Door jamb and door jig for hinges

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So my french doors have arrived. They are bifold doors, but they use a track. We don't plan on using the track, and i want to install traditional hinges. The door frame/jamb is new and oak so i need to recess the hinges for the door and the jamb. What is the best jig for a router to do this on both the door and jamb? I assume if you use square hinges that you just chisel out the small radius from the router to make it square. I don't really want to attempt to chisel out the entire hinge area , i'd rather rout it out.
 
I'd look at trying to rent a quality door hinge jig. The cheap ones are exactly that-cheap. The quality units are pretty expensive for a single use.

If you are comfortable with it, you can make a jig out of plywood and use a bearing guided bit. Just find a door in your house with similar dimensions and base your plywood jig on that.

If you're planning to do additional doors from door slabs in the future, then it might be worth it to invest in a quality jig. Any good woodworking store should have them.
 
Lay out Hinges on doors top down, screw hinges on door edge, use utility knife to score around edge of hinge,route with striaght bit free hand clean up with chisel. Layout same dimensions on jab top down plus an 1/8". No jig needed.
 
Originally Posted By: jmb106
Lay out Hinges on doors top down, screw hinges on door edge, use utility knife to score around edge of hinge,route with striaght bit free hand clean up with chisel. Layout same dimensions on jab top down plus an 1/8". No jig needed.


Good idea, is this easy freehand? I guess i could install doors with the existing hardware( they are bifold, and istall the hinges on the door and jamb at the same time for marking them both at the same time on each hinge.
 
If I was any closer we'd have em mortised up and hung square and plumb in no time.

Hiring a competent/trustworthy/recommended finish carpenter would be my suggestion. Budget an hour or so.

"Man's got to know his limitations." -Harry Callahan
 
Originally Posted By: splinter

"Man's got to know his limitations." -Harry Callahan


wink.gif
I agree, i'm close to my limits here. I have used a router before, but i can't say i've done a lot.
 
These are the hinges i plan to use.

http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/po...mp;category=106

My worry is how hard will it be to rout out the hinge locations on the doors that are only 1 3/8 thick? Not a lot of area for the router to sit level. I have 12 hinges to install, as the bifold hinges look bad and since i'm not using the track at the top, i don't need the bifold cam hinges.

I have a handheld porter cable laminate trimmer, i'm wondering if that will be easier to use with a straight bit than a full size router.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Portercable makes a nice jig that lays out the door and jamb. Hinge mate makes a nice jig for routing a single hinge at a time.


Thanks, i looked at it , and it would handle 1 3/8 inch doors! I bought it.
 
I bought metal hinge router templates off eBay for standard door hinges. You will have to make one. A regular trim router should work just fine with the right bit.

My template looks like this:
878119525__175x175__.jpg

http://www.shop.com/Vermont+American+23457+Hinge+Mortising+Template-1120945603-p+.xhtml
Avoid buying plastic templates because they are too easy to beat up and distort!

For your hinges, if you can not buy a suitable template, you can always make one, which will probably end up looking like this:
SO-RouterGuide-150pc123679229749b7f3e9d0d2f.jpg



You will need a router bit that looks likt this:
115-577.jpg

This comes with some templates as part of a kit.

I use a trim router that is a lot like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-inch-trim-router-44914.html
1/4 in. Trim Router Drill Master - item#44914
image_23217.jpg


It's not rocket science, you just have to practice on some scrap wood until you got it right.
 
I have a porter cable laminater trimmer, it may work better that a full size router on the thin doors.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I have a porter cable laminater trimmer, it may work better that a full size router on the thin doors.


Link? If it is what I think it is yes I would just use that. You don't use a full sized router on something like this (I am not sure if you even can, since I only have a trim router).
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I have a porter cable laminater trimmer, it may work better that a full size router on the thin doors.


Link? If it is what I think it is yes I would just use that. You don't use a full sized router on something like this (I am not sure if you even can, since I only have a trim router).


mine looks like yours only its a porter cable brand and it has a solid base. I wish it was clear like the one in your pic.

Like this only mine is about 20 years old.
0.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: jmb106
Lay out Hinges on doors top down, screw hinges on door edge, use utility knife to score around edge of hinge,route with striaght bit free hand clean up with chisel. Layout same dimensions on jab top down plus an 1/8". No jig needed.





Bad idea. After you score it with the knife it will grow and the hinge won't fit right.


I have hinged thousands of doors and jambs.
I use a 1x6 and notch the top and bottom for the hinges then I've got a collet for my router base that fits a 1/2 bit inside.
It's trial and error to get the hinge width perfect but once it's made it lasts forever.
And total cost is 1 7' 1x6.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3

mine looks like yours only its a porter cable brand and it has a solid base. I wish it was clear like the one in your pic.

Like this only mine is about 20 years old.
0.jpg


That will work fine. I would not be concerned about the fact that you don't have a clear base. When I do these things I have to stop and remove the router from the template to check to see if I am finished anyway.
 
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