Westfalia Cabinet Catches - Suitable Replacement Found

[TheArmand]

Hey all,

Upon my decision to use Westfalia latches on my custom cabinets for my passenger van conversion, I had to figure out how to source the catches, or at least figure out a suitable replacement. After searching quite a bit it seems that these catches are simply NLA, at least in the states (if you know otherwise please do tell).

Here are some photos of the OEM catches for reference:

During a trip to a Rockler store today, after scouring their catches, I found this item, linked here: http://www.rockler.com/ball-catch

This is the only catch I've found that has come close. The bend in it is correct, and although quite small, is a very sturdy piece of metal with zero flex. The single screw with dual tang attachment points is a bit lacking to the original 3 screw attachment, but this should be more than sufficient for regular use (sans catastrophic accident), especially if you're using quality 3/4" baltic birch for your face frame.

To keep things safe in the event of an accident, a second ball catch can be installed on the lower end of the cabinet door, so the forces can be distributed to two catches. This will require a little tug to open the cabinet door (to compensate for the actual ball catch, which has quite a stiff spring), instead of an effortless opening, but should give a nice solid feel to the door.

Hopefully this helps others who find themselves in my shoes, cause I sure didn't find **** anywhere online about this!
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1988 2.1 Vanagon GL - North American High Top - Custom P22 Inspired "Nahtfalia" Edition Camper

[dhaavers]

I could see cutting/bending up a handful of these from scrap
sheet metal (think furnace duct) in 30 minutes or less...???

- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[sak94]

I too liked the idea of maintaining the westy style cabinet door latch throughout the van. I discovered that binder clips actually have the perfect shape for a catch. You'll probably only yield one latch catch per binder clip but it really does seem to work well.

[pnwkayaker]

Do you have a picture of the binder clip? I’m having a hard time figuring it out from your description.

Also, it looks like the original picture and link from TheArmand post are no longer valid, does anybody know if he was referring to the following catch?

https://www.rockler.com/brass-ball-catch-choose-size

This latest catch doesn’t seem to fit correctly though.

[ALIKA T3]

[sak94]

Yes, here are a couple photos of the binder clip catch and one photo from the outside1

[pnwkayaker]

Thanks, this makes total sense now. Very inventive!
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87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")

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