McGrath Mortice Locks Guide

Five McGrath mortice families, what separates them, and how to work out which one your door and lock actually need.

McGrath sell five different mortice lock bodies, and they are not interchangeable. Order the wrong one and it will not fit the door, will not line up with the lock, or will not accept the cylinder you already own. The differences are not obvious from a product photograph, which is why so many mortice bodies get returned.

The short version: the family is decided by the smart lock you are fitting, and the variant within that family is decided by your door. Get those two right and everything else follows.

This guide covers:

• What each dimension on a mortice body actually means, with a labelled drawing
• All five McGrath families - the 60/50 spindle bodies, the Euro 85 swing range, the Euro 85 hook bodies, the Euro 60/68 three-point, and the ANSI F05 and F54
• Which McGrath lock each family suits, and which bodies ship in the box
• How to identify the mortice body already sitting in your door
• Lockton and dormakaba equivalents where a cross-brand swap makes sense

If you have not measured your door yet, start with how to measure your lock backset and Chapter 02 of the Buyer’s Guide before ordering anything.

What a Mortice Lock Body Actually Is

A mortice lock body is the steel case that sits inside a pocket cut into the edge of the door. It carries the latch, and on most models a deadbolt as well. The smart lock, handle set or cylinder on the outside of the door does not do the locking - it drives the body, and the body does the work.

That matters when you are buying. The electronics and the mechanics are two separate purchases on most McGrath platforms, and the mortice body has to match both the lock above it and the door around it. Chapter 01 explains the mechanical layer in general terms; this guide is the McGrath-specific version.

The Dimension Key

Every measurement referred to in this guide is labelled on the drawing below. The letters are used consistently in the table that follows and in each family section, so it is worth a look before you read on.

• B - Backset. Door edge to the centre of the spindle hole. The single most important figure, and the one most often got wrong. See what backset means.
• D - Pitch. Centre of the spindle hole to centre of the cylinder. McGrath use 85mm across the Euro range, 68mm on the NX6 body and 92mm on the ANSI pair. A body with no cylinder has no pitch.
• E and F - Faceplate height and width. The visible steel strip on the door edge. It must match the existing rebate or you will be patching timber.
• A, C and G - Body depth, height and width. The pocket the body has to fit inside.
• H - Deadbolt throw. How far the bolt projects. Covered in detail in what is bolt throw.
• Follower. The rotating collar the spindle passes through. Its position in the case is what separates the two 60/50 variants - more on that below.

The trade rule: backset and faceplate decide whether it fits the door. Pitch and follower position decide whether it fits the lock. You need all four to match, not three.

The Five McGrath Families at a Glance

Every McGrath mortice body sold at Terry’s belongs to one of these five families. All are SS304 stainless steel with an 8mm square spindle hub.

Two things jump out of that table. The ANSI pair is the only family rated to a million cycles, and it is the only one that does not take a Euro cylinder. And the 60/50 family is the only one with no cylinder at all - which is the single biggest difference in the whole range, and the one most likely to catch you out.

You can see the full range on the mortice locks for smart locks category, or browse everything McGrath on the McGrath Locks brand page.

60/50 Spindle Mortice (Keyless)

This is the family that ships inside the box with a McGrath NX5 or McGrath NX1 when you select the mortice option at checkout. Four bodies, one 60mm backset, and two variables: the height of the follower in the case, and the length of the faceplate.

All four share the same envelope - a 100mm high by 80mm deep by 14mm wide case, a 22mm wide faceplate, 1.5mm SS304 construction and a 500,000-cycle rating. They are residential-grade bodies for hinged doors.

High Spindle or Low Spindle

This is the one that costs people money. Both variants have a round follower collar. What differs is where that follower sits in the case - and the two positions are not interchangeable between locks.

These two do not substitute: the spindle on the smart lock has to line up with the follower in the body. Fit a high-spindle body to an NX1 and the spindle simply will not reach the hole. The bodies look near-identical in a photograph and the item codes differ by a single letter - H or L. Check that letter before you order.

147mm or 180mm Faceplate

Once the spindle height is settled, the only remaining choice is faceplate length. Both are 22mm wide; only the height changes.

