Door handles

[Bruce Caldwell]

Anybody out there have any door handles for sale for a 46 BC-12D? I have two that are the same and one that is different from the other two. Are the outer handles different from the inside handles?

Bruce
N95893

[NC36061]

Re: Door handles

Bruce,

There are a couple of types of doors used post-war. One is the original style door with handles that are different inside and out, and the later metal door that is a bit wider and leaves the diagonal tube exposed in the doorway. Those use cast magnesium handles that are the same inside and out I believe. If you put "door handles" in the search box, you will find a lot of info. If you can post some pix of your doors and what handles you have/want, that would help.

Dave

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Door handles

Which handle are you looking for? As Bruce said there are MANY types, and lots of planes with the wrong ones! Photos of what you have (plane, doors and handles) will help figure it out.

Hank

[Guest]

Re: Door handles

How much is a cast magnesium door handle worth these days?

Dave

[3Dreaming]

Re: Door handles

Bruce,

There are a couple of types of doors used post-war. One is the original style door with handles that are different inside and out, and the later metal door that is a bit wider and leaves the diagonal tube exposed in the doorway. Those use cast handles that are the same inside and out I believe. If you put "door handles" in the search box, you will find a lot of info. If you can post some pix of your doors and what handles you have/want, that would help.

Dave

There are at least 2 types of the later larger metal door too. One is relatively flat and the other more curved. Personally I consider the small door to be pre war, even though the remaining stock was used up after the war in 1945.

[NC36061]

Re: Door handles

There are at least 2 types of the later larger metal door too. One is relatively flat and the other more curved. Personally I consider the small door to be pre war, even though the remaining stock was used up after the war in 1945.

Huh, never realized there are two different "big" doors. I call the "small" doors original or first type, since it was used well into 1946, I think towards the end of the 43### series N-numbers before the change to the later type.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Door handles

Around the war the doors got REALLY mixed up. People restoring planes after that made the whole mess worse. There were wood doors, two types of tube doors and sheet metal doors. There were probably more, but those would have been few and far between.
If someone posts photos of their doors we can tell you which handle "should" have been used, but that DOES NOT mean someone hasn't changed them over time. My 41 had a Garage Door "T" handle on one side when I bought it!!!

Hank

Don't forget all the doors that were converted to "Patrol Doors" with transparent panels!

[Bruce Caldwell]

Re: Door handles

Looks like I'm just missing one of the shorter ones. Here are some pics of what I have. Also a picture of my doors, one of which has my new wooden window frame.

Thanks!
Bruce

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Door handles

I think the far left handle in your photos may just be a standard 46 handle that has been broken and filed smooth. If so, there are some still available (I have several but they are stuck in doors and I haven't been able to get them loose). Your doors look like standard sheet metal doors but the wood window frames I have never seen before. Looks like someone didn't like the sliding windows and converted them to flip out types. I don't think they are standard but I REALLY like them much better than the standard sliders. A lot of guys would probably like to copy them if they are top hinged flip outs.

Hank

[Bruce Caldwell]

Re: Door handles

Thanks for the info Hank. I wondered if that was the case with the shorter handle. If that's the case then I need two more handles. I just finished the first window frame and have one more to make. I saw something like them in an old Beechcraft at the Reno Air Races a few years ago and really liked them. I never really liked the way the T-craft was done. They are not top hinged flip outs. I lined the groove that I cut in the wood with some really thin felt and made it so both windows can slide open and close. It's a laminate of walnut and hemlock.

Still looking for two more handles.

Thanks
Bruce

[NC36061]

Re: Door handles

How much is a cast magnesium door handle worth these days?

Dave

Depends if you can get it off the steel shaft without breaking it.... $20-$30???

[Bruce Caldwell]

Re: Door handles

I can HANDLE that!!! I'll take two.

Bruce