How To Cut Mortises For Door Hinges With A Router

To cut hinge.

How to cut mortises for door hinges with a router.

The power tool method uses a router and hinge mortising jig. Make a straight line perpendicular to the spine of the door by resting the set square in line with your mark. Turns out once the door is hung it lacks the 1 8 gap between it and the door jamb making it semi difficult to shut. It clamps to your workbench and securing the workpieces in place only takes a second with a.

Leah demonstrates how to use a router and jig to cut perfect door hinge mortises quickly and easily. The key to precise results is guiding the plunge router accurately so the sides of the mortise end up perfectly smooth straight and parallel to the faces of the workpiece. The jig is clamped to the door and guides the router through the cut. So i turned to my router to cut flat bottomed mortises.

To do a good job cutting mortises the chisel needs to be razor sharp. The hinge mortise allows the hinge to be mounted flush with the jamb and door so the door will close properly. Get the door hinge jig shown in this video through our l. This mortising jig is the way to go.

You can cut a hinge mortise with hand tools or a power tool. The hand tool method requires just a utility knife a hammer or mallet and a sharp wood chisel. To rout mating mortises in the cabinet clamp the jig s support arm to the face frame s stile see photo. Hinge mortises on a door are often cut by machine with a router and straight bit but you can cut mortises by hand using a hammer and chisel as well.

Mark the door for hinge positioning. Then align the support arm s bottom edge with the bottom edge of the door clamp it in place and rout the mortise as shown above. Repeat at the top edge of the door. First use a hinge to set the router bit s cutting depth photo below.

That doesn t mean you need a complicated jig or setup to rout hinge mortises. Lay the door on its side with the side that will receive the hinges facing upward. I mistakenly assumed that having a mortise about 1 16 too deep would be no big deal. In fact for the technique you see here all it takes is a simple two part jig and an inexpensive router bit.

The bit i use for mortising is a short top bearing pattern bit. Cut your mortises to a depth that will have the hinge sitting as flush to the edge of the door as possible. To carve out the mortise place a chisel into the outline grooves and tap the.