June 5, 2022
I spent an INSANE amount of money on door hardware today. What the heck? My go-to place for anything that I hope not to fall apart in 2 years, or at least not look like it, is Clark-Devon Hardware on Clark street, at....well, Devon. That place is the bomb. They have what is likely the same stuff that they have been selling since 1924 when they opened. The brass is real brass, the glass is real glass, and the organization of the place is shit, but I don't care.
These little puppies, the brass hinges pictured above are actually from The Re-Use Depot in Maywood. That place is pretty rad too. I got these bad boys for a song, and after a good soak in the slow cooker with some laundry detergent, the 80 years of paint just dropped right off. A little scrub a dub with some steel wool, and they are ready to roll. They are seriously heavy duty, and perfect the mess of doors that I am about to finish for the front of the building. The post about the doors and the process for creating them will come soon enough. I have to keep all of you in suspense for that one.
The doors, what I assume will be my pride and joy (handmade directly out of rough slabs from harvested trees from the Park District..more later on that) , are nearly done, and after having hung the first one, I came to realize a serious, but not earth-shattering mistake I made. I made the stiles a bit too narrow. I didn't really know that there was a 'standard' and hadn't thought far enough ahead to understand that the standard is based on door knob hardware and its 'setback'. After some searching, I was able to find a mortise lock that would work, and I picked up these fancy brass door plates at the Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse. I'm going to have to cut them down some, but they will work beautifully! These were cheap compared to the new stuff I bought. Again. with a little elbow grease, these will be the perfect complement to the doors.
Moving right along!