Over the years I have amassed a huge box full of vintage door knobs, drawer pulls, door knockers and other hardware. I love vintage door knobs but have never really known what to do with them. Well I finally figured out how to convert them into drawer pulls or wall hooks which will make them way more versatile than just sitting in a box.
Many times old vintage door knobs come with a square peg and a small screw that attaches the knob to the peg.
If you want to repurpose them it is really challenging to figure out how to without trying to cut the square peg and retrofit it or using an expensive die to recut a hole. Here is a simpler way.
Supplies:
Vintage Door Knobs
Hangar Bolts
Two Part Epoxy Resin (I used Envirotex Lite)
Electric Drill and bit
Clear tape
Disposable mixing cups and stir sticks
Locking pliers
1. There is a little hole on the side of your knob. Cover that with some clear tape. Make sure to really burnish it down so the tape sticks well.
2. Mix your two parts of Envirotex Lite following manufacturer’s directions. Next pour the resin into the knob all the way to the top.
3. This is the hardest part: wait a full 24 hours for the resin to cure. Then predrill a hole slight smaller than your hangar bolt into the resin with your cordless drill (I got mine from littlepinktools.com by the way — so cute!).
4. Next with some locking pliers screw your hangar bolt into the resin. Now you can use either side to screw it in. I screwed in the bolt side so that I could use the screw side to drill into a shelf. But if you want to screw in the screw side and use the bolt side for say, a drawer pull with a nut attached you can do that too.
Now your vintage door knobs have purpose again. You can simply screw them into the wall, shelf drawer, cabinet, etc.
Beckie, that is amazing. I’ve been trying to figure out a solution for awhile! Thanks for figuring it out and sharing. Now I’m off to scout out vintage hardware. 😉
Very clever!! Isn’t that resin stuff amazing?? I would not have thought to use it for this kind of project. 🙂
This is a great idea & tutorial! So simple, but so creative & useful. Thanks for the information!
Now that’s creative! I’ve been wanting to make a hanger for all my totes from old door knobs. Now I know how…thanks!
great idea that can applied in so many ways! Thanks for sharing this easy fix . . . and I must say, I laughed at how many times you had to say screw in one post . . . I know, mind in the gutter!
-Amanda
Genius! We are getting ready to move so I’ll have to keep this in mind. I love old knobs 🙂
How did you drill the hole straight down into the knob? I can totally see the drill slipping and drilling right into my fingers. Eeks! You did a great job though!
What a great idea! I heart resin…
So lovely and creative :)) loving your blog and officially following with smiles per blog hop..I’m Marilyn via http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com and I’d love for you to stop in sometime..off to indulge in your posts..:))
i’ve never used resin but i’m ever-so-curious about it! a smaller scale resin project like this is not nearly as intimidating as other resin projects i’ve seen!
Oooo! I’ve seen some great doorknobs that I didn’t buy because I didn’t know what to do with them. You’ve shown me how now! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂
PS I have a $50 cash giveaway going on at my blog right now! Come by when you get a chance. 🙂
Very cool idea! I love to hear about new ways to use old things. Thanks! :o)
Yessssss!!! I’ve had a pile of knobs just sittin in a basket looking cute waiting to be put to good use. NOW that I’ve learned something new…the possibilities are endless! Thanks!
I really wish that my parents had saved some of the old knobs from their house. They were over 100 years old and just beautiful. When you’re a kid you don’t appreciate those things. My mom does not save much so I know they’ve all been thrown out.
Great idea to use these.
Ruth
OMG! I was just trying to figure this out the other day to make a towel holder with some old knobs. Thank you so much for this tutorial.
I absolutely love this idea! I also love the pink drill – thanks for giving me a source 🙂
Great tutorial!
Instead of waiting til the resin dried, then screwing a hole into it, could you just let the screw set in the resin? Pour a little in, put the screw in, fill to top with resin.
I’ve been doing this sort of thing for years, but I picked up a new trick or two upon reading your fab tutorial! Thanks !!
You could I was just nervous about not keeping the hangar perfect straight. If you wait until it dries then you are guaranteed straight results.
Very cool. Wouldn’t it be easier, though, to insert the hanger bolt before the resin hardens? That would ensure a perfect fit, and you wouldn’t have to drill a hold in the resin. All you would have to do would be to figure out a way to keep the bolt centered while the resin dried. A few toothpicks cross hatched across the top once the resin had been poured should work perfectly.
I think it would probably be easier for you to set the screw into the resin while it was still liquid so it would harden in place, then you wouldn’t have to drill it in & it would be ready to go once cured.
just saw that last post said the same thing!!
Very clever! I just came across a bunch of old knobs too in a shop in my town – just might have to go back and get a bunch, thanks for the idea! I have this linked to my knobs and pulls post as well today, for inspiration!
Thank you for this tutorial. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do this!
Hello! Do you happen to recall what diameter hanger bolt you used for this project?
I am sorry I don’t but any size would work as long as it is smaller than the doorknob hole.
Thanks for this! It’s exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to make a coat rack from repurposed knobs.
Glad I could help, Linda!
Awesome! I have collected several old knobs and knew what I wanted to do with them, but wasn’t sure how to get there! This is great! One question – would it be possible to not fill the resin all the way to the top and place the bolt inside the wet resin to dry?
I am glad you can use this tutorial. You can try place the bolt in the wet resin. However, it may be tricky because you will have to keep it super straight somehow.
I love this! Thank you for sharing. One question though, what did you use on the surface of the knobs to make them all pretty and shiny? Mine are very old and rusted, and I love how your finished product looks!
You will have to sand the doorknobs smooth. You might try spraying them with RustOleum Rusty Metal primer first as well. Just keep in mind whatever the finish looks like will only be enhanced by the spray paint. The spray paint will change the color but the bumps and divits will still be there – so surface prep is important.
I agree! Why not just add the bolt or even a drywall screw to the resin once it sets a little as you don’t want you bolt crooked. I am going to try this way and let you all know how it turns out. I found a really cool piece of reclaimed oak at my local salvage store and will post a picture of the finished product. I’m very excited to get my rack done and hung!
I’d love to see how it comes out. Thanks for sharing!
Well I am happy to say that I tried this with a twist. I filled the knobs with epoxy and set the screw into the wet epoxy and held it till it set up. I used all metal knobs which were hollow so in order to save some epoxy I had to fill them with fish gravel 1-2 stones at a time! This was very time consuming but epoxy is expensive and I still used about 4 ounces. I did have 1 knob come loose when trying to attach. This was only because the epoxy settled and left most of the shaft empty. The other 4 knobs worked perfectly and sticking the screw in while wet saved a step. FYI the epoxy can be very messy. I had some spillage but I wiped it up and figured it was on the back side of the knobs so I wasn’t to worried. Overall it took me about 2 hrs to do and that is because I had the fill my knobs. The ceramic ones won’t take nearly as long. So here is my finished product! I am very happy with it and love the charm it brings to my closet. I think I might need to do another so I can put it in a common area for all to see!
Thank you so much for sharing with everyone! I am glad it worked for you to stick the screw into the wet epoxy. I know other readers will be glad to hear it too! 😉