figure 5).
STRIKE PLATE. To locate the strike plate on the top, rub some graphite on the bolt of the lock and use the key to press it into the surface of the top. Then remove the top and rout a deep mortise for the bolt of the lock, and a shallow one for the strike plate itself. Figure 6 shows a bottom view of the top.
