Introduction to Common Window Hardware
Do you need sash locks for the windows in your historic home? If you have visited an architectural salvage company to look for appropriate window hardware, you have noticed the variety of types of sash locks that are available. Which type is the most appropriate for the windows in my house? The answer is not always straightforward, as multiple types of locks were in production at the same time. Little has been written heretofore about sash locks, so even basic information is not easily available. This article will describe the most common types of sash locks during the years 1840 to 1940 and will provide date ranges for each type so you as the homeowner can look for age-appropriate hardware and not depend on aesthetics alone.
During the century studied for this article, the movement of windows was regulated with two general types of mechanisms. The earlier type was the side lock, a feature attached to a stile to restrict the movement of that single sash. After the Civil War, a second type of sash lock was introduced that locked the two sashes together along the meeting rails to prevent movement; it immediately became more popular. Throughout the time period being documented, the term "sash fastener" was the dominant term for these mechanisms, although the term "sash lock" was in infrequent use. In the mid-twentieth century, "sash lock" supplanted the term "sash fastener" and remains the preferred term today.
Side Locks
Side locks were the dominant means of regulating the movement of sashes prior to the Civil War. Side locks of the early nineteenth century were produced in a variety of ways. The early types mentioned here are all rare and should be retained as much as possible.
Pre-Civil War side locks generally involved a moveable metal member that fit into a mortise running through the stile of a sash. During this time, the upper sashes of windows were usually (not always) fixed, so these side locks almost always appear on lower sashes.
Sash Locks
The second category of sash locks does not have a distinguishing name; they are simply called "sash locks" although side locks are technically sash locks as well. Sash locks were designed with two separate but interlocking pieces, each installed on the meeting rail of a sash in a way to lock the two sashes together.
Early in the history of sash locks, it became evident that they posed a security flaw. If the two parts of the sash lock did not firmly hold the two sashes together, a thief could run a blade between the sashes and use the blade to operate the lock. In all fairness, a determined thief could always break a single pane and reach in to operate the sash lock as well. |