lock plate

[ch]

Ant ideas on getting a lock plate off. Maybe a punch through the screw hole? ch

[Dean Romig]

Yes. That's the accepted meyhod so you don't do any damage in trying to pry it off.

[edgarspencer]

Not really. You'll run the risk of damage to the threads on the inside of the lock plate. Use either an old lock screw, or brass drift on the existing screw. back the screw out until it comes clear, then turn it back in 3-4 turns, then tap it's head, pushing the opposite lock plate out. Then you can punch tap the other side.

[Dollar Grade]

Edgars method may be more effective for stubborn lock plates but what I am usually able to do is pull the lock plate bolt from the left side and screw it into the threaded hole on the outside of the lock plate on the right side. Pull on and wiggle the screw to pull out the right lock plate. Then use a brass punch to knock out the left side. Be very careful not to chew up or dent the thin wood along the edges of the lockplates.

If I did need to use Edgars method I would use a plastic hammer to tap on the top of the lock plate bolt. A punch may mar the engraving.

Good luck,
Kurt

[edgarspencer]

Damaging the engraving on screw heads is not an unwarranted concern, but if you use real brass drifts, made for the purpose, and not just a hunk o some yellow bar stock, you will very hard pressed to hurt the engraving. If you have round screw heads, use the appropriate concave punch, if they are like Parker lock plate screws, Flat, use flat punches. The important thing is that they are full face contacts.
I was always taught, and have learned by experience, that striking a screw head, or even a bolt, directly, can bend the shank. As many have learned, using the wrong screw driver, the material used in old screw stock is not very hard. A proper drift is held perfectly in line, axially, with the screw, and even if the mallet taps the drift off-angle, the energy is transmitted, through the drift in-line.
Even a screw whose head is not fully out of a countersunk hole can be bent, and visibly too.
Like the better screw driver sets, a good assortment of brass drifts and punches can number several dozen.
Old gun oil is like cement, and if you have to use any more than a few taps, you're better off with some Kroil or PB, applied right on the joint. Neither will hurt wood, but don't get carried away with the stuff either.

[ch]

I'm soaking.