"nightjar.me.uk" cpb@insert my surname here wrote in message
...

"Jim E" wrote in message
o.uk...
If I shut my front door a bit too hard the lever inside the lock detaches
and the locks `spins` and i have to break the lock to get in.

Does this mean I cut the lever too small?

It does just `sit` in place doesnt it? Or am I putting it in wrong. It
doesnt seem to click into place or anything it just sits in the groove.

It sounds as though you have cut the operating bar too short. It does just
slide into the slot, but it should also be able to go a fair way inside
the lock. The easiest way to judge how much to cut off is to put the
cylinder on the door, slide the lock over the bar until it stops, then
measure the gap between the lock and the door. Cut that much, plus about a
millimetre, off the end of the operating bar.

Because this has happened a few times the metal frame part that goes onto
the inside of the door with the 2 screw holes has become distorted. Can I
buy one of these new or do I need a whole new lock?

A proper locksmith may be able to sell you one.

Colin Bignell

For at least some of these, the operating bar as described by Colin will
unclip from the lock (the key-side) if you wiggle it correctly. So you might
get away with changing the bar, not the whole lock. If it's just a standard
Yale-type lock with a night-latch on the inside each "side" costs about a
fiver from Screwfix or a decent hardware shop.