I've got a door with some bad cosmetic damage. This has a rather old
mortise lock in it. I'd like to fashion a backplate (you know, the
metal plate that goes behind door hardware) for this lock. As you may
know, mortise locks are all slightly different and finding something
to match yours is tricky.

I'm starting from a brass pushplate (you know, those plates on the
swinging kitchen doors in restuarants). It's maybe an eighth of an
inch thick. I'll need to put three holes in it for the lock
cylinder (one hole) and the door handle (two holes).

I've got a hole saw (you know, just liked you'd use to put holes
in a door for a lock or a doorknob) just the right size for the holes
I need to make. Is that going work well? Should I sandwich the brass
in some scrap wood?

Elijah
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figures brass is soft enough to get away with using wood tools