Are locks standardized here?

[Polar Bear]

I have this latch and lock on an outdoor gate. The latch and handle are fine, but the lock isn't working anymore. I kept it going for a few months with TLC and WD40, but now it's given up entirely. I've had zero success getting someone to come out and fix/replace it for me. Are these kinds of locks fairly standard here? The gate is metal, so I won't be able to make any adjustments if it doesn't fit in the current setup. The fittings are rusted up, but I am pretty sure I'd be able to remove it, so I can take it to a store to look for something the same size, but there's no point if they are all just randomly sized.

[worgeordie]

Take the old one out and take it to hardware store and

check the size against what they have in stock, especially

if keyhole is in right place. 

regards Worgeordie

[Polar Bear]

That's my plan, but I want to check if there is any point before I start dismantling it. In the UK, I'd be 90% sure of finding something, but I've lived in countries where you wouldn't find 2 locks the same in the whole store. I've got no idea what the situation is here.

[Saanim]

Why always to think that Thailand has to be of the same technical, (or cultural, or any other) level as in UK (or any other developed country)? Was the steam machine invented in UK or in Thailand?

  

If in Thailand was everything so well developed as in UK, no UK citizen would be residing here, would be?

 

 

[Gsxrnz]

Looks like a bog-standard mortice to me.  Measure the distances on the edges and the setback - shouldn't be a problem to swap with an off the shelf version.

 

Check for a brand name - might be something easily recognizable like a Yale or something.

 

 

[lopburi3]

Check brand name as they indeed are not the same here - several major brands but screw holes may not match up and believe they have changed over the years so best to remove and take (at least the front plate) to try and match up.  I gave up last time and just replaced the lock part itself and continued to use the old steel. 

[Polar Bear]

23 minutes ago, Saanim said:

Why always to think that ..

 

 

Why do some people have to drag their personal soapbox out for every topic?

[The Hammer2021]

There are a range of standard  lock sizes here in Thailand as in the rest of the world and you will have  no problem finding a suitable  replacement.

Edited January 7, 2022 by The Hammer2021

[Polar Bear]

I can't see a brand name, but maybe there will be something on the lock body when I get it out. I'll take it apart next week and see. I've never tried to replace just the mechanism but I'll look at as well.

 

Can anyone recommend a good hardware store in Bangkok? I know Mr DIY but there must be better options.

[The Hammer2021]

1 minute ago, Polar Bear said:

I can't see a brand name, but maybe there will be something on the lock body when I get it out. I'll take it apart next week and see. I've never tried to replace just the mechanism but I'll look at as well.

 

Can anyone recommend a good hardware store in Bangkok? I know Mr DIY but there must be better options.

Why better than Mr DIY? Try the lock smiths in most malls or Home pro

[Polar Bear]

I was underwhelmed with Mr DIY, but I wasn't looking for locks, so I'll try there first. Thanks!

[The Hammer2021]

7 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

I was underwhelmed with Mr DIY, but I wasn't looking for locks, so I'll try there first. Thanks!

I would  just take the lock to a mall and ask at the information  desk to be directed to the best place.

[robblok]

14 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

I was underwhelmed with Mr DIY, but I wasn't looking for locks, so I'll try there first. Thanks!

The Mr DIY i saw had more toys then tools and no screws or bolts. So i don't rate him high. But it might vary from place to place.

[Saanim]

2 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

Why do some people have to drag their personal soapbox out for every topic?

I do not know how did you come to that conclusion. Anyway, it's not so unusual that people forget in their views what country are they living in. 

 

Just to consider how the country looked like in the time e.g. of the steam machine invention. Nevertheless, currently, I think that the choice of the construction things is plentifully available in every larger city here - beside the smaller village shops - sometimes much more than in a developed country.

 

And of course, the rapid uncontrolled development hadn't cared for any standardized grow, unlike in the old world.

[Polar Bear]

5 minutes ago, Saanim said:

I do not know how did you come to that conclusion.

Because you are continuing to be fake-outraged about things that were never said, when I am just trying to buy a lock for a gate. 

Please, take it somewhere else.

[Yellowtail]

Yeah, I found Mr. DIY underwhelming too. 

