[A/S] wooden dead bolt or bent door

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Guys,

When I saw Alan's comments about a bent door, it reminded me of the
deadbolts I've made over the years for each of our Airstreams. Perhaps it's
the time to mention that topic again.

Terry

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A wooden deadbolt is simple to make ****IF**** there's a grab handle on the
Airstream. 

With our '63 22', our '67 22', our '69 27', our '77 31', our '86 32' and our
'89 32' Airstreams, I used a piece of wood 6 inches long by 1 inch wide by
3/4 inch deep. 

I start by sliding the wood behind the grab handle so it rests against the
door and overlaps the door frame by an inch or so.

Next, I try to twist the wood so the 3/4" side bumps into the back of the
grab handle. If that occurs, the wood is wide enough. If it doesn't bump
(too narrow), I use a wider piece of wood.  With the right size wood as a
starter, I CAN'T twist the wood behind the grab handle.

Then, with the wood in place behind the grab handle and extending beyond the
door frame into the actual door area, I use a pencil to mark the wood along
the 3/4" edge behind the grab handle. This is to identify the exact width of
the backside of the grab handle. This is the area where I begin whittling.

I whittle a groove along the 3/'4" side between the two marks I made.
Whittling is done a little at a time to make the groove deeper. I keep
checking until the groove will fit into the back of the grab handle. I make
a slight curve on one side of the whittled out area to simplify twisting the
wood into place. The groove must align under the grab handle with the
non-whittled side flat against the Airstream's door and door frame.

If it doesn't fit, more whittling is needed to make the groove wider or
deeper. Whittling a little at a time with frequent checking makes it
possible to get it exactly right. The groove must be a tight fit.  A loose
fit won't keep the wooden deadbolt securely in place.

That's all there is to it. Making the first wooden deadbolt took me about a
half hour. Subsequent ones take less time than eating an ice cream cone.

Why do I do this when there is already a perfectly good (I assume) deadbolt
and a perfectly good (I assume) lock?

The answer is that long ago I learned how to spell ass u me and never forgot
it. 

Terry