Monday, March 20, 2017

Retrofitting Narrow Stile Storefront Doors: From Adams-Rite Swingbolt to Deadlatch

By David Calvin

Available at Amazon Books. Click the title!


Aluminum, narrow stile, glass doors are everywhere! In fact, I've made a mint servicing them over the years. I install continuous hinges on them, rekey the locks in them, replace the thumb turns in them, replace the lock bodies, lubricate them, and install door closers on them. But when it comes to replacing the Adams-Rite Dead Bolt or Hook Bolts with the Adams-Rite Dead Latch, I'm making a great profit for less than two hours work.

So, just how bad is the money? I buy aftermarket parts. The latches are $15, the levers are another $15, the Adams-Rite strike is another $15. Okay - if I am installing a paddle, those run around $30. So, for $50 worth of lock hardware, I get a $65 service call and up to a $295 install. If I have to install a door closer while I'm there, it's another $100 profit. So, gee - this is really bad, right? I quote the job, I get the job, I get half a trip to Cancun out of it. But who the heck wants to go to Cancun, right? I don't.

The big question is this: can you use a drill, a screw driver, and do you know how to thread a drilled hole with a tap? You can. 

So, what's the deal? Well, for starters, I hate instruction manuals, especially the ones written in China. So I will tell you right now that installing the Adams-Rite knock-off dead latch is more art than - hmm - science and math.

And why do people want a dead latch anyway? Because they want their storefront glass door to close back and LOCK every time somebody comes in by key or leaves by lever. And you need to know how to do this and not be like the locksmiths who runs from such jobs.

My book, which is full of pictures, tips, and know-how, will get you off and running. No, this book is not a field manual. This is a book you read through three times and then hit the road. The same as my other book, The Locksmith's Lever and Panic Bar Retrofit Book. 

I am sorry to say that we will not offer this book in print for a number of valid reasons. You can buy this book, read it on your computer via the Kindle app, or read it on your smartphone or Kindle tablet.

And yes - I include my email address and website information so you can email or even call me.

And do call me! -- Happy hunting! -- You can do this!

Tuesday, March 7, 2017



The Locksmith's Lever and Panic Bar Retrofit Book
by David Calvin
Copyright, 2017

At Amazon Books

There are some things I won't do for any amount of money. I won't jump out of airplanes, do scratch-and-sniffs, eat sushi (fish bait), or -- well, you get the picture. But buying a thousand dollar lock for a customer, marking it up to retail (about $1900), and putting it on his door in less than two hours is another story altogether! Even if I have to install three and wear myself out doing it!

If you want to pursue commercial lock work and put levers onto doors where there used to be panic bars, or vice versa, this is the book for you. Sometimes contractors put the wrong doors in, doors prepped for mortise panic bars, when all the customer needed was a door prepped for a lever. I can show you how to do this. Or, sometimes you get called to work on a panic bar that is beat up and obsolete and you need to replace it with a new one. What do you do? How do you do it? I can show you. I do it all the time. I taught myself. And let me tell you - it's more art than science. Part tape measure, part template, part eyeball.

Offer this service in your area, and you just might be the only guy or gal doing it. And what does that mean economically? It means you can get the money you want for the job - but within reason, of course. Should you charge by the hour? That's up to you. I charge by the job. You can buy your locks for half off retail, mark them up to retail, and be in and out of many jobs in an an hour, maybe two. 

Don't like the price of the book? Believe it or not, I don't either, But there are nearly fifty pictures in this book and I get charged data when you buy it. 

How do you use this book? Well, first of all, it is not a field a manual. You don't need a field manual.You just need to see how the jobs get done. Hear it explained. Learn the tips. That's it. Read the book through three times, get the theory and philosophy down, and that's it. I will tell you the tools you will need, the small miscellaneous parts, and I will talk about a number of brands and types of devices you can pick up at any lock wholesaler. 

You can do this. And since this is the single most profitable job in locksmithing, you would not be wise to overlook it. If you can measure, drill holes, use templates, and turn a screwdriver, you can do this!

And call me.