Maybe you’re in a sketchy motel, and the door isn’t locking properly. Or maybe your front door lock is broken, and you’re worried about a break-in. Perhaps your room just doesn’t have a lock, and you’d like some privacy. You may think that you’re out of options because you can’t just lock a door without a lock.
…Well, okay, if you clicked on this article, then you know that you’re not actually out of options. But you’re probably curious about how to make a lock for your door and whether or not it’s easy or effective.
The truth is, if you want to know how to make a lock for your door, you can learn a couple of different methods. There are all kinds of objects you can use to secure a door and prevent it from opening until you want it opened.
Each one requires different materials varying in acquisition difficulty, and each one has its own level of effectiveness. Try them out, and then decide which one works best.
Here are the different methods of how to make a lock for your door
If you want to know how to make a lock for your door using nothing but a fork, you need a few tools ready.
First, use the set of pliers to bend the teeth of the fork. Go up about a quarter of an inch and bend one or all teeth at a 90-degree angle. The lock will hold better if you bend all of the teeth, but it also may mark up more of your door frame.
Next, take off the handle. This is where the optional saw comes in, but you may be able to do this with your pliers. It depends on how sturdy the fork’s handle is. Then set the bent teeth in the strike plate, where the bolt usually goes.
Have the other end sticking out towards you while the teeth catch in the strike plate. If you’re worried about marking up your door, you use the optional duct tape or fabric and wrap the fork up. Try not to block one of the gaps between the fork teeth, as you’ll need this for the next step.
Now close the door over the fork. Stick the handle through the teeth. If the handle keeps sliding out, you can use your optional rubber band to keep it in place. You can also use the optional duct tape if you happen to have that.
Your door should be locked now. That’s how to make a lock for your door with a fork.
If you want to know how to make a lock for your door with various barricades, know that you have a couple of options.
This first option is significantly less DIY, and it’s not about how to make a lock for your door but instead involves purchasing a device made for doors without locks.
There are a few options. The Burglar Bar is a bar that blocks the door, and the Addalock is a device that works much like the fork method. The Nightlock is installed into the floor as a barricade.
You can also use a chair in the way you’ve probably seen in movies before. It’ll work if your door opens inward. If it doesn’t, then the chair won’t do much, and of course, with enough force, a chair can be dislodged, but it might be worth trying.
And, of course, if your door opens inward, you can try piling other things to block it. You’re going to need heavy objects to do this, though, which means that it’ll be difficult and time-consuming, so this isn’t your best option.
If you want to know how to make a lock for your door using a wedge shape, know that you don’t necessarily need to buy a door stopper. There are a few options.
The important part here is just having something for the door to slowly catch on.
Wedges work because the door can slide across the surface before it’s too far from the ground. Once it’s far enough from the ground, it’s already too late, and the door can’t be moved. This is better than a barricade because a wedge can’t be simply knocked over.
Since the door is in an unnatural position, you need to more-or-less break the door to get past wedge shapes. If you want to know how to make a lock for your door with any malleable materials, simply figure out how to form them into these practical wedge shapes.
While those last two methods work on doors that open inward, this works great for ones that open either way. If you want to know how to make a lock for your door through tying, know that your door needs to be under a set of specific circumstances.
If your door has a handle, you can use a slightly different method with different requirements.
For the first method, all you need to do is tie your rope-like object around the door handle and then tie the other end around the sturdy object. Make sure that you make a good knot.
If you don’t have a sturdy object but do have a screwdriver, you can unscrew the strike plate and tie it around one of the screws before screwing it back in.
For the second method, tie one end around the coat hanger (or whatever else) and the other end on the tip of the handle. This way, when someone tries to open the door, the tie will pull the handle and prevent it from fully turning.
As you can see, there are a few strategies for how to make a lock for your door through tying. Figure out which one works for you.
If you want to know how to make a lock for your door using nothing but a sock, get ready to do some folding. You don’t need much for this.
As a side note, this is better with longer or thicker socks.
All you have to do is fold the sock and stick it at the top of the door. Close the door around the sock, and it should create enough friction to jam the door. Congratulations, you now know how to make a lock for your door with a sock.
When you want to unlock the door, open the door while pulling the sock. This should unjam it from the doorframe, allowing the door to be opened.
If you want to know how to make a lock for your door using some loose change, understand that some types of doors will not work.
This door locking method is a common prank that has possible workarounds for lockouts, but you can use it to lock your door in a pinch.
Insert pennies in between the door frame and the door itself. Make sure the pennies are partially sticking out and not lost within the door frame, or you might get trapped.
It might take a few pennies, usually between 4 and 10. Eventually, you should feel the door get stuck.
To unlock the door, take the pennies out from your side. If you’ve lost the pennies, you might need to remove the door from the hinge altogether or find some other method for unlocking your door without a keyhole.
All you need is a few coins if you want to know how to make a lock for your door, even if that doesn’t sound like it makes much cents.
If you want to know how to make a lock for your door from scratch, the process is a bit complicated. This is, of course, impractical if all you need to do is lock your door in a pinch, but if you’re interested in making your own lock rather than buying one in the store, this is the best way to do it.
There are all sorts of lock builds on the internet. Whatever kind of lock you want, you can probably find it somewhere. You can also learn to 3D model and design something yourself.
Alternatively, if you don’t mind that your lock will be easy to break, you can make crude locks out of many things.
You can continue to find tutorial videos on how these are made. Usually, it doesn’t matter what material you’re using, and any cut can be made with any sturdy enough material.
If you have a lot of time and money, you can consider using these unconventional methods. If you want to know how to make a lock for your door from scratch, though, you probably need a little more practicality than that.
If you want to know how to make a door lock, you can try a few methods. You can block the door using an obstruction or a wedge, tie the door shut by the handle, or you can use a common trick like penny locking or the fork trick. That’s how to make a lock for your door.
First, you must measure where the deadbolt will rest on the door frame. Then, trace the shape of the strike plate you’re adjusting over this area. Measure how far the deadbolt goes out and drill a hole precisely that deep into the door frame. Measure how deep the strike plate is and chisel that out. Now screw everything in. That’s the basics of how to make a door latch hole.
If you have a bedroom that doesn’t lock, you can try a few household items to cover how to make a homemade lock for your bedroom door. A sock can become a makeshift wedge, or a belt can be tied around the handle and to something else. You can use a chair as a barricade.
Even pennies can be slid into the frame to block it from opening, although you must be careful with this, as if you can’t fish the pennies out, you might need to take the door off its hinges. That’s how to make a lock for your door.
The fork-locking method involves destroying the fork you’re using, so be prepared for that.
First, you bend the teeth of the fork at a 90-degree angle. Then you take off the handle. Put the bent teeth in the latch hole, close the door, and put the handle through the teeth. That’s how to make a lock out of a fork.
There’s a large variety of makeshift locks that you can make, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. Some of them are much harder to make than others, but many of them can be done in a pinch if you want to know how to make a lock for your door.
Which ones did you find most effective? Did you find any of these easy to unlock? Leave a comment below.
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