Thread: Krenov woodern latch. Got any ideas like it ?

no one ?

Jake, all my JK latches are secret so i carnt give em away


And on the great man JK, who has always and still is my woodworking inspiration, its so sad that his age and health have caught up and he is almost totaly blind and now works just by feel.


Not long to go, and i doubt their has been a wood craftsman anywhere in any era who has shaped so many lives as he has.

So unfortunate he is on the other side of the world as it allways has been a dream of mine to meet him. Sadly that never will happen.

Lee Valley sell a 'library catch' which is a brass & steel dingus that is inset into the cabinet where the doors close.

Basic mechanism is 2 brass rods on a concealed see-saw with a spring that holds one rod 'up'. The inner door is closed over the retracted rod and when the outer or overlapping door is closed the raised rod is forced down (it has a bevelled end) and the other rod comes up & locks into a hole in the inner door.

The outer door then locks conventionally to the inner door and both are secured - opening the outer door allows the spring to flip the rods back to their start position & the innner door opens.

I bought a few for a project I still haven't got round to after 5 or 6 years - one day.....

Go one Jake - go for the spinner latch and when you've finished doing one of your step by step photo walkthroughs I'll then know what I'll be up against when I build one...

Thanks BsrLee.....must check them.

But those spinners is just what I want. Brilliant. A mechanism thats not too eye catching. Something I can make quickly too. Ta.

I didn't know James Krenov was in such a bad state. Can't imagine how bad that must be.

I've been researching latches for my CD cabinet. Fine Woodworking Number 155 (April 2002), pages 44-49 describes four 'Shopmade Catches and Latches', including the 'flipper catch' you show here. I think I've decided to go with this one for my cabinet.

Others described in the FWW article are the 'shaker spinner' by Becksvoort that BrettC mentioned (apparently developed by the Shakers around 1842), a hidden rare-earth magnet catch, and a wooden button catch.

I like the idea of separating pieces from the ordinary by avoiding the metal hardware, and making your own out of wood (or mainly wood).

Originally Posted by zenwood

I like the idea of separating pieces from the ordinary by avoiding the metal hardware, and making your own out of wood (or mainly wood).

I agree. There's something appealing about it.