Door locks 

Wickerwork and animal skins - that's how our ancestors protected their simple huts made of wood and clay. Fortunately, we can now rely on modern front doors and locks to prevent thieves from tampering with our belongings. And in doing so, we are increasingly relying on high-quality locks that meet the highest security standards in order to achieve good burglary protection.

With us you can buy door locks, also prepared for profile cylinders - for front doors, but also for swing doors, garden gates, shed doors or cellar lockers. Let yourself be inspired and find the ideal door lock for your area of application!

House door lock with or without cylinder

Open Sesame - with these words Ali Baba opened a treasure chamber in the well-known tale. Unfortunately, our doors cannot yet be opened with magic spells, but they are particularly secure - provided that high-quality locks are used. A door lock consists at least of a lock case and a strike plate as a counterpart. Especially in the case of entrance door locks or variants that have to be particularly secure, a lock or profile cylinder is also used. Roughly speaking, door locks can be divided into the following three categories:

• Bunt-bit lock: The simplest variant is mainly used indoors and has the advantage that it usually does not require a cylinder. This type of lock owes its name to the colourful, and thus diverse, key shapes and beards. A major disadvantage, however, is that these locks are not very secure, because a single key theoretically fits into more than one box lock, despite the many variants. And thieves who are good with locking hooks and the like quickly pick the lock. A bunt-bit lock should therefore not be used for front doors.
• Lock with cylinder: Box locks with profile cylinder or profile cylinder lock are far more secure. This is because they have an open locking channel in which a separate locking cylinder, such as a profile or double cylinder, can fit. The most important key points for finding the right cylinder for such a door lock are the door thickness, the dimensions of the lock escutcheon and door fitting, and the length of the cylinder.
• Bathroom or WC lock: Just like the bunt-bit lock, bathroom or WC locks do not have a real locking channel, but a square pin is essential for driving the latch and deadbolt. It is driven on the inside by a turning knob, while on the outside only a closing knob is attached.

From mortise to case lock

In addition, there are screw-on, mortise, recessed or bar locks. If you want to buy a door lock, you should pay attention not only to the type of lock but also to whether the door is right- or left-handed, as well as to the backset. This is the distance from the centre of the keyhole and square spindle to the outer edge of the forend.

At Heimwerkertools we offer mortise or mortise locks - also for swing doors - as well as box locks. Mortise locks are simply inserted into the groove of the door rebate side, fixed with screws and fitted with protective fittings and the square. With box locks, it is again important to mark the position in advance and draw in the opening for the forend before the holes can be drilled. You will also need a hole for the lock cylinder or the cotters. You can also buy knob door locks, swing door latches, single-key locks and padlocks from us.

How door locks work

The heart of many door locks is a lock cylinder. This fits perfectly into the mortise lock, which is anchored in the door leaf. To fix the cylinder, the cylinder and lock are screwed together. The cylinder has a locking channel. When the key is inserted into this, it can be used to move the locking lug, which operates the latch (door latch) or the bolt of the mortise lock. And in doing so, the unique key profile with its different details moves the tumbler pins inside the cylinder in such a way that the spring-loaded locking pins release the latch in the lock. The result: the key turns and opens the door.

In the following article you will find more information on the construction and installation of door locks: All you need to know about mortise locks: types, installation and dimensions.