• 147mm - the standard option, and the body that ships in the box. High spindle, 147mm · Low spindle, 147mm
• 180mm - for a door already cut for a longer faceplate. Ordering this saves patching a rebate. High spindle, 180mm · Low spindle, 180mm

In the box or added to cart: choose the mortice option on the NX5 or NX1 listing and the matching 147mm body comes with the lock. Choose the tubular latch option instead and no mortice is included. The 180mm bodies are always a separate purchase.

Why There Is No Keyhole

These four bodies have no cylinder aperture. There is no keyhole in the case, no Euro profile cutout, and no pitch measurement - because there is nothing for a pitch to measure between. The body is driven entirely by the spindle.

That is not a limitation, it is the design. On an NX5, NX1 or Albion the mechanical key override lives in the smart lock’s own escutcheon cylinder, above the door handle. Turn the key there and it drives the follower, which drives the body. The mortice never sees a key. Where the keyhole actually sits covers this across brands.

Fast way to tell these apart from everything else: look at the face of the case. If there is no keyhole, it is a 60/50 spindle body. Every other McGrath mortice family has a visible cylinder aperture.

The NX5 and NX1 key blanks and cylinders you will see listed as matching consumables - NX5 key blank, NX5 keyed-to-differ cylinder, NX1 key blank - are for the smart lock, not the mortice body.

Euro 85 Series - Swing Doors

The Euro 85 Series is the workhorse of the McGrath mortice range: a latch-and-deadbolt body for hinged timber and aluminium doors, taking a standard Euro fixed-cam cylinder. Seven backsets share one 85mm pitch, one 240 x 22 x 3mm faceplate and one 175 x 18mm case.

These bodies suit the slimline A210, A231 and A236 platforms, and the 60mm and 70mm bodies also suit the NX5 as an alternative to the in-box 60/50 body.

Seven Backsets, One Pitch

Backset is the only thing that changes across the range, and it changes the case depth with it. The 28mm body is a narrow-stile unit for aluminium framing; the 70mm is a deep body for a wide timber stile.

The 28mm to 50mm bodies share one product page: pick the backset from the dropdown at checkout rather than looking for five separate listings. The 60mm and 70mm have their own pages. Measure before you choose - what happens when the backset is wrong is worth two minutes of your time.

Lift the Lever to Throw the Deadbolt

The Euro 85 bodies dead-latch on closing, and the deadbolt is thrown manually by lifting the handle upward. That is the standard European action, and it is worth explaining to anyone who has only used a cylindrical lock before - the door is not deadlocked until the lever has been lifted.

The latch itself is reversible, so handing is set at installation rather than at purchase. If handing is unfamiliar territory, our handing guide walks through the Australian convention.

Cylinders are not supplied. These bodies take a standard Euro fixed-cam cylinder, available on the cylinders and barrels category. Restricted keying systems are supported.

Euro 85 Hook - Sliding and Bifold Doors

Same 85mm pitch, same Euro cylinder, same 8mm spindle as the swing bodies - but a curved hook bolt instead of a straight deadbolt, in a narrow 208mm case behind a 270mm faceplate. Two backsets, 28mm and 35mm, both suiting the A210, A231 sliding variant and A236.

Why a Hook Instead of a Bolt

A straight deadbolt works by projecting into a hole in the frame. That is fine on a hinged door, which closes into the frame. A sliding door closes alongside it, and a straight bolt has nothing to bite - it can be lifted or shunted out of engagement along the track.

A hook bolt swings out and curls behind a keeper. Pulling the door along its track pulls the hook harder into the keeper rather than out of it. That is the whole reason this family exists.

Do not fit a hook body to a hinged door: the hook needs a keeper to curl behind and a sliding action to engage it. On a hinged door it will not latch properly. Use a Euro 85 swing body instead.

28mm or 35mm Backset

The only difference between the two hook bodies is backset, and with it case depth - 42mm at 28mm backset, 46mm at 35mm. Both use the same 270 x 22mm faceplate and both include a strike plate.

