This is one of the few instances where a rim lock works really well, a Yale 197 deadbolt with a flat strike on a steel jamb and fairly heavy steel door. The first thing I do is to hold the strike up on the jamb, and with the door in it's almost fully closed position, I position the strike so there is about 1/16" to an 1/8" clearance between the edge of the door and the strike. If the jamb is not flat, as in this case, it is important to find that perfect spot. You want ample clearance between strike and door, with the strike positioned close to the edge of the jamb, not hanging over the edge.

    When I am satisfied with this positioning, I mark the jamb for the center mounting screw of the strike only. I drill this hole and mount the strike fairly snug with that center screw only. I can move and pivot the strike around when it is mounted with just this one screw, and get a perfect visual alignment between the strike and jamb.

   Next I hold the lock body up against the door, and operating the thumbturn back and forth, I line the body up perfectly with the strike- no contact at all between the drop bolt and the loops in the strike- a clean pass thru is what I want. This is where you decide whether or not you will need to use the additional spacer plate that comes with the lock, it goes between lock body and door. When the door closes, it should stop against the jamb, the lock body should not be contacting anything when the door is closed, except the door it is mounted to. With the lock body looking perfectly straight and level I mark for 2 of the body mounting screws. After drilling for these 2 mounting screws, I secure the body to the door, and once again make sure the lock and strike alignment are perfect and straight in appearance. With the lock body still in place, I drill for the other 2 mounting screws, and install those as well. Now that I am completely satisfied that the lock body is perfectly aligned and installed correctly, I remove it for the next step.

   With the lock body removed and the 4 perfectly placed screw holes as my guide, I can mark for the rim cylinder. I recommend actually using the template provided to obtain this, although I do not use it anymore, I know the position to be in a perfect line between the 2 mounting holes farthest from the locking bolts, and I know the visual position for the rim cylinder backing plate, so I use that as my guide. After marking for the rim cylinder, I drill a 1/4" hole in this exact center, and chuck up the 1-1/4" hole saw. I have found it better to always use a 1/4" drill bit instead of relying on the hole saws pilot bit to make the pilot hole. For one, it makes the pilot bit last forever, as it does no actual cutting this way, but more importantly it averts the potential disasters that can happen if the hole saw makes abrupt contact with the surface of the door once the pilot breaks thru. You can easily break the pilot bit, the hole saw itself, and make a nasty mess of the paint job on the door, not to mention the potential for a bloody mess.

    After drilling for the rim cylinder, the rim cylinder mounting screws can be snapped off to the correct length, and the cylinder secured to the door, making sure it looks nice and straight from outside. After the cylinder is installed, the cylinder tailpiece can be snapped off to the correct length, if needed. Now the lock body can be reattached with the cylinder tail inserted into the body. After tightening up all 4 mounting screws I check to make sure the lock cylinder and thumbturn are operating smoothly and everything is lined up perfect. Now the remaining holes and screws for the strike can be drilled and attached. If things had gone badly, having the strike attached with the one screw only until the last step of the installation would have allowed me to change its position without making a mess of things.

    When this installation is done, there should be no friction between the drop bolts and the ring holes in the strike, and the lock body should not be hitting against the jamb or strike when the door closes. When these locks are installed properly on an appropriate door they seem to last for many years. A poor installation, or an installation on an inappropriate door is doomed from the start, and provides plenty of aggravation for the people using it.