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At least once or twice in our life we all have had a broken door lock at our home, motel room, or school dorm. Let’s say the experience encountered is usually not so pleasant, particularly if the broken lock is from an important room. In this article, we’ll show you how to make a homemade lock for your bedroom door and prevent unwanted access.
Of course, the homemade lock is not a permanent solution to your locking problems. It, however, will help prevent your kids from barging in and find you in your natural suit. Also, the locking technique will reinforce your door and delay the opportunistic intruder from gaining entry to your secret chambers as you sleep.
Similar Article: 7 Effective Ways How to Lock a Door Without a Lock
Recommended Gadgets: Best Keyless Door Locks 2020
Making an Emergency Lock for Your Secret Chambers
If you are a DIY enthusiast, making one these homemade locks won’t even take you more than 3 minutes. The idea relies on three items that definitely can’t lack in your house and that’s why we’ve dubbed it an “emergency lock”.
Tools needed
- A dinner fork
- A pair of pliers
- A hammer
- A metal saw [optional]
Step One: Marking the Latch Slot
Before you even begin, make sure the fork can fit into the latch hole of your bedroom door. Its prongs should be at least 2 inches long.
Once you’re sure the fork has the necessary requirements, take it and insert into the latch hole on the door frame. Then, take a marker to mark the depth achieved by the prongs in the latch hole.
Step Two: Bending the Fork
Take the pair of pliers and bend the prongs to a 90-degree angle. As you bend, by the way, make sure you do it until the line you’ve marked. In case you find your fork hard to bend, you can insert the prongs in the space between the cabinet door and the frame. Then, bend them as with a vice. You can even use it {vice} if you have one in your garage.
Step Three: Make the prongs Even
Next, take the hammer and give the bent prongs a couple of good swings to make an even 90-degree angle. If you had used a vice in the bending, though, you won’t be needing any hammering since it’s usually precise.
Step Four: Cut the Handle
Now, cut off the handle of the fork by grasping it with a pair of pliers and bend to and fro till breakage. If you have a metal saw in the house, you can as well use it to cut through the material.
Once you’re done separating the handle, give it a couple of hammer strikes as well to make it even. Hence, ensuring it fits right in between one of the prongs.
Step Five: Insert the Halves
Using the two halves of the fork, put the bent prongs directly in the latch slot, then, close the door. If you did the first and second steps correctly, your door should close perfectly without any difficulty.
Step Six: Now, Enjoy Enhanced Privacy and Security
With the prongs into the latch hole and the door closed, stick the handle into the middle until it covers part of the door and also the frame. When some tries pushing the door open, he/ she won’t be able to since the handle part is holding the prong part. And the prong part is gripping against the piece of the wooden frame.
Once you’re done dressing or after waking up, you can remove the two halves of the fork from your door to open. Your self-made door lock is light and portable. Hence, you can even carry it with you wherever you go. Just make sure your friends don’t find it in your bag and start laughing off your penny-pinching idea. I hope you got how to make a homemade lock for your bedroom door.
Alternative Methods for Closing Your Bedroom Door…
Apart from the emergency fork lock, other ways that you can use to close your bedroom door include:
Anchor the doorknob/ handle to a heavy object- The method involves placing an immovable object like a desk or bed against the door. Its logic is straightforward, with the main goal of keeping the door intact when someone tries to push it open.
For the locking technique to be effective, however, the door in place should be Inswing [that opens inside the room].
Remove the doorknob/ handle- if a door doesn’t have a key lock, it sure must have a doorknob/ handle that retracts a latch when turned. In case you don’t want any unauthorized entry to your private room, you can remove the handles/ knobs to prevent the latch from retracting.
Use a wedge- that’s right. Placing a wedge under the door can also block it and prevent someone from gaining entry. The wedge will act as a barricade, thus, your door has to be opening inwardly for the method to be effective.
Own a portable door lock- well, to save you from all the trouble of pushing your study desk or removing the knobs, consider getting a portable door lock. There are various types in the market and each comes at reasonable prices that you can afford.
A good example is the Addalock portable lock that comes ready for use without using any tools.
Recap
For sure, the Getlockers team truly cares about your safety and that’s why this page is all about tips and systems for enhancing your safety.
As humans, at times we can be careless with our keys and we end up misplacing them in the house or outdoors. Some doors, like for the kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom can come with no lockable lock, making them easy to open by anyone.
Nonetheless, our brief guide has shared some easy steps on how to make a homemade lock for your bedroom door. The method doesn’t involve anything you don’t have in your house or consume your time. It only requires a dinner fork, a pair of pliers, a hammer, and about 5 minutes of your time.
When done as required, the DIY fork lock will help reinforce your door and prevent your kids from disturbing your meditation or sleep. Giving you the comfort you would have enjoyed if the door had a lockable lock.
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