The Newest Hippo
Our newest staff member volunteered to write a blog post and chose to share what it's like to join the Hippo-verse:
I am the newest addition to Hippo Hardware, and let me be the first to admit, it’s overwhelming! The never-ending inventory of super cool is jaw dropping. I’m caught repeatedly hypnotized in the spinning dazzle of yester-year whatevers too often, to the point of literally needing to keep my head down in order to stay on task. I’ve been a member of the lighting department since the beginning of this year. A series of serendipitous events has me exploiting a more electric side. My background is scattered with fifteen years or so in the home restoration business, and while several avenues have led me to develop artistically, my foundation is firm in the world of “I’ll need to look at it, but I think we can fix it.” Seems there was a little hole in Hippo’s repertoire that was carved just for me.
If you are looking for any fix it for your home, save yourself the headache of wasted time and under experienced staff, come here first. If we don’t have what you need we will know where to point you next, if there is a direction to follow… There are strong men, at the ready, to lift and load any claw foot, light fixture, door, or mantel. There’s a revolving crew of ring master stand-ins, Steve Miller being the one and only original, all at the ready for an on the spot stand up and well thought how to DIY. Every department has a magic of it’s own with the third floor shining spot lights, chandeliers, sconces, floor-table-desk lamps, and sputniks ready to take off in a rainbow show. Come one, come all into the labyrinth of stairs and ramps.
Fixing or Replacing Old Stuff: Where to Start
A Brief Introduction:
Let's start with Plumbing
Now, our Lighting department:
And then there's Architecture:
Last but not least, Hardware:
So in conclusion:
How to Fix Antique Glass Door Knobs
A frequent question we get asked here at Hippo isn't so much a question as a look of panic and frustration. People come in holding lovely glass door knobs in their hands telling woeful tales of friends stuck in the bathroom or spouses trapped in the garage. They say their knobs are broken and they need a new set.
Octagonal and fluted (occasionally round or rarely other unusual shapes) glass door knobs are common throughout Portland as well as buildings from the 1920's - 1940's. And eventually, they fail. It's a remarkably elegant failure because the solution is fairly simple. Below we'll walk through the most common type of failure and how you can fix it rather than buy new knobs.
Step 0 (aka the problem) - Your knob spins or falls off in your hand
If your door knob just spins when you try to turn it or even 'skip's when you're turning, chances are your threads have worn out. Commonly, they either simply wear down completely
or the pressure of the steel will carve out a square shape where there should be a circle:
Before we dive in, there are other common problems that may cause your knob to spin or fall off though, so let's rule out a couple other scenarios first.
Scenario A) Your set screw is just loose. Find your set screw in the 'collar' or base of your knob, make sure it's sitting on the face of your spindle (not on a corner). To check, take out your set screw and look through the hole. If you see a corner, twist the knob a little further. Otherwise, tighten down the set screw and check to see if your knob still spins. If not, then you're already done! Victory lap!
Scenario B) Your door knob's glass has come loose from the collar. To test this, hold the collar, or base, of the knob, and see if the glass spins independently. If so, this will require some MacGuyvering with super glue (we recommend the super runny xylene based kind to really get in there and twisting the glass part around while it's wet to get all the crannies) or possibly just replacement.
Assuming neither scenario is true, let's move on to step 1:
Step 1 - Take both knobs off the spindle
This can be accomplished by unscrewing both set screws, unscrewing your knobs from the spindle.
(Tip: You won't need your set screws anymore, but if you have a whole house of the same knobs, we'd recommend keeping these little guys around because if one gets lost, they can be difficult to replace.)
When you look in your knob's collar, it will probably look torn up, flattened, and mostly square instead of mostly round. This is another good indicator that your threads have done their duty and are no longer functional.
Step 2 - Acquire a new spindle
The easiest way to do that at Hippo is to bring in your knobs. If your threads are damaged enough, you can use a spindle with no threads, and only straight tapped holes. However, most of the time it's easier to use a spindle with both thread and straight tapped holes. This way, the knob will screw on so you don't have to battle the remaining thread.
Most knobs fit on a 20 thread spindle but some do not. If you come into Hippo, we can trouble shoot with you in person. If you can't bring it in here, you can take your knob or spindle to a local hardware store and find out the thread.