 

Thai Watsadu has a whole aisle of that stuff. I had a twenty year old door-lock much like that and I thought I would never find one. Carried it down there and found a virtually identical latch for (I think) under THB200

[Yellowtail]

18 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

Please, take it somewhere else.

Haters are going to hate, let them, they only hurt themselves. 

[Polar Bear]

5 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Thai Watsadu has a whole aisle of that stuff. 

This looks great, thank you!

[Kwasaki]

18 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

This looks great, thank you!

Replace the gate lock with a EXTERNAL one this time not a internal house door one. ????

[Paddy 696]

Oil or grease lots better than wd40, it's little  better than water! It might help to free sticking, a long term lubricant grease for visible mechanism, it will migrate with use! 

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Paddy 696 said:

Oil or grease lots better than wd40, it's little  better than water! It might help to free sticking, a long term lubricant grease for visible mechanism, it will migrate with use! 

Actually for locks all three, WD40, oil and grease, are all a terrible idea, graphite or a completely drying PTFE. Spray are ideal. 
 

But for almost all other lubrication needs again WD40 is a bad long term lubricant and oil and grease are correct. 

[Yellowtail]

I don't know why WD-40 seems to get so much hate, I think it is a fine products and I have been using it for at least 50 years. 

 

To be clear, it is not a long-term or heavy duty lubricant, but it is not now nor has it ever been sold as such. Why would anything on the label lead anyone to believe this is a long term or heavy duty lubricant? 

 

 

 

[lopburi3]

9 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

I don't know why WD-40 seems to get so much hate, I think it is a fine products and I have been using it for at least 50 years. 

 

To be clear, it is not a long-term or heavy duty lubricant, but it is not now nor has it ever been sold as such. Why would anything on the label lead anyone to believe this is a long term or heavy duty lubricant? 

 

 

 

The fact that they do not say it is not perhaps?  It is clearly labeled as doing what we expect from a lubricant.

[FolkGuitar]

WD-40 is mineral oil in a carrier of Stoddard Solvent. It's an excellent lubricant for moving devices that do NOT generate heat or pressure. (There are better lubes for those two uses.)  Using powdered Graphite in a lock is fine so long as no one EVER adds a squirt of oil to it! That turns into a gummy mess that can really mess up a pin-tumbler lock cylinder badly, as does grease. If that hasn't happened to you 'yet,' say a few silent prayers for your good fortune. Locksmiths use WD-40 to clean out old locks as the Stoddard Solvent does a great job of dissolving old hardened oils and grease. It also thins the mineral oil so that it can distribute and coat the walls of the bible in the locks (the channels that the pins travel up and down in,) letting the pins move smoothly, as well as coating the sides of the core, allowing it to rotate freely. If you opt for very expensive locks, they are made to tighter tolerances than cheaper locks, and can benefit from PTFE  (Teflon) or MOLY  (Molybdenum disulfide) added to the light oil. You'll see no difference using these in cheap locks. WD-40 is more than sufficient if used outdoors every 6 months or so.

 

I think your biggest problem will be that, from the photo you've posted, this lock is NOT a pin-tumbler cylinder lock, which is the most common type of lock used in residential locks, and the kind to be found in most home centers, nor even the newer Disk-detainer cylinders, also now common in home center stores,  but a 'warded' lock, which has a completely different mechanism. You might find one or two choices at the home centers (NOT Mr.DIY!) but certainly limited choice. Your best bet will be to go to one the many gate fabricators. They use warded lock mechanisms on most of the cheaper gates they build, and should be easy to replace, if not the warded cylinder itself, than the encased lock mechanism.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I don't know why WD-40 seems to get so much hate, I think it is a fine products and I have been using it for at least 50 years. 

 

It doesn’t get much hate. But it was designed as a Water Displacement fluid, rust-prevention solvent and degreaser for use in the aerospace industry. The fact that it contains oil as part of the purpose is incidental. So for it’s designed use it is excellent.
 

The problems come when people use it (and recommend it) solely as a lubricant expecting it to last in the same was as a light machine oil will, for that use it is a poor option, there are many far better lubricants.

 

I too have been using it for over 60 years and used correctly followed up with a real lubricant it is as you say a fine product.

[KhunBENQ]

Just stumbled upon this thread and at first sight I was surprised that this type of lock seems to have spread. Over the years I have rarely seen them.

