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Assembling the latch

A hole is drilled for the pin on which the thumber pivots through the slot. A similar hole is drilled through the thumber and a trial pin holds the two together. After adjusting the fit a rivet is used to hold the thumber in the slot.

A finish of beeswax and linseed oil is used on a warm latch to protect the metal and give it a traditional black color. After a couple of days a final paste wax finish is given to the latch.

Drilling the hole

An 1/8 inch hole is drilled into the latch. We use an old hand-operated drill press to do this.

Drilling the latch

This close-up photo shows the hole being drilled in the drill press.

Thumber

The thumber is forged from a piece of 3/8 inch round stock that is 3 1/4 inches long.

Riveting the latch

After trial fitting the thumber and making sure that everything works correctly, a pin is riveted through the slot to hold the thumber. The latch is reheated to put scale on the pin, and then it is ready to finish.

Putting finish on the latch

The latch is warmed over the forge and then dipped into a solution of beeswax and linseed oil.

Final warming over fire

The latch with a coating of finish is briefly warmed over the fire to help the wax penetrate all the surfaces. After cooling, excess finish is wiped off.

 

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Making a Latch
is a description, with photos, of the steps we go through to make a Suffolk Latch.

Making a Hinge
is a description, like Making a Latch, that shows the steps we go through to make a Butterfly Hinge.

Making a Grip
shows the process for making a Cabinet Grip.

Blacksmith's Blog Posts
collects posts we created for the Horton Brasses blog in 2010 and 2011. There's information about the shop, what we make and how we make it, including links to two videos.

Tools of the Trade
shows some of the tools in Molly’s blacksmith shop.

Making a Living
describes how we became blacksmiths.

Glossary of Blacksmithing Terms
is linked to various words that are not commonly known by non-smiths throughout this section of the site.