Tot Lok Installation

A word of caution if you are installing Tot Loks to baby proof your cabinets. Tot Loks are the magnetic cabinet latches by Safety 1st which have a locking mechanism opened by a magnetic key. They lock automatically, and can be deactivated when needed. The lock portion must be partially countersunk into the cabinet door which they are child proofing. Before countersinking it is important to properly align the lock with the catch before drilling. It is also important to have the proper size drill as noted in the installation instructions. But the most important thing to remember is that is easy to drill through the face of the cabinet. I did this on a number of occasions when I was child-proofing homes. How embarrassing and unprofessional it felt when this occurred. I had to patch the cabinet and profusely apologize to the homeowner. To prevent drilling through the face it is essential that you use a depth control device on your drill bit. This is a device that attaches to your drill bit and will control the depth of drilling. Included in the Tot Lok package are plastic sleeves that will slide over your drill bit and leave only the bottom end exposed. Be sure to leave only the recommended distance of bit exposed. The sleeves will impede the bit advancement and insure that the bit will not penetrate through the cabinet face. You may have to adjust for the thickness of your cabinet doors, as thinner doors will need less drilling and thicker doors may need a little more drilling. You can test if the proper depth is achieved by holding an unattached lock and magnet to the drilled hole and placing the magnetic key on the outside of the cabinet. If the magnetic piece moves towards the magnetic key you know the latch will work properly. If you take the proper care you will install all of your Tot Loks with no damage to the face of your nice cabinets.

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