Some lifehacks certainly can be inventive and unique, but that doesn’t make them any less great. The following do-it-yourself guide isn’t exactly a typical one, but it is one that can be extremely important if you’d like to have a bit of additional security.
Who hasn’t come across a door with a broken lock or perhaps even no lock at all?
Many motel doors, rental places, and restrooms aren’t quite secure, but one handy trick can change all of that.
YouTuber Phil Crockett shows us that all you need for a little bit of extra security is a cheap dinner fork.
It’s the perfect method to quickly modify a door and make it more difficult for intruders to come in.
The fork will be used as the lock itself, although this DIY project does require you to get your hands dirty, at least for a little bit. You’ll need a vice, a hammer, and a metal saw, but the whole process only takes a few minutes.
First up, make sure that you have a fork that fits into the latch hole. Ideally, you’re going to want a fork with prongs up to two inches long, and a handle that tapers so that you can easily use the handle to slide in between the prongs.
Insert the fork into the latch hole and take an alcohol or permanent marker to put a line on the prongs in order to see how deep the latch hole goes.
Next up, position the fork right-angled on a vice as we’re going to use a little bit of brute force. Place the prongs so that they’re positioned in the vice until the line you’ve just made with the marker.
Take a large hammer and give the fork a couple of good swings to bend the prongs all the way down up to a 90-degree angle. If the vice is pretty tight, you’ll have no issues bending this fork.
The next step is to cut off the handle of the fork with a metal saw or something else that is able to cut through the material. Ensure that the handle fits right in between one of the prongs – this is important for the locking mechanism.
If it doesn’t fit, there’s no reason to panic just yet. You can always file the edges and the sides of the fork until the handle fits perfectly, although this step usually isn’t necessary.
Alternatively, you can use a pair of pliers to do the steps detailed above, although it does require a bit more strength and might not yield the same perfect results.
Now that we have two halves of the fork, we can use it as an effective lock.
Put the prongs directly in the latch slot and close the door. Next, insert the handle into the middle prong until it no longer fits.
And there you have it, a simple yet extremely effective and clever DIY method to secure your door.
With almost 25 million views on YouTube, Phil’s guide on how to make a homemade lock has certainly become very popular.
It’s amazing what you can do with a little bit of creativity and everyday items!
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