• MLEMHK2885SS270 - 28mm backset - the narrower option, for tight aluminium stiles
• MLEMHK3585SS270 - 35mm backset - where the stile allows the deeper case

Hook engagement depends entirely on strike alignment. A sliding door that has dropped on its rollers, or a keeper set a few millimetres out, will feel like a faulty lock when the problem is geometry. Misalignment is the most common DIY fault we see.

Fitting to a sliding or push-pull style door for the first time? The five measurements to take will save a return, and Chapter 04’s compatibility matrix confirms which locks suit sliders at all.

Euro 60/68 Three-Point - NX6 and NX6W

The heavy-duty member of the range, and the only one with a pitch of 68mm rather than 85mm. This is the body supplied as standard with the McGrath NX6 and the NX6W, sold separately as a spare or replacement. McGrath’s own part number is ML-SP-M-60/68.

Three-Point Deadbolting

Lifting the handle throws three deadbolts instead of one, engaging the frame at three points up the height of the door. Two practical benefits: more resistance to being forced, and less tendency for a tall door to bow away from the frame under load.

The latch is an anti-friction dead latch - it closes smoothly and resists loiding, the trick of slipping a latch with a card. Construction is 1.5mm SS304 throughout the body and the latching tongues, cycle tested to 500,000 operations and passed at BHMA Level 2 and Level 3.

You do not need a cylinder for this one: driven by an NX6 or NX6W, the smart lock operates the mortice directly. The Euro aperture is there if you want a mechanical key override - keyed-to-differ and keyed-alike NX6 cylinders are both available - but it is optional, not required.

The Privacy Turnsnib

This body carries a manual thumb turn on the inside that throws the bolts for privacy - the reason it turns up in hotel, motel and short-stay work where a guest wants a positive lock they can see and feel.

It is worth understanding what an internal snib does to remote access before you specify one for a rental. What the internal snib actually disables covers the trade-offs, and Chapter 07 puts it in a short-stay context.

Platform-specific, no substitutes: the 60/68 configuration is built for the NX6 series alone. It will not fit an A210, A231, A236, NX5, NX1 or Albion - different backset, pitch, follower height or faceplate in every case.

ANSI F05 and F54 - Commercial Grade 1

The ANSI pair is a different class of hardware to everything above. Grade 1, cycle tested to a million operations rather than five hundred thousand, a 92mm pitch, a 32mm wide faceplate and a threaded Kawneer cylinder instead of a Euro. These are commercial bodies, specified for high-traffic doors and for the fire-rated McGrath Bardon, which ships without a mortice.

Latch Only or Latch Plus Deadbolt

Both bodies share an identical envelope - 203 x 32mm faceplate, 147 x 99.5 x 22mm case, 70mm backset, 92mm pitch, 19mm anti-friction latch, field-changeable handing. One difference separates them.

For most smart lock work the F05 is the cleaner choice, because the smart lock becomes the single point of access control with no parallel mechanical bolt that a keyholder could operate independently. Choose the F54 when a deadbolt is specified by the design brief and the implications are understood. Our F05 vs F54 comparison works through the decision in full, including the access-control argument.

The Kawneer Cylinder Catch

Neither ANSI body takes a Euro cylinder. They accept a threaded Kawneer mortice cylinder, which is a different profile entirely, and neither lock is supplied with one.

This is the most common ANSI ordering mistake: a Euro cylinder from an existing job will not fit an F05 or F54. Confirm your Kawneer cylinder supply at the same time you order the body, or the door sits unfinished. See the cylinder note for detail.

ANSI Mortice Locks on Fire Doors

Fire compliance is a doorset property, not a lock property: the F54 is used in fire-assessed configurations with the Bardon and a scar plate, with the deadbolt function not operable. A body that is compliant in one assessed doorset is not automatically compliant in another. See the fire-door section of our ANSI guide and Chapter 05 before specifying anything on a rated door.

The short version for anyone working on an apartment or strata door: a user-operable deadbolt is generally not permitted on a fire door, because a projecting bolt can stop the door closing and latching fully under fire conditions. That is why the latch-only F05 is the simpler path. For the Queensland picture, what is actually compliant on apartment fire doors is the place to start, and fire door types and certification explains why a certificate for one core type does not carry across to another.