We have them but imported on our move over 10 years ago.

In the neighborhood you will only find the symmetric/knob/round type of locks (don't know the right term).

But I see also that a hardware shop like Thaiwatsadu has your type of lock (at least look alike).

There is no other way than taking all necessary measurements and go shopping.

Don't forget that you have to buy for right or left attached door respectively.

Can not simply be reversed like at the usual round locks here.

Example from Thaiwatsadu:

 

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by KhunBENQ

[lopburi3]

14 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Just stumbled upon this thread and at first sight I was surprised that this type of lock seems to have spread. Over the years I have rarely seen them.

We have them but imported on our move over 10 years ago.

In the neighborhood you will only find the symmetric/knob/round type of locks (don't know the right term).

But I see also that a hardware shop like Thaiwatsadu has your type of lock (at least look alike).

There is no other way than taking all necessary measurements and go shopping.

Don't forget that you have to buy for right or left attached door respectively.

Can not simply be reversed like at the usual round locks here.

Example from Thaiwatsadu:

 

 

We obviously live in different neighborhoods - yours perhaps newer - as this is the normal gate lock on homes in my Bangkok mooban built in 1975 and most people have on current gates (most have been replaced a few times).  Very much a common item here - but admit may be less so for new construction.  The best path if unable to find would be hire worker, but as poster says that is an issue currently for Bangkok and little construction and many places closed so those that are qualified returned upcountry and for small repair job can not afford travel.   Not sure a locksmith would have any experience on this but might be an option as I had to fit a different model lock when unable to find any 4 screw mount models some years ago - luckily it has not failed.

 

[Saanim]

On 1/7/2022 at 7:29 PM, Yellowtail said:

Haters are going to hate, let them, they only hurt themselves. 

Where did you find anything about hate?

[FolkGuitar]

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

It doesn’t get much hate. But it was designed as a Water Displacement fluid, rust-prevention solvent and degreaser for use in the aerospace industry. The fact that it contains oil as part of the purpose is incidental. So for it’s designed use it is excellent.
 

The problems come when people use it (and recommend it) solely as a lubricant expecting it to last in the same was as a light machine oil will, for that use it is a poor option, there are many far better lubricants.

 

With respect, the oil in WD-40 is plain old mineral oil. So is the oil in 'light machine oil.' The oil in 'A1' brand oil is mineral oil, as is the oil sold as 'Singer Sewing Machine Oil.  Mobile brand "Machine Spindle Oil" is mineral oil. In fact, almost all brands selling 'light machine oil' are selling Mineral oil, the same stuff found in WD-40. Mineral oil is in fact and excellent lubricant for moving parts that are not under pressure or heat. It is NOT good for car axles. It is NOT good for firearms. Overhead garage doors create pressure so it's not good for that either.  But mineral oil is an excellent choice for most other operations that don't get heated up or put under pressure. Perfect lube for locks.

 

The clever Marketing people discovered that mineral oil makes for a great water displacement fluid when it's thinned out. More avenues of sales for mineral oil. When mixed with Stoddard solvent to spread a very thin coating, it works very well for rust-prevention. The Stoddard Solvent by itself is a great degreaser. You can buy that in any art supply store or better hardware stores as 'Mineral Spirits.'  Mix together mineral oil, mineral spirits, and pressurize... you have WD-40.  (Note: There are different grades of Mineral spirits, depending upon the point of distillation; Stoddard Solvent, Naptha (lighter fluid,) White Gas (for your Coleman stove, etc.) Some are 'cleaner' than others, but all work equally well as a solvent.)

Edited January 9, 2022 by FolkGuitar

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Just stumbled upon this thread and at first sight I was surprised that this type of lock seems to have spread. Over the years I have rarely seen them.

We have them but imported on our move over 10 years ago.

In the neighborhood you will only find the symmetric/knob/round type of locks (don't know the right term).

But I see also that a hardware shop like Thaiwatsadu has your type of lock (at least look alike).

There is no other way than taking all necessary measurements and go shopping.

Don't forget that you have to buy for right or left attached door respectively.

Can not simply be reversed like at the usual round locks here.

Example from Thaiwatsadu:

 

 

I believe these are reversible, at least the one I bought (not sure what brand) a year or two ago was. The door-strike comes out of the cartrige and flips over.