Latch Bolt restoration (Bargman L400) - Fiberglass RV
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Old 06-11-2012, 06:26 PM   #1
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Latch Bolt restoration (Bargman L400)

I suppose that many peoples have the same problem that I had with the latch bolt of my handle. It was so worn out that it was not holding the door closed any more.

The choice was to buy a parts kit on E-Bay costing more than 150$ or to rebuild the bolt that I have witch is what I decided to do.

Here is the result of my work. The new bolt is made of aluminium and is glue to the steel part with epoxy glue.

The old bolt, made with soft metal has been very easy to remove using a normal plumbing torch. It melt away in less than 3 minutes.

The Bargman L400 handle is installed on many Trilliums and Bolers. On other brands too. It is extremely difficult to find it at a reasonable price.

Alain
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Old 06-11-2012, 07:08 PM   #2
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[QUOTE=
Here is the result of my work. The new bolt is made of aluminium and is glue to the steel part with epoxy glue.
Alain[/QUOTE]

If the epoxy lets go you might try drilling and running a small bolt through. You could cut, file and trim the bolt flush.
D.
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Old 06-12-2012, 03:34 AM   #3
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I used the LEPAGE Regular epoxy glue. It take a long time to set but make a very strong bond. Since there is just a small stress at this point I am confident that it will hold. We'll see!!

I made the bolt a little bit longer than the original, about 1/8 to 3/16 inch longer. It will fit better for the gap I have between the door and the frame.

The dimension of the part I made is: 3/4" by 15/32" (just a little bit less than 1/2") by 1 1/2". The cut angle is 40 degree. I splitted the bolt up to 5/8" using a metal saw then opened the gap with a thin file.
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Old 06-12-2012, 04:33 AM   #4
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Here is the handle installed. It is working nicely.
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Old 06-12-2012, 08:22 AM   #5
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Nice job!
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Old 06-12-2012, 09:11 AM   #6
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Nice work

I am currently looking for an L300 replacement for my '76 Trillium. Failing that I may have to follow your plan. After 36 years things tend to wear out. Hope I can do as good a job. Thanks for the idea and the pics. D.
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Old 09-01-2015, 01:59 PM   #7
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Alain - how is this holding up, after three years?

I need to do the same thing ...

thanks,
Stephen
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Old 09-01-2015, 03:08 PM   #8
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I have not been here for a long long time.

The bolt is still holding very well, like if it was the first day of installation. No wear whatsoever.

Alain
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Old 09-17-2015, 06:31 AM   #9
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Bonjour Alain, pourrais-tu me'expliquer ta réparation en français? Merci.
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Old 06-24-2018, 10:34 PM   #10
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I am resurrecting this thread in case anyone is looking for the solution for fixing the latch bolt on their bargman L-400.

I followed the guidance on this post and it allowed me to fix my lockset To make the bolt i got some 3/4" thick aluminum bar/plate on ebay for about $10.

This process would have been a lot easier if I had a band saw, but I was able to make due with a table saw and a miter saw, going very, very, very slowly, then using a dremel and some small files for the finish work (I had to rig a few different clamps and braces to maintain an appropriate distance from the saw blades since the aluminum bar was only about 10" long.

I removed all the springs and innards of the lock and then inserted the bolt shaft into the lock housing prior to epoxying the new bolt to the shaft. I used jb weld original. Fingers crossed it holds up. My door has some more sag than the one in the pictures above, so I need to either straighten out the door or move the lock plate down a little so the bolt contacts that catch plate entirely.

Either way, I think this post probably bought me a few more years before having to buy a new-old lockset for $600 on ebay or having to modify the door for newer hardware.
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Old 06-25-2018, 01:02 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by junglejim83 View Post
I am resurrecting this thread in case anyone is looking for the solution for fixing the latch bolt on their bargman L-400.
Either way, I think this post probably bought me a few more years before having to buy a new-old lockset for $600 on ebay or having to modify the door for newer hardware.
Jim, might help some others, did you take any pics as you worked through this?
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Old 06-25-2018, 03:01 AM   #12
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. My door has some more sag than the one in the pictures above, so I need to either straighten out the door
Might be worn hinges which are a Kason 139 with 3/8" offset freezer hinge or more likely rotten wood the hinge screws into in the door pillar. Also be aware that there was a fault in the mold that makes exact alignment impossible. My 2010 has the same defect.
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Old 06-25-2018, 07:28 AM   #13
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Unfortunately, a recent software update on my phone has turned the camera to crap so most of the pictures turned out to be useless. I have pieced together the few that might help, along with a few I have downloaded to hopefully provide a little more input on the process.