On grading itself, Chapter 11 explains how lockset grades are assessed and where Grade 1 sits.

The Full Range in Pictures

All sixteen McGrath mortice bodies, photographed from the same angle so they can be compared directly. If you are trying to match a body already in your door, this is the fastest visual check - find the one that looks like yours, then confirm it against the backset and faceplate measurements in the next section.

60/50 Spindle Mortice (Keyless)

MLM6050HSS147
High spindle · 147mm · NX5

MLM6050HSS180
High spindle · 180mm · NX5

MLM6050LSS147
Low spindle · 147mm · NX1, Albion

MLM6050LSS180
Low spindle · 180mm · NX1, Albion

Euro 85 Series - Swing Doors

The 28mm to 50mm bodies are variants of one listing - select the backset at checkout. The 60mm and 70mm have their own pages.

MLEM2885SS
28mm backset · 43mm deep

MLEM3085SS
30mm backset · 45mm deep

MLEM3585SS
35mm backset · 51.5mm deep

MLEM4585SS
45mm backset · 61.5mm deep

MLEM5085SS
50mm backset · 66.5mm deep

MLEM6085SS
60mm backset · also suits NX5

MLEM7085SS
70mm backset · also suits NX5

Euro 85 Hook - Sliding and Bifold

MLEMHK2885SS270
28mm backset · hook bolt

MLEMHK3585SS270
35mm backset · hook bolt

Euro 60/68 and the ANSI Pair

MLEM6068SS
Three-point · NX6, NX6W

MLF05ANSIMLSSS
ANSI Grade 1 · latch only

MLF54ANSIMLSSS
ANSI Grade 1 · latch + deadbolt

Looking at these side by side: the two hook bodies are unmistakable, the 60/68 is the only one throwing three bolts, and the ANSI pair sit on a visibly wider faceplate. The rest come down to case depth and follower height - which is exactly why the measurements matter more than the photographs.

How to Identify the Body You Already Have

Replacing a failed mortice rather than fitting a new lock? Four checks will narrow it to one family, and usually to one item code. Do them with the door open and the body still in place - you do not need to remove it.

Step 1 - Count the Bolts

Look at the door edge and count what projects from the faceplate.

• Two curved hooks - Euro 85 Hook. Nothing else in the range has them.
• A latch plus three stacked square bolts - Euro 60/68, so an NX6 or NX6W door.
• A latch plus one large square deadbolt, on a wide faceplate - ANSI F54.
• A latch and no deadbolt at all, on a wide faceplate - ANSI F05.
• A latch plus a bolt group on a narrow 22mm faceplate - Euro 85 swing or a 60/50 body. Step 2 separates those two.

Step 2 - Check for a Keyhole

Open the door and look at the flat face of the lock case, below the spindle hole.

No cylinder aperture at all means a 60/50 Spindle Mortice, so the door is running an NX5, NX1 or Albion. A Euro-profile aperture means a Euro 85 or 60/68 body. A large round threaded aperture means an ANSI body taking a Kawneer cylinder.

Step 3 - Measure the Backset

Measure from the face of the door edge to the centre of the spindle hole. That figure is your backset - dimension B on the drawing above.

Expect 60mm on a 60/50 or 60/68 body, 70mm on an ANSI body, and anything from 28mm to 70mm on a Euro 85. Our step-by-step measuring guide shows exactly where to put the tape, and standard Australian backset sizes lists what you should expect to find.

Step 4 - Measure the Faceplate

Measure the visible steel strip on the door edge, height and width. The width alone identifies the family in most cases.

Photograph it before you order: a shot of the door edge and a shot of the case face, with a tape in frame, is usually enough for us to identify a body outright. Send them through the free locksmith recommendation service rather than ordering on a guess.

Cross-Brand Equivalents

McGrath is not the only brand using the 85mm Euro pattern. Where a McGrath body is out of stock or a job already runs another brand’s keying, there are direct equivalents worth knowing about.

Lockton Euro Smart Mortice Bodies

Lockton run an equivalent Euro swing range with per-backset listings, sharing the 240 x 22mm faceplate pattern.

