Took this off to stain the door and cannot get it to work right: NATIONAL/SPECTRUM BRANDS HHI N100-044 V1953 SN Storm DR Latch.
The stem has a female v shaped area that is to work with a male v shaped area on the cylinder. When I put them together in the door the spring loaded latch is too far in and turning the stem does nothing. All the measurements are correct. I do not know what I am doing wrong. Really, it should take about 6o0 seconds.
Maybe you can find something in a Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=install+storm+door+latch&search=Search
[adding additional search terms or whatever]
I’m having trouble picturing the issue. Are you able to put everything back together and it’s not working, or is the hole in the middle of the latch (that, what I believe you’re calling the stem) in the wrong place.
If it’s the latter, many locksets are designed to be used with doors that have the hole for the knob drilled in one of two different places. I’d guess that when you took it apart, you accidentally adjusted it. There will either be a little tiny lever that you can slide back and forth (which may have moved when you pulled it out), you can just move the ‘hole’ back and forth or a little, itty bitty mechanism (almost looks like a tiny wire sticking out) that you can lift and slide over.
ETA, if I’d ask for a picture, but if that’s what it is, google something along the lines of ‘door knob backset adjustment’ and I’m sure you’ll find something that applies.
ETA2, if you took apart more than one door, make sure you didn’t mix up the parts.
My wife took the set apart, I was re-installing. I finally figured out that there was a spring which was missing. Could not find it anywhere so bought the cheapest similar lockset, with the missing screw, and it is now fine.
One of the members of the Kinks had that problem once, and wrote a song about it.