TownSteel MSE-W Series Dormitory with Deadbolt Function - Heavy Duty Wide Escutcheon Mortise Lock, Single Cylinder

The TownSteel MSE-W dormitory function gives you a latch operated by lever from either side when unlocked, plus a separate deadbolt thrown by key from the outside and by the inside thumb turn. It is a single cylinder lock, so there is only one key cylinder, on the outside; the inside is always free to exit. That is the standard arrangement for apartment and dorm entry doors where the resident secures the door from inside and management keys in from the corridor.

The MSE-W is a 2-3/4 inch backset lock body with a 1-1/4 by 8 inch stainless steel faceplate, which is the standard ANSI mortise prep. If the door already carries a mortise lock with that backset and faceplate size, the pocket and edge prep line up. What you also need to check is the escutcheon: the wide escutcheon trim measures 10-9/16 by 2-3/8 by 9/32 inches in brass, so the door face has to be wide enough and the old trim holes have to fall under it or be covered.

Handing is required, and it is one of four choices: LH, RH, LHR or RHR. Reverse bevel doors (the ones that swing out toward you) take LHR or RHR. Get this wrong and the lever and latch face the wrong way, so stand outside the opening, note which side the hinges are on and whether the door pulls or pushes away from you, before you place the order.

Yes. Keying is a required selection on the MSE-W and you can order keyed different (the standard), keyed alike across multiple locks, or to a specific key code if you are matching an existing system. If you are matching a code, enter it in the key code field with the order. For a property manager standardizing a floor or a building, keyed alike or key code is what keeps one key working across the openings.

Both are offered on the MSE-W. Take the standard cylinder if you want a complete, keyed lock out of the box. Take SFIC prep, less core if your facility already runs small format interchangeable core, Best-style or otherwise, because the lock arrives with the prep and no core and you drop in your own core, keyed to your existing system. Institutions and campuses that rekey in house almost always want the SFIC version; the core is not included with it.

The latchbolt throws 3/4 inch, which is the normal projection for a commercial mortise latch, so it will engage a standard ANSI 4-7/8 inch strike set at a conventional frame prep. An ANSI strike in plated or stainless steel is part of the lock. Bear in mind the deadbolt needs its own pocket in the frame above the latch, so an existing strike cut only for a latch will need the frame opened up for the bolt.

The Sargent 7925 is the nearest match in the mechanical dormitory family. It is a Grade 1 heavy duty mortise lock in the 7900 Series with a dormitory exit function and a single cylinder deadbolt, the same single cylinder keyed arrangement the MSE-W uses. The main difference is trim style: the Sargent 7925 uses rose trim, while the MSE-W carries a wide brass escutcheon measuring 10-9/16 inches by 2-3/8 inches by 9/32 inch. If the opening already has escutcheon-scale prep or you want the larger plate to cover existing door marks, the TownSteel stays the better fit.

Use a privacy function instead. The Cal-Royal NM8440 is a heavy duty Grade 1 privacy mortise lockset with a deadbolt for 1-3/4 inch doors, and the Hager 3840S is a Grade 1 privacy mortise lock with a 2-3/4 inch backset for doors 1-3/4 to 2 inches. Both give you the inside-controlled deadbolt without a keyed outside cylinder. The TownSteel MSE-W is keyed, single cylinder, and built for apartment and dormitory openings where a resident key is required from the corridor side.

Yes, several mortise-format electronic locks cover resident doors. The Alarm Lock DL4500DB is a Grade 1 electronic mortise deadbolt with 2,000 user codes and a privacy keypad for doors 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inches. The Schlage Electronics LEBMB-ADD is a mobile-enabled mortise lock covering privacy, office, and apartment functions for 1-3/4 inch doors, Grade 2 with a 3 hour fire rating. The TownSteel MSE-W is a mechanical lock with no electronics, keyed with a standard or SFIC-prep cylinder, so it needs no power, battery, or credential management, and the MSE line is built to accept status sensors such as REX, privacy, door ajar, and mechanical key override if you later integrate access control.

Watch for three groups. Dummy trims - the Schlage L0170 half dummy Grade 1 mortise non-keyed lever trim and the Emtek 3102 Memphis and 3104 Hamilton mortise entrance locksets in dummy function - have no latch or bolt at all. Passage locks such as the Falcon MA101 Grade 1 heavy duty mortise passage lock and the Schlage PM010 Grade 1 passage latch mortise lock are non-keyed and do not lock. And the Schlage PC10 is a Grade 1 passage cylindrical lock, which is bored trim, not a mortise pocket. The TownSteel MSE-W is a keyed single cylinder mortise lock with a deadbolt for apartment and dormitory doors, so none of these carry the security the opening needs.

Then look at the Baldwin 6301 family. The Baldwin 6301 is an entry/apartment mortise lock body with a 2-1/2 inch backset, offered knob by knob or, as the 6301LS, lever by lever, for doors 1-3/4 inches and over. It covers the same entry and apartment duty as the TownSteel MSE-W, which is built on a 2-3/4 inch backset with a 1-1/4 by 8 inch stainless faceplate. Confirm the existing pocket depth and faceplate cutout before ordering either, since backset is not field adjustable on a mortise body.

