All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

On May 29, 9:23*am, charles cashion wrote:
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

You can do it this way or buy a jig at your hardware store
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skil...193167,00.html

Limp Arbor wrote:
On May 29, 9:23 am, charles cashion wrote:
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

You can do it this way or buy a jig at your hardware store
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skil...193167,00.html
LA,
Thank you. That looks promising.
Charles

charles cashion wrote:
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

Don't use a hole saw, use a router with a template, 2 1/8 hole in template.

- OR -

Don't use a template, use a relatively short router bit with a diameter
greater than the shank...extend bit so it doesn't cut all the way through,
use shank to guide on existing hole. Flip work over and repeat. Continue
doing that until the enlarged side of hole is desired diameter then trim
other side with a bit that has a cutting diameter same as the shank.

dadiOH

There are 2 solutions to the problem.

First as it was suggested is to make or buy a jig to enlarge the holes to
the 2 1/8 standard size.

The second way is to use Kwikset knobs that do not have the larger diameter
bodies. Some of there models (The cheaper ones.) just have two posts.
These will fit into the hole you have and you can if need be just use a wood
rasp to widen the slots a bit if it is too snug.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.


"charles cashion" wrote in message
...
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

I know of none.
Clamp on drill jig.

Many locksmiths have such a jig, and happy to do this for
you. For a fee, of course.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"charles cashion" wrote in message
...
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs
are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8"
holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8"
hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it
is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

"charles cashion" wrote in message
...
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are approaching
25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

Ther are a couple other methods that have not been mentioned. You can make a
tight fitting plug from a piece of 2"X2" or 2"X4" lumber (or a tree limb)
and redrill with the larger saw. I once was able to put two hole saws on the
same arbor with the smaller one sticking out farther for a guide. It didn't
work great, but I got the job done.

Don Young

On 5/29/2009 6:32 AM Limp Arbor spake thus:

On May 29, 9:23 am, charles cashion wrote:

All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?

You can do it this way or buy a jig at your hardware store
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skil...193167,00.html

'Zactly right. Jig, schmig: all you need is a piece of ply, Masonite,
etc. I've done this and it works.

(It helps to have an alignment attachment on your drill to align 90° to
the work. I got a cheap one years ago that I still use all the time.
Available everywhere.)


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

On May 29, 9:32*am, Limp Arbor wrote:
On May 29, 9:23*am, charles cashion wrote:

All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles

You can do it this way or buy a jig at your hardware storehttp://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skill-builder/0,,193167,00.html

I have done it much the same way except I start with a hole saw that
fits the exiting hole then drill in from opposite the side the plywood
is clamped on just enough to get the pilot bit through the plywood.
This gives me a reference hole for the larger hole saw.


Jimmie

"charles cashion" wrote in message
...
Limp Arbor wrote:
On May 29, 9:23 am, charles cashion wrote:
All of the door knobs in house are brand Dexter. The knobs are
approaching 25 years old. They are all mounted in 1 7/8" holes.

Q1: Are there other door knob manufacturers that make 1 7/8" hardware?
If the answer is NO, then I must enlarge my present holes
to 2 1/8".

Q2: How can I hold a hole saw steady and centered while it is
enlarging a 1 7/8" hole to 2 1/8" ?
Thank you,
Charles
or consider something line this;
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,180,42316