Rockwood 591 Roller Latch with ASA Strike

The Rockwood 591 is a roller latch, so the door holds shut by friction rather than a latchbolt. A spring-loaded roller in the edge of the door rides into the strike and keeps the door closed until someone pushes or pulls it open. There's no lever, knob or key involved. That makes it the part you use on closet doors, double doors with an inactive leaf, or any opening that just needs to stay shut and pull open by hand. If the opening needs to latch or lock, a roller latch is the wrong choice and you want a latchset or mortise lock instead.

Yes, the 591 ships with an ASA strike measuring 1-1/4 x 4-7/8 inches, which is the standard ASA (T-strike) frame cutout most commercial hollow metal frames are already prepped for. If your frame carries an existing ASA prep, the strike drops straight in. The latch body itself takes a 1 x 3-3/8 inch faceplate mortise in the door edge.

Size and prep are the difference. The Rockwood 591 uses a 1 x 3-3/8 inch faceplate with a 1-1/4 x 4-7/8 inch ASA strike, so it suits a frame already prepped for a commercial ASA cutout. The Emtek 8803 is a heavy duty roller catch with a 7/8 x 6 inch face, a longer and narrower plate that needs its own mortise. If you're replacing an existing ASA-prepped opening, the 591 is the one that matches the hole you already have.

The Emtek 8803 heavy duty roller latch has a 7/8 inch by 6 inch face, a longer and narrower footprint than the Rockwood 591, whose latch faceplate measures 1 inch by 3-3/8 inch. The longer Emtek face needs a taller mortise pocket in the door edge, so it is not a drop-in swap into a prep cut for the 591 - the 591 pocket is under half that length. Choose based on the edge prep you already have or are cutting fresh.

No. The Rockwood 591 ships with an ASA strike measuring 1-1/4 inch by 4-7/8 inch, mortised into the frame and secured with two #12-24 by 1/2 inch flat head machine screws. The Emtek 8803 is catalogued as a roller catch and does not carry that ASA strike dimension, so a frame already prepped for the 591 ASA cutout will not receive it cleanly. If you are matching existing frame prep across a run of doors, stay with the 591.

Everything to mount it is in the box: two #8 x 3/4 inch flat head combo screws for the latch body, and two #12-24 x 1/2 inch flat head machine screws for the strike. The #12-24 machine screws mean the strike is meant to land in a tapped hollow metal frame, not wood, so on a wood jamb you'll be supplying your own wood screws.

It's built for commercial use and the body is cast brass rather than stamped steel or zinc, which is what holds up in institutional traffic. Rockwood hardware of this kind goes into offices, schools, detention, hotels, retail and healthcare openings. For a light residential closet door it's more latch than the job needs.

No handing to specify. The 591's roller is symmetrical and the strike works from either direction, so one part covers left hand, right hand, inswing and outswing. The only choice you make when ordering is finish: 626 satin chrome or BSP black suede powder coat.

That's one of the common uses for the 591. On a pair where one leaf stays fixed most of the time, a roller latch keeps that leaf snug against the strike without adding a lever or a key, and it lets you pull the leaf open when you need the full opening. Bear in mind a roller latch is a hold-closed device, not a security or fire-door latch, so it doesn't take the place of flush bolts or a fire-rated latching device on an opening that requires them.

The Rockwood 591 is a cast brass commercial roller latch, offered in 626 satin chrome and BSP black suede powder coat, and specified for institutional buildings, offices, retail, educational, detention, sports facilities, hotel and restaurant work. The Emtek 8803 is a heavy duty roller latch in Emtek's roller catch series. For a facility standardizing finish across many openings, the 591's two commercial finishes and brass body are the ones to spec against.