For wired integration the BEST 45HW is a heavy duty wired electromechanical mortise lock running on 12V or 24V, and the Command Access ML190 is a heavy duty motorized mortise lock in storeroom function with field selectable EL/EU operation on 24VDC. The Schlage L9092EU with 03A trim is a heavy duty electric lock/unlock outside lever mortise lock, keyed outside, with request-to-exit, on 12/24VDC for 1-3/4 inch doors. The TownSteel MSE-W is the mechanical member of this group - Grade 1, heavy duty, single cylinder with deadbolt - and the MSE platform accepts optional status sensors including request-to-exit, privacy, door ajar, and mechanical key override for monitoring without converting the lock to electric operation.

It is an ANSI Grade 1 heavy duty commercial mortise lock, which is the highest of the three BHMA grades and the level specified for apartment, dorm and institutional entry doors. The wear points back that up: stainless steel split anti-friction latchbolt, stainless guard bolt, stainless faceplate, stainless rocker type stop works, and a brass escutcheon. Levers are forged brass or cast zinc, plated to match the finish.

No. The MSE-W is a purely mechanical, key operated mortise lock with no electronics in it. If you need a credential or keypad on the opening, look at something like the Dormakaba E-Plex 2066 electronic pushbutton mortise lock or the Schlage CO-100 standalone electronic mortise lock instead. If you want a wireless, networked opening, the Schlage ENGAGE LEMD is a Grade 1 wireless mortise lock with a 125kHz proximity reader.

No. The MSE-W is a complete lever mortise lockset, latch plus deadbolt plus escutcheon trim. If the opening only needs a bolt, a dedicated mortise deadbolt is the cheaper and simpler part, for example the Sargent 4874 double cylinder mortise deadbolt on a 2-3/4 inch backset, which matches the same backset the MSE-W uses, or the Kaba Ilco 185 Series mortise deadbolt.

It can be hung there mechanically, but the function is wrong for those uses. Dormitory function leaves the inside lever always free and puts a thumb turn deadbolt on the inside, which is not what a classroom or storeroom door wants. For a classroom door use something like the Cal-Royal NM8070 Grade 1 classroom mortise lockset or the Corbin Russwin ML2003 Grade 1 classroom lockset; for storeroom, the Cal-Royal NM8080 or the Accentra 8805FL Grade 1 storeroom mortise lock.

Function. The Accentra 8805FL is a Grade 1 storeroom mortise lock in the 8800 Series, and the Cal-Royal NM8080 is a Grade 1 storeroom mortise lockset with an interchangeable core option for 1-3/4 inch doors. Storeroom means the outside lever is always locked and a key retracts the latch, with no deadbolt for the occupant. The TownSteel MSE-W is a single cylinder apartment and dormitory function with a deadbolt, so the occupant can throw a bolt from inside the unit. Pick storeroom for utility, mechanical, and supply rooms; pick the MSE-W for resident doors.

Only if the opening already has a separate latch or lever. The Sargent 4874 is a double cylinder mortise deadbolt in the 4870 Series with a 2-3/4 inch backset - the same backset as the TownSteel MSE-W - but it is a deadbolt body only, keyed both sides, with no lever trim or latch bolt. The MSE-W is a complete lockset: 3/4 inch stainless anti-friction split latch bolt, guard bolt, lever trim on a wide escutcheon, and a single cylinder with an inside brass thumb turn. For a dorm or apartment door being handled by one device, the MSE-W is the one-for-one; the 4874 is an add-on bolt.

Stay in Grade 1 and change the function. The Corbin Russwin ML2003 is a Grade 1 mortise classroom lockset in the ML2000 Series for 1-3/4 inch doors, the Cal-Royal NM8070 is a Grade 1 classroom mortise lockset with an auxiliary deadlatch, and the Cal-Royal NM8050 is a Grade 1 office and entrance mortise lockset with auxiliary deadlatch. All three sit at the same Grade 1 heavy duty level as the TownSteel MSE-W, so you can standardize the whole facility on Grade 1 mortise hardware while giving each door type its correct function.

The Cal-Royal NM8080 is a heavy duty Grade 1 storeroom mortise lockset offered with an interchangeable core option for 1-3/4 inch doors. The TownSteel MSE-W can be ordered with a standard cylinder or with SFIC prep less core, across all of its lever styles including Artistic, Congress, Gala, Imperial, Quest, Regal, Sentinel, and Tango in 626 satin chrome. The functional difference is the lock itself - the NM8080 is storeroom, the MSE-W is apartment and dormitory with a deadbolt - so choose on function first, then on cylinder format.

Seven lever designs are offered: Artistic, Congr, Gala, Imperial, Quest, Regal, Sentinel and Tango. Finish is 626 satin chrome, which is the common commercial finish for multi-family and institutional work, and the levers are plated to match. If you are matching existing openings in a building, pick the lever profile that matches what is already hung; all of them come in the same 626 finish so nothing will look off tone.

The MSE-W ships with a brass Classic Visible thumb turn as standard. That is the exposed turn piece a resident grips to throw the deadbolt from inside. Bear that in mind on any opening where facility policy calls for a low profile or tamper resistant interior turn.