We sell offer a 'spindle kit' which includes the spindle, two set screws, and 6 washers. Spindle kits can be purchased here (Note we have some updated information on spindle kits - read more about them here)
f you purchase your spindle elsewhere, make sure you also get two straight tapped screws which will screw directly into the spindle, and many small washers that you will use as needed to keep the knobs from sliding back and forth in your door.
Step 3 - Attach one knob to the end of the spindle
Screw on knob onto the spindle and keep screwing until you get as far down as possible and have the set screw hole over the hole in the spindle. It's easiest to screw it down as far as possible and then back up the nearest hole. Screw in the new set screw (through the knob, into the spindle). Your knob should feel tightly attached to the spindle.
Step 4 - Put the spindle through the door
Assuming your door, latching mechanism, and plates are still attached (if not, attach them now), put one or two washers on the spindle and slide them down to the base of the door knob. This is an estimate and will likely need to be tested and changed a few times to get it right. If, even with all six washers, the spindles are still too long for your door we suggest you cut down your spindle instead of continuing to stack washers.
These washers should nestle between the base of the knob and your door plate. Then push the spindle through your door.
Step 5 - Attach the second knob
Now, place one or two washers on the end of the spindle poking through the door. Again, use your best guess as to how many washers you will need based on the length of the spindle and the depth of your door plus plates.
Install the other door knob, following the same tactic of screwing down as far as possible and then backing up to the nearest spindle hole. From this point, you can see where your knobs will sit and if your washers are correctly placed. If you need to add or remove washers, now is a good time to do so.
Once your washers are set, screw down the second knob, screw in the set screw, and voila! Your beautiful original door knobs once again are working like champs! Victory lap!
Welcome to our new website!
It's here! We are all very excited about the new possibilities this website will open up for people outside the Portland area and/or people who would like to stay in their inside-only pants.
That being said, we do have limited hours, hands, and brains and cannot get our entire store online. Or even a large percentage. So, enjoy the website as a fun window into the store and please don't hesitate to contact us if you don't see what you're looking for.
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About Us
Hippo Hardware is an eclectic building salvage store specializing in hardware, lighting, architecture and plumbing from 1860-1960. We also offer assorted collectibles, trinkets, whatnots, and whoziwhatsits depending on what we get in. The spirit of Hippo Hardware is to rejoice in the individual, the unique, and the original.
Hippo Hardware was officially established in 1976 after the founders Steven Miller and Stephen Oppenheim decided to turn a life of swashbuckling adventures into a second life of swashbuckling adventures. We live in the local, even for our customers far away. That means you will probably hear a story about burying a Porsche in a state park while you are asking about a faucet or see photos of our cashier's Saint Bernards while you're paying for a light fixture. We strongly support community projects, teachers, artists, adventurers, dreamers, and one-man-bands.
If you're looking for a hard to find hardware pattern or can't find the match to your lamp shade, we'd be happy to tell you if we have it, seen it, or know where you could get it.
To make sure you get what you need, we offer the following services:- Customizing - We do our best to make sure it looks just right. Our lighting shop can customize length, finishes, plating, and configuration. Our plumbing department will coordinate refinishing with local companies. The hardware department is able to darken, refinish, clean, and rebuild. Our services can vary depending on staff so please contact us with your project details.
- Returns - Accepted for any reason. That means if it doesn't fit, if your sweetheart doesn't like it, if it doesn't match your paint scheme. Receipt required. Returned to you the way you paid. Shipping refunded only in the case of defective items.
- Trade in - Bring in what you have and we will offer you in store credit or cash. Email pictures first if you'd like to talk about it before you get here.
Hippo Hardware has three glorious floors and 30,000 sq feet of building salvage to explore. Our inventory, and staff, is divided into four departments: Hardware, Lighting, Plumbing, and Architecture. We do our best to highlight our inventory full of unique items and reproductions on our website, but most of our stock is not online yet. Please contact us if you're looking for something you don't see here.
We donate to: NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Portland Women's Crisis Line, Benson High School, Sunnyside Environmental School, Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show, SE Works, Vision Northwest, Multnomah Playschool, Union Gospel Mission, Community House, The Friendly House, Marylhurst Childhood Center, Portland Lions Club, Sabin Elementary School, Oya No Kai supporting the Japanese Magnet Program, Lee Owen Stone Preschool, Public Interest Law Project, Jefferson High School for the Performing Arts Theater Department, imago Theater, Reynolds High School, David Douglass High School, and Milagro Theater.
