It is not necessary to buy factory latches in the store for a gate in a farmstead or country house, as well as for the doors of outbuildings, especially when you need several of them. You can make the latches yourself from leftover metal that is no longer good for anything. Any adult with basic plumbing skills can handle this job.
Will need
Materials:- remains of a metal sheet;
- metal pin;
- countersunk screw;
- screws;
- spray paint.
High-quality drills on AliExpress at a discount - http://alii.pub/5zwmxz
The process of making a self-closing door latch with your own hands
On a suitable remainder of the metal sheet we draw the outline of a bolt-leash, the main elements of which are the front part, cut at an angle from below, and ending with a vertical slot.
Using a grinder, we make the outline of the bolt using the completed markings, remove burrs, sharp edges and round the corners.
On a rectangular plate with rounded corners, we mark places for drilling four holes in the corners and one in the center.
We also mark the place for drilling a hole on the leash in accordance with the hole in the plate.
After marking all the marked points, we make holes on a drilling machine and countersink them for the heads of screws and screws. In the central hole in the plate we cut a thread using a tap and a wrench.
We fasten the bolt-leash to the plate using a bolt, position it horizontally relative to the long sides of the plate and, diagonally from the oblique cut, mark a place for a small diameter hole.
We insert a pin into this small hole with tension, leaving a height on the front side equal to the thickness of the bolt. We flatten the pin from the bottom of the plate and clean it with a grinder.
We place the bolt-leash on the plate and secure it with a countersunk screw so that it can freely rotate in a vertical plane, resting only on the stopper.
We cut out an elongated rectangular plate from the remains of the sheet, drill two holes with a countersink closer to one edge. It will serve as a locking plate.
We disassemble the latch for painting and let the paint dry. After that, we attach the base with the bolt to the end of the door jamb with screws, and the locking plate is also secured to the door leaf with the help of screws at the required height and with the required overhang.
Now, when closing the door leaf, the locking bar slides along the front cut part of the bolt-leash, lifts it and, when the door leaf is completely closed, falls, and the locking bar ends up in the slot of the bolt-leash.
In order to open the door again, it is enough to lift the leash by the tongue and disengage it from the strike plate.
