door jamb with bear claw?

[deerchooper]

i think i know the answer to this but. i see most guys using tubing for the door frames. how are you installing the bear claw latches into the tubing?

i think im going to cut my last section of 1/4" flat bar for the door/ latch jamb then do tubing the rest of the way. does that sound right? i also got the instalation kit for the latch and striker bolt side.

just looking for opinions or a better way.

thanks

 

[zzrodder]

Do you mean like this ? I welded the 16 ga. piece that came with the bear claw latch into the 1x2x.063 wall box tube I used for the door frame. It's been in use for 4 years, solid as a rock.

 

[deerchooper]

yea.

you had to cut out the whole section of tubing for that to fit right? i mean you need room it install, mount, hook up and what not. i guess the problem i see is that you loose strength (sp) by cutting away the whole tubing piece.

 

[zzrodder]

I trimmed the 16 ga. mounting plate for the striker bolt down to the size of the piece on the backside that holds the square adjusting nut so it was only about 1 1/2 x 2, so that fit within the 2" wide tubing frame.
Oh, I see you mean the latch side ?? On this door it wasn't tubing, but the door itself is fabricated from 18ga., so considering that, cutting out a section of a tubing frame is not going to make it overly weak. Once the mounting plate is welded in, it will only be open on one side for the mechanism and mounting nuts. I've done that very thing before and it worked fine - the real problem is controlling warpage when welding it up - I had to make a relief cut after and straighten the door, & re-weld. Since then, I have learned to brace the doorframe before welding and it's smooth sailing.

 

[deerchooper]

im sorry the latch side.