When you are disassembling the mechanism make sure get a good understanding on how it all works and fits together. My crappy pictures helped enough for reminders on where things went. I put all the parts in a ziplock as they came off and compared them with this exploded image so I could be sure what's what for reassembly later on.

This image shows what the bolt shaft looks like (circled) after the original bolt was melted off (over the stove). I don't have a torch but this worked pretty well. I just made sure kitchen was well-ventilated because I don't know what was getting released into the air when I was heating it up. It didn't seem like much, but I didn't want to screw around with unknown vapors.

I cleaned up the shaft and got it down to bare metal using 3-in-1 lubricant/cleaner, scrubbing with Dawn and the using a file.

I measured off 5/8" from the end of that shaft and then marked heavily to see how far down into the new bolt I would need to cut/file for it to sit properly when inserted. (the area in the circle)

To cut the center opening for the shaft to sit in the bolt, I first marked a center line around the bolt, marking off the 5/8" depth to cut from back to front.

I locked some vice grips (a must, this got hot) on the new aluminum bolt, then used a dremel cutting wheel following markings. I worked back and forth around the bolt making a deeper and deeper groove. This is where a band saw would have saved a lot of time. Eventually, the cutting got me to this point:

The slot I cut in the bolt was not wide enough, so I had to do that by hand. I locked the vice grips back on the bolt, turned on a show and spent 30+ min working the slot with small files (I got at Lowe's for $5) until it was wide enough to receive the shaft to 5/8" depth.

At that point, I cleaned the shaft again, reinserted it into the Bargman housing so it protruded from the front of the housing (shown by the red arrow in the picture above). I did not yet put the springs back on, I didn't want the bolt to get pulled into the housing while the epoxy was still wet and curing.

I carefully measured and marked off a front-to-back center line on the bolt and the shaft to help as a guide for making sure it was centered. I lightly buttered up the bolt with JB weld epoxy and pushed the two together until the edge of the bolt slot lined up with the 5/8" mark I made across the shaft. It was a fairly snug fit so it limited shifting. I filled around the assembly shaft with epoxy pushing it in the bolt slot from the sides to lock it in. I used a thin flat piece of metal to scrape the excess epoxy off the outside of the bolt. Some was still on there, it didn't worry about it being too clean b/c I didn't want to shift the bolt and I knew I could file off the excess later.

I then clamped the back end of the shaft down to the housing to keep the newly combined (but not yet properly seated) assembly level in the housing. At this point, I looked at the set up from all angles to make sure it looked square and that all the markings lined up. Once I was confident everything was centered, I set it aside to cure for a day. Once cured, I filed off the excess epoxy. At this point, the new bolt assembly looked pretty much the same as Alain's shown in post #1.

There must be a way to put the bolt assembly back together outside of the housing and then reinsert it after the epoxy has set as Alain showed in post #1. Clearly, he did it, and they used to sell the old bolt assembly as complete units in the Bargman repair kits. I couldn't figure it out and was fearful of painting myself into a corner which is why I epoxied the new bolt on with the shaft in the assembly.

It was also a bit of a battle to fully slide the bolt assembly all the way into the housing once the springs where back on but it gets there. Needle-nose pliers and a small flat head screwdriver will be needed to take things apart and force things into place while putting them back together.

The process was manageable and I like that I was able to maintain a stock look for $20 (all-in) instead of whatever insane amount someone would ask on ebay and not have to modify the fiberglass.

I made a backup bolt in case this one fails. But if the whole assembly craps out, I would give this kit a shot. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ers-83011.html
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Old 06-25-2018, 07:50 AM   #14
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As far as the door sag goes, I know to some degree it is a factory defect. If there is no additional sag which appears to be coming from the hinges, I will just move the strike plate down.

Part of why the original bolt failed (besides age) was b/c there was a lot more force exerted on a small area of the bolt. If it can get the force distributed across the face of the bolt it should limit the chance of the same failure.

The bargman mechanism works a little better after cleaning and lubing it but I still need to two-and the door by retracting the bolt, then pressing the door in and releasing to all the bolt to catch. Even if I continue to two-hand the door on closing to make this bolt last as long as possible, I currently have to lean my 230 pounds into the door a pretty good amount to make sure the bolt catched on the strike plate.

I think 40 years of people slamming the door improperly must caused the strike play to push in a bit. I am going to bend it outward a bit. I should not have to lean into the door to get the bolt past the strike plate. hopefully this allows someone with less mass than me to properly close the door.
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