My wife and I just moved into a great old house built in 1928. As a result, it's got all the really great old details and stuff that you'd expect, including the glass doorknobs. The problem is our front door's inside knob falls out of the door and we aren't sure how to fix it. The knob and shaft (giggle) both just pull out. I don't see any clips or anything to hold it in. You people know everything, so who's gonna solve this first?
Look for a small set screw or threaded hole on the shank of the knob. There is probably supposed to be a small grub screw on the knob to hold it to the shaft.
93gsxturbo said:Look for a small set screw or threaded hole on the shank of the knob. There is probably supposed to be a small grub screw on the knob to hold it to the shaft.
^^^^^^this.
If you take it apart and post up some better pics of the offending parts involved we can tell you better.
Here's the whole part that pulls out and the hole it came from.
That shaft is busted. If it were knob/knob, you would have that on both sides. Since you have the tab outside, that shaft has an eccentric/lever on the outside. When you push the tab, it lifts the lever turning the shaft. Sometimes just a square shaft, other times threaded. Looks like the shaft broke off entirely.
New shafts are sold in aisle 9-ish depending on what your Home Depot store map is. All of that hardware is still available at HD or Lowes.
Don't be afraid to tear it apart. They are ridiculously fool proof. You're looking for Mortise Latch parts. Amazon, HD, Lowes, True Value, heck even some WalMarts have that stuff.
Curtis had everything I had plus some, although if I'm not mistaken and you don't want to deal with it all right now, I believe that split shaft replacement will Tetris in there with no further disassembly.
The split shaft makes room for the bend at the end to slide in there, then the other shaft slides in and locks it in place before you lock them together with the set screw on the knob. There is a high likelihood that my memory is running away with me, but I want to say the bend should go the other way, which is why it needs to be split to fit down the hole.
Oh, and remembering that you're in Portland, if you do need any nifty old stuff, check out Hippo Hardware. They've got many decades worth of old stuff retrieved from dismantled houses. W.C. Winks hardware is a great resource for new stuff if you need help identifying/matching stuff.
That's called a sectional spindle, and I don't think it's broken - it's put together backwards. The part with the little hook on the end should face away from the other piece. You insert it into the hole first and it hooks into the lock mechanism, then you insert the straight piece which holds the hooked piece in place, then install the knob.
Jesse Ransom said:Oh, and remembering that you're in Portland, if you do need any nifty old stuff, check out Hippo Hardware. They've got many decades worth of old stuff retrieved from dismantled houses. W.C. Winks hardware is a great resource for new stuff if you need help identifying/matching stuff.
Awesome, thanks! We're kinda looking for some more vintage bits and baubles for the house.
stuart in mn said:That's called a sectional spindle, and I don't think it's broken - it's put together backwards. The part with the little hook on the end should face away from the other piece. You insert it into the hole first and it hooks into the lock mechanism, then you insert the straight piece which holds the hooked piece in place, then install the knob.
Nailed it! Just went upstairs to try that out and my doorknob stays in the door! Thanks everyone
My house was built in 1913 and has a similar lockset on the front door, so I remember having to figure out how it works myself. 
Glad I could help.
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