ABOUT STABLES. 



B/IR|N DOOR /] 



JLJ 



FIG. I. 



A home-made device for locking rolling stable doors which 

 requires no key, and yet which is securely fastened, is shown 

 in Figure I. Have a string go through the wall to raise the 

 catch on the inside. 



A very simple and cheap home- 

 made latch for the barn door is 

 shown in Figure 2. A, B and c are 

 sticks of hard wood two inches 

 square. In A and B are cut notches 

 at D and E an inch deep for the 

 bolt c to slide in. The bolt is also 

 cut down, as shown in the drawing, sufficiently to allow it to 

 work freely even in damp weather. Screw the pieces A and B 

 to the inside of the door. Bevel the end of the bolt c at H 

 at such an angle that when the door 

 shuts, and the bolt strikes the jamb j 

 the bolt will be pushed back and fall 

 into the slot in the jamb by its own 

 weight. Put a strong pin in the hole 

 of the bolt at K, and make a slot in the 

 door for this pin to work in. Keep 

 the bearings well greased. FIG. 2. 



Perhaps a better bolt, but one a little harder to make, is 

 shown in Figure 3. In it A is a spring made of hickory or 

 oak and set into the end of the bolt B. At c is a 

 flat strip of wood, which goes through the bolt 

 1 and through a slot in the door to open it from the 

 other side. The bolt is beveled at the end so that 

 it will slide back, and the spring will throw it into 

 place every time, no matter how hard the door may 

 be slammed. A pin at D will prevent the bolt 

 FIG. 3. going too far. If your barn doors are cut through 

 at the middle, as they should be, the hickory spring A could 



