Over the years, we have received many questions about where to get various fixit parts for steel kitchen cabinets. But with 70+ vintage brands out there, these questions are tough indeed — we’re really dependent on readers discovering and testing options. Today: Reader Shawn hit some pay dirt, and was able to find new door pin ballstud catches that he could use to close his wall cabinet doors snugly.
Shawn says these catches worked for both the Geneva and Youngstown cabinets that he is using in his project — and he has extras, if you need a few, too:
I found a solution for missing door pins/ballstud catches. I found that these work on Genevas and Youngstowns. Thread size 8/32. I have about 90 left. PM or Email me swolfe1@neo.rr.com. $1.00 ea or 12 for $10.00
These thingies are called “Lift the Dot” Stud catches — the company that makes them says they were originally developed to hold canvas tops on horse and buggy carriages in place!
Shawn found them on ebay here.
I don’t know how Shawn got these into the doors themselves — presumably he was using pre-existing holes (replacing door pins that had been there before), so they cozied right in.
Push-in stem door / drawer bumpers, too:
Also — Shawn found a source for “push-in stem door/drawer bumpers” — those little rubber baby buggy bumper black dots on the inside of a kitchen cabinet door that let it rest gently against the metal cabinet box.
Golly.
Thank you, Shawn!!
See all our stories about vintage steel cabinets here.
Powder coated steel shelving, kitchen cart and desk accessories, new from Ikea 
Powder coating steel kitchen cabinets — Todd’s story … and beautiful results 
Youngstown Mountain 
Magnetic paper towel holder for your steel kitchen cabinets from Harbor Freight Tools 
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Watz a rubber baby bugger? Inquirn minds want to know. Hah!
Made me laugh. Thanks!
i can’t say it and obviously, i can’t type it
i am in a state these days. typos galore. fixed.
🙂
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers! Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers! Thanks for the blast from the past Pam, and the handy tip!
Now if only we could find a hinge for our Youngstown cabinet – it’s hanging on by a thread…at least we know to go to you for the answer!
xo
Mod B
Lift-the-dots are widely used in the automotive restoration world today for convertible tops, fabric side curtains etc. There are numerous sources out there, such as:
http://stores.restorationspecialties.com/lift-the-dot-common-sense-fasteners/
http://www.restorationstuff.com/index.html
If you live in Amish country, a good buggy shop should sell them as well!
Leave it to RR readers to find these things.
Leave it to Pam to let us know about what others found!
And leave it to the Amish, the original Retro Renovators, to keep manufacturing something that may have gone out of style but is just what we still need in our everyday lives. I have bought some wonderful things that our grandmothers and mothers used from a catalog called Lehmans Simple Products for a Simpler Life (lehmans.com). One is a wood, metal and rope outdoor clothes dryer that is the envy of my neighbors. You might try them for some of the other discontinued hardware you need.
I used small loose magnets to keep my doors closed. They come in different strengths. It took a little experimenting to find the right ones, but they work great!
Great idea!!
Gutting kitchen now and putting back Crane, Geneva, & Youngstown… Going to buy:
Swisco 79-018 for the rubber bummers
Swisco 75-077 Slider Slicker Track Lubricant for metal-on-metal drawers (not tried yet, but most just need less junk in them… unlike wood drawers you can put a lot in them but they don’t work as well…)
Harvesting off others for catches & hinges… (may have extra when done…)
But still can not find drawer roller replacements (about 1-1/8″ OD and 1/4″ thick with only 5/16″ for total clearance…) Looking at Swisco 10-137… HELP.
That’s great news. I have 27 St. Charles cabinets (they look like they’d work on them also).
I have the issue of finding the plastic square part that the lift dot stud goes in to. On 1 of my cabinets, 1/2 of the plastic is broken. Been looking everywhere, but can’t find anything like it.
We have been harvesting off of others… The Crane had metal catches on two doors (one missing). The Geneva’s had plastic ones. One friend has a full kitchen where the previous owner used a square of cork where the plastic had broken. We need a trading forum for parts!
Good idea! With a place to post a photo of what you are looking for or what you have.
https://retrorenovation.com/forums/
to post photos upload to a photo sharing program then share the url
Currently under Youngstown cabinets they have some listed,
ummm…. I closed the Forum.
We have a Youngstown Kitchen in an old ranch house. We are looking to refurbish the cabinets and need to replace countertops & refinish the steel/porcelain sink — we want to know our options. There is a corner piece that we are told has a water heater in it – are there options to retrofit? Do you have any info on this? Thank you very much!
Kristin, this is not a DIY site per se, but we have published quite a few stories about the various methods that readers have used to repaint their cabinets.
Start digging into our Kitchen Help / Steel Kitchens category — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/steel-kitchen-cabinets/
You might also find the stories in Kitchen Help / Readers and their Kitchens — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/kitchens-hi-pam-reader-spotlight/
If I were going to restore cabinets, I would likely first try to find a local auto body shop to help. Industrial painting companies would be another option. Be aware that doors can warp under high heat; be aware there may be fillers [made of we don’t know what] inside the doors that may be affected by high heat. Those are a couple of the issues that have come up over time.
For your steel sink see the two lead stories in our Kitchen Help / Sinks category — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/sinks/
This true hardware for vintage cabinets can be found at Spencer Products. 330-487-5200. It is called “strike and latch” hardware.
I am currently looking for the plastic part for the lift dot. I have 1850s farm house did not have a kitchen till 1970s. I found a whole kitchen of geneva cabinets. I found if you have the will power, sanding them and spraying with rustoleum hammer spray works well. Stands up to the kids and pets. Anybody finds a sight or a place to get the plastic square for the cabinets. I would like to know.
Hi John, we don’t have a known source for all the plastic part or its and bits, as we have identified so many brands and they used so many solutions. Note, readers, please be aware that there may be potential hazards in old products such as lead paint in the finishes of old cabinets — so before undertaking DIY projects on them, get with a properly licensed professional to assess what you are working with so you can make informed decisions how to handle. For more info see our Be Safe/Renovate Safe page.