I recently replaced an old worn out lockset (not a Schlage) with a Schlage F51 lockset. It works fine. But I'd like to be able to reverse the direction of key rotation for unlocking. But the instructions that came with this lockset don't address this question so I suppose that there is nothing I can do about it.
As I stand outside of the house, facing the locked door, the knob is on the right side of the door and the hinges on the left of the door. To unlock, I turn the key clockwise. I would like to modify this lockset so that to unlock, I would turn it counterclockwise instead. Then its unlocking rotation direction would match the Schlage deadbolt on the same door.
Is this lockset designed to allow me to reverse this rotation? I won't lose any sleep over it if I can't, but it would be nice (and more intuitive, it seems to me) if this lockset could be changed to unlock in the counterclockwise direction.
The F51 is a pot metal low security cheap lock that you can buy at Lowes or Home Depot that is hyped up by Schlages' ad crew to be far better than it really is.
It is unfortunate that people buy junk like that and Kwikset because they are uninformed except by the fancy packaging and TV commericals.
That being said the answer is no. The lock will only unlock clockwise do to the design of the cylinder plug..
I also feel it's odd that the F51 unlocks differently (clockwise to lock) than their deadbolts when mounted on a left hand door. I'm almost certain that I bought the left hand set for that door.
I wonder if it's possible to reverse the locking mechanism in the hub to reverse the direction that it locks. Hmmmm.
I would also be interested in alternatives that are stylish in the same price range.
QA guy from Kwikset showed me back in 1975. You remove cyl., bend in the two ears on the half round spindle from inside the knob, then remove the spindle assy. Then slide the spindle out of the locking housing, then reverse the slide. Then reinstall everthing and bend the ears back.
Since the spindle & inner parts are pot metal, just how in the hell do you expect to reform them w/o breaking'em off?
And, even if you were able to unbend the factory crimp & reinstall it BACKWARDS, it would weaken it enough so that the assembly would probably pull apart in the customers hand.
Do all of us nincompoops a favor, do one, take PICS & post'em. IT CAN'T BE DONE!
I feel like someone is yelling at me. I post to this group only to be helpful. If I did not explain myself well enough, then someone should ask for clarification, not goon me. In my first post, I did not explain how to do this, only that I have done it in the past and it is possible. I was asked to explain, I did, and got yelled at. I don't quite understand.
Well anyway, here goes. I may not have the nomenclature of the parts correct, so please bear with me.
1: Someone stated that "the spindle & inner parts are pot metal". That is not true. Only the round spindle is. The rest of the parts of the Kwikset part number 5333 spindle assembly are steel. The ears on the half round spindle is the only thing you reform, and it is made of good quality steel.
2: Someone stated that "even if you were able to unbend the factory crimp & reinstall it BACKWARDS" I never said that. What I said was "Then slide the spindle out of the locking housing, then reverse the slide". Again, my nomenclature may be incorrect, so here goes my best to explain the different parts. Kwikset spindle assembly consist of 6 parts. (actually 7 but the housing is two parts staked together).
Part 1: Round spindle. (the piece we all remove to insert cylinder removing tool) (pot metal) Part 2: Half round spindle. (the piece that slides into the latch and when turned, retracts it) (steel) Part 3: Knob return Spring. (spring inside housing that returns the knob to center) (spring steel) Part 4: Spindle retainer. (the part inside the housing that we push in to release the round spindle) (steel) Part 5: Locking slide. (the part inside the housing that slides out to actually locks the knob) (steel) Part 6: Housing. (the two piece staked together unit that the spindles and other parts go into) (steel)
3: Here are the instructions (to the best of my ability) for reversing the locking direction on a Kwikset 400 Series knob.
A: Using the Kwikset cylinder removing tool, remove the round spindle. B: Using the Kwikset cylinder removing tool, remove the cylinder. C: Using a large screwdriver or similar tool, reach inside knob and gently bend back the two ears on the half round spindle so that the spindle assembly will slide out of the knob. D: Slide the housing from the half round spindle. I: Remove the spindle retainer from the housing F: Remove the knob return spring from the housing. G: Remove the locking slide from the housing. H: Flip the locking slide over. I: Reinstall locking slide into housing. J: Reinstall knob return spring into housing. K: Reinstall spindle retainer into housing. L: Slide housing back onto half round spindle. M: Insert spindle assembly back into knob. N: Bend back down ears on half round spindle to secure it to the knob. I have made a staking tool in the past to do this. It is big enough to bend both ears at the same time. O: Install round spindle. P: Install cylinder.
4: Spindle assembly are available from Kwikset, and the only way to install them is to bend the ears down, so this must be the correct approven factory way.
5: Someone said to post pictures. I read on this newsgroup more that once, that posting pictures is a wrong thing to do.
6: Someone said that it can't be done. I think I have shown that is also incorrect.
Thank you everybody for your time. I very much enjoy reading this newsgroup and hope to learn and share tricks of the trade from time to time.
Ed what I was talking about as far as being pot metal was the cylinder. I dont like pot metal cylinders half as much as I do brass ones. Too many problems with oxidation ya know.
Haven't tried it, but looking at a Kwikset I think I see what he means, and I think it *can* be done.
Whether it's worth the effort is another question. I'm unconvinced.
Then again, I'm the one who someday plans to set up a door with the knob mechanism on the HINGE side, and latch extensions running all the way across, just for pure amusement value...
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