How to Use Door Hanging Mortising Bits

Installing a new door often requires creating a recess, or mortise, for the hinges in both the door and the door jamb. Traditionally, this was done with a hammer and chisel to craft the mortise with painstaking care. This is still the method of choice for many traditional finish carpenters and woodworkers. However, a newer method uses a router with a hinge mortising bit and a hinge template to create a perfect mortise every time.

Tape measure
Pencil
Combination square
Hinge mortising template
Router
Hinge mortising router bit
Chisel
Hammer

Instructions

- 1
  Lay out the hinge positions on the door. On standard doors 80 inches high, place the top hinge 7 inches from the top and the bottom hinge 11 inches from the bottom. Measure from the top or bottom to the hinge position and draw a line across the edge of the door with the combination square and pencil. Place a third hinge midway between the top and bottom hinges on moderately heavy doors. Evenly space two hinges between the top and bottom hinges on very heavy doors.
- 2
  Lay out the hinge positions on the door jamb. Use the same measurements for the door jamb plus the space required at the top of the door, typically 3/16-inch. Draw lines on the door jamb to mark the position of the hinges using the combination square.
- 3
  Trace the hinge outline on the door and door jamb layout positions. Place a hinge against the door with the pin against the side of the door and the hinge plate on the edge of the door with the top edge of the hinge aligned with the layout lines made earlier. Trace the outline of the plate on the edge of the door.
- 4
  Position the hinge mortising template on the edge of the door so the sides are aligned with the hinge tracing. Clamp, nail or screw the template to the door edge to hold it firmly in place. Different templates use different methods to hold the template in place.
- 5
  Install the hinge mortising bit in the router and set the depth to the thickness of your template plus the the thickness of your hinges.
- 6
  Hold the router firmly with both hands. Start the router and plunge the bit into the door edge inside the mortise template until the router plate rests on the template. Guide the bearing on the mortising bit along the template in a clockwise direction. Remove the center of the mortise after one complete pass by moving the bit back and forth across the material until it is all removed.
- 7
  Square the corners for square hinges with chisel and hammer. Place the edge of the chisel on the tracing that remains and tap gently with a hammer until the depth of the mortise is reached. Remove the chisel and cut the through the wood from the side to remove the rest of the material.
- 8
  Test fit the hinges and make adjustments to the depth until the hinge faces are flush with the surface of the door edge.

The Advantages of Rolling Shutter Industrial Doors

How to Remove a Glass French Door

Doors