Hearthstone Clydesdle Door repair

[Woodchucker99]

Disclaimer, this isn't a homeowner repair. Best to seek professional machinist help. Having owned the Clydesdale for ten years, the design flaw of the entire door handle system eventually comes in to play. Wear in the through hole for the door latch was a constant issue. I modified it by drilling and reaming out the hole to accept a brass bushing but these wear out in one or two seasons. This necessitated removing the door, setting it up in a milling machine to precisely drill out and ream the hole for another new bushing. This year I finally had enough of this recurring job and decided to try and make a more easily replaceable fix. I removed the door, set up the door in the milling machine, drilled and tapped for a 5/8-11 silicon bronze bolt modified to fit. Now, all that's needed is to remove the bolt if and when it's worn, screw in another. The only question is how long these will last.