Make Door Hinge Mortise

Doors must be mortised to make hinges fit properly.

Make door hinge mortise.

To rout mating mortises in the cabinet clamp the jig s support arm to the face frame s stile see photo. Before cutting your door hinge mortise place your hinge on top of the door and outline it with a pencil. Using a utility knife trace along the outline to create small groves then make a cut on the front or back side of the door indicating the mortise s depth. And as you can see here the design of the hinge makes the installation quick and easy.

We show you the tools to use and the. To carve out the mortise place a chisel into the outline grooves and tap the. In other cases a mortise is merely cosmetic. No mortise hinges are a handy solution to a tricky problem.

A mortise is a recess or hollow space cut to fit a specific item such as a door hinge or a lock mechanism. My door being left swing meant the hinges would be on the right side of the door when viewed from the front. This is the perfect tutorial showing you how to cut in the perfect door hinge. It is also an out swing door which meant the hinges would be visible from the outside and the rounded side of the mortise would be at the back of the door.

Get the router bit set at the correct depth so that you re cutting out the depth of the door hinge the depth of only one side of the hinge not both. In some situations a mortise is required for the door to close properly. How to mortise hinges on a standard interior door. Don t forget to factor in the extra depth of the steel template which is raised above the door.

Repeat at the top edge of the door. 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. Mortising for a door hinge allows the hinge to install flush with the surface of the door edge or face. The hinge mortise allows the hinge to be mounted flush with the jamb and door so the door will close properly.

A hinge mortise is the shallow cut made in the edge of a door and the door jamb that mirrors the size and thickness of the door hinge. Set the depth of router bit. How to make door hinge mortises step one. Once you have both hinges installed on the door you can mount the door in the cabinet.

First use a hinge to set the router bit s cutting depth photo below.