Wooden Window Latches From Recycled Bed Frame

Clint
by Clint
2 Materials
As a follow up to my last post where I made some handles and bolts for my shed windows, this time I'll be showing you how I made the window latches to keep my windows open. I used an old piece of bed frame from some wood donated by a friend, so I guess you could call this a furniture upcycle of sorts!

I have a video on YouTube documenting the build and some instructions below. I hope you enjoy it!
I started by marking out 2 sections of the bed frame piece to use as the latches. I then made them smooth and square with a hand plane. There was some shaping to do and some holes to drill. I made some simple plans which I'll add below.
The plans were adjusted as I went along and what you see above is how the latches ended up. You need an 8mm and 3mm drill bit for the holes, as well as 6 X 60mm dowels. (the dowels were also part of the bed frame)
I drilled out the holes, the ones on the left are for the pivot point and the 2 holes on the right are to fit over the dowels to keep the windows open.
The window latch pivot points were attached to the windows with 2 X 40mm screws each. I used an 8mm drill bit to make the hole for the dowel and then glued them in.
Once the dowels were dry I could do a test fit of the latches and mark out where I wanted the next dowels to go. These dowels would be what hold the window open, I figured two different settings was enough.
After I drilled two holes on each side of the window frame I glued the dowels in and sawed them off to a more manageable length and sanded the tops.
Using the 8mm drill bit again I made 2 holes in some sapele and then sawed it off into two little blocks. I used a chisel to shape and smooth these blocks into angular knobs, matching the knobs on my window handles.
I glued the knobs onto the ends of the pivot dowels and waited for them to dry, making sure not to get any glue on the latches. I then finished off the wood with a beeswax and mineral oil mixture. Probably not the most ideal finish but it was what I had at the time.
Now I have two fully functioning latches to keep my windows open during the hot British summer, and for me it has been very hot lately! They fold away neatly when not in use and do a lovely job at letting a nice breeze in. Perhaps not the most elegant or practical latches, but they were great to make and fit the windows nicely.


I hope you enjoyed checking this project out, if you'd like to keep up with my future projects and show some support then please give my Facebook page a like.


I hope to catch you soon!
Suggested materials:
  • Piece of bed frame   (free)
  • Small block of sapele   (free)
Clint
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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3 of 5 comments
  • Jennifer Jennifer on May 29, 2017

    Wow,  you did a marvelous job! Can only wish to be that good one day!

    • Clint Clint on May 29, 2017
      Thank you Jennifer, I'm certain you can be better than me one day!
  • Carol Cole Carol Cole on Sep 18, 2018

    OMG I love to watch people working with non electric tools. You made my day. GREAT JOB < WELL DONE>

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