Lockton also list a 25mm body with no McGrath counterpart, useful where a stile is genuinely too narrow for the 28mm - see the 25mm Lockton body. For the wider narrow-stile problem, short-backset options walks through the alternatives.

dormakaba MS2602

The dormakaba MS2602 is a 60mm-backset primary mortice that appears in several fire-assessed McGrath configurations - it is the mortice named in the Windsor and Albion fire assessments alongside the McGrath tubular latch. If you are working to an assessed doorset, the assessment names the body; do not substitute on specification alone. Browse the full dormakaba range.

Matching dimensions is not the same as approved compatibility: a body with the same backset, pitch and faceplate will physically fit, but follower height, cam geometry and fire assessment can all still differ. On a rated door or a warranty claim, that distinction matters.

Manufacturer Specification Sheets

McGrath publish technical sheets for four of the five families. Each carries the dimensional drawings, part numbers and cycle ratings referenced above.

Download the technical sheets:
Euro 85 Series Mortice - all seven swing backsets with per-variant drawings
Euro Hook Mortice - both hook bodies, 28mm and 35mm
Euro Mortice 60/68 - the NX6 three-point body
F54 ANSI Mortice Lock - Grade 1 datasheet with dimensional drawings

The 60/50 Spindle Mortice family has no standalone manufacturer sheet. Its specifications appear in the NX1 and NX5 technical documentation instead, since it ships as part of those locks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my McGrath mortice body come with the lock, or do I buy it separately?

It depends on the lock. The NX5 and NX1 give you a choice at checkout: select the mortice option and the matching 147mm 60/50 body is included, or select the tubular latch option and no mortice is supplied. The NX6 and NX6W always include the 60/68 three-point body. The A210, A231, A236 and the Bardon do not include a mortice at all - you buy the body separately, and the Bardon in particular is sold explicitly without one.

What is the difference between a high spindle and a low spindle mortice?

It is the height of the follower - the rotating collar the spindle passes through - within the lock case. Both variants use a round follower; only its position changes. The high spindle body sits the follower close under the latch and suits the McGrath NX5. The low spindle body sits it noticeably lower and suits the NX1 and Albion. They are not interchangeable: fit the wrong one and the spindle will not reach the follower. The item codes differ by a single letter, H or L.

Why does my mortice body have no keyhole?

Because it is a 60/50 Spindle Mortice, which is driven entirely by the spindle and has no cylinder aperture by design. On an NX5, NX1 or Albion the mechanical key override sits in the smart lock’s own escutcheon cylinder above the handle, not in the mortice body. Turning that key drives the follower, which operates the lock. Every other McGrath mortice family does have a cylinder aperture.

Can I use a Euro cylinder in an F05 or F54 ANSI mortice?

No. The ANSI bodies take a threaded Kawneer mortice cylinder, which is a different profile to a Euro fixed-cam cylinder and is not interchangeable with one. Neither the F05 nor the F54 is supplied with a cylinder, so order the Kawneer cylinder at the same time as the body.

Can I fit a hook mortice to a hinged door?

No. A hook bolt is designed to swing out and curl behind a keeper on a sliding or bifold door, where the door closes alongside the frame rather than into it. On a hinged door it will not engage correctly. Use a Euro 85 swing body instead, selecting the backset that matches your door preparation.

My NX5 can take two different mortice bodies. Which should I choose?

The 60/50 high-spindle body is the default and ships in the box when you select the mortice option, so most NX5 installations use it. The Euro 85 bodies at 60mm and 70mm backset are the alternative, and they make sense when the door is already prepared for a 240mm faceplate, when a 70mm backset is needed, or when you want a Euro cylinder in the mortice for a key override through the body. If the door is a fresh installation, take the in-box option.

Are McGrath mortice bodies suitable for commercial doors?

The Euro 85, hook and 60/68 bodies are rated for domestic and light-commercial use at 500,000 cycles. For genuine high-traffic commercial work, the ANSI F05 and F54 are the correct choice - both are Grade 1 and cycle tested to 1,000,000 operations, double the Euro range.

Related Guides

Not Sure Which Mortice Body Your Door Needs?

Send us a photo of your door edge and lock case with a tape in frame, and we’ll identify the body and confirm the right replacement before you order.