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Mortising door hinges

mick182 | Posted in Construction Techniques on April 21, 2003 12:41pm

Am attempting to mortise some door hinges on some slab doors. I bought one of those butt hinge templates (porter cable) puts out. I’m no carpenter but I imagine you can’t make a perfect square hinge with these or any template for that matter. Is the idea to chisel out a little in the corners for square hinges? Also what is the proper width to leave between the hinge and the edge of the door? the hinge template looks like it leaves 1/4″ when set according to it’s alinements(i know I spelled that wrong). It seems like alot but again “I’m no carpenter”. One more thing, should the hinge be perfectly flush with the door when it sits in its mortise? I set my router for 3/32″ and the hinge was almost perfectly flush. Didn’t know if it should be set a little deeper or what. If anyone has any “tricks” for hangin’ doors in existing openings (that definetly aren’t square) would love to hear’em. Lots of doors to hang. UUGGHH!!!

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  1. FastEddie1 | Apr 21, 2003 02:00am | #1

    Which PC template did you buy?  I bought one of the plastic single-hinge jobbies, and it's not suited for more than a couple of doors.

    Using a router, there's no way to avoid rounded corners.  Several vendors, including PC, sell a corner chisel...looks like a 1/2" sq x 3" piece of steel bar stock...set it in the corner of the mortise, smack it with a hammer, and it cuts the corner square.

    Yes, the mortise should be as deep as the hinge leaf.

    Do it right, or do it twice.

    1. mick182 | Apr 21, 2003 02:13am | #2

      The one I have is plastic also, it has the inserts that pop out to adjust for hinge size etc.. No good? This corner chisel, is this something I can pick up from Lowes etc.. or is it a specialty item? Thanks for responding.

      1. Houghton123 | Apr 21, 2003 02:35am | #3

        The corner chisel's a standard P-C and other makers tool; shouldn't be hard to find.  If Lowe's doesn't carry it, find out where the local contractors get their tools, and go there.

        Fine Homebuilding's run some articles on door hanging, although they tend to focus on full door-and-trim installations, rather than fitting a door to an existing opening.  You might trawl in the FHB index.  Also, cruise down to your local library and get out all the books that look like they might have information on the subject.

        1.  Fit door to opening.

        2.  Shim up from floor appropriately.

        3.  Mark hinge locations on door and jamb.  Mortise out openings.

        4.  Fit ONE screw into hinges and try fit.  If right, install the other screws.  If not, futz with alignment and use different screwholes for test fitting.

        Some years back, I made a butt hinge mortise plane, basically a scrub plane with a BIG opening but straight edge on the plane iron -- for less than production numbers of doors, I don't know why anyone would use anything else.

        IMHO, the only thing more challenging than door hanging is building stairs.  When you can do either of these right and efficiently, you're a carpenter!

      2. FastEddie1 | Apr 21, 2003 05:15am | #5

        I have never seen the corner chisel at Lowes or HD, but I have never looked very hard either.  All the woodworking catalogs (Rockler, etc) have them, as well as any woodworkign store.

        The plastic PC mortise templet is ok for a few hinges.  If you already have it, use it...carefully.  Some folks say that making your own plywood templet is easier, and more accurate.

        Do it right, or do it twice.

  2. bkhy | Apr 21, 2003 04:40am | #4

    flush with door is perfect! no need for a corner chisel if this is a one time event,easy enough with a sharp chisel. out of square openings can be dealt with by shimming the jamb leaves with narrow (1/8') strips of cardboard,plastic, or whatever you can find.i like to use plastic cable ties.shimming next to the barrel will throw the door toward the latch,shimming at the far side of the mortise will throw the barrel (and the door) away from the latch. if the opening is badly out of square the mortise could be cut deeper,or you may need to plane the door.

  3. TrimButcher | Apr 21, 2003 08:45am | #6

    Mick: buy round-corner hinges.  :-)  Or...

    Use a regular, sharp chisel, one between 1/2" and 1" wide. It will give you square corners, it's easy to do, it isn't difficult to sharpen, and chisels are money well spent because they're useful tools.  A corner chisel is, IMHO, a waste of money (have fun sharpening it).  Just outline the corner first with the regular chisel before removing wood.  You won't even need a hammer.  Use your hand.  If door hanging mistakes are really stressing you out, you can pound on the chisel with your forehead.  The wider the chisel, the harder you have to push/pound it, but the easier it is to make the mortise bottom even & smooth.  Of course, people used to chisel the entire hinge mortise (oh the horror! the horror!).  If you're going to chisel a large area, score the area first with the chisel (hold the chisel vertical, whack with hammer, repeat every 1/4" so that the score marks resemble lined paper).  

    You don't really need the template, either.  It's not tough to freehand rout the mortise.  I outline the hinge using the chisel, then use a rotozip and a 1/4" router bit.  You can even use a Dremel.  Mainly, just make sure the door is held stable.  And to do that:

    Make yourself a pair of simple door bucks to hold the door on edge while you mortise/plane/whatever.  See FHB's book "Tricks of the Trade: Building Methods and Materials".  This book also has some door hanging tips.  Your local library can probably get the book if they don't have it.

    The hinge should lie flush in the mortise.

    Regarding the proper width to leave between hinge pivot and door: I leave enough room so that the hinge doesn't bind on the casing.  1/4" might be a bit much, maybe not.  Try it and see how it looks; you can always reduce it, but increasing it means filling in part of a mortise.  Oops. 

    You can shim hinges (put pieces of cardboard or plastic under the hinge) or cut the mortises deeper (goodbye flush hinge) to affect how the door hangs.  You can plane the door edge to fit an opening that isn't square, or worse, is warped, but just because you can doesn't mean you should.  My preference is to fix the opening rather than butcher the door (this despite my Taunton nickname), but hey, they're your doors.  When you're done hanging, the door should stay at whatever position you open it to.  If it opens or closes on it's own, you'll have to adjust the hinges or the door casing or the wall. 

    If you need to plane doors, buy a Makita or Bosch power planer, unless you have a good size hand plane that has a sharp blade (even then you could have trouble if the door's edge isn't entirely solid wood).  Again, though, if a door is binding severely, you should fix the casing/opening rather than plane the crap out of the door.  As well, a masonite-skinned hollow core can only be planed a modest amount (1/8" to 3/16").

    You didn't describe your new doors (cheap modern masonite?  solid oak?  old mahogany slab? pre-drilled?) but if you measure the width, it'll probably be slightly wider (by up to 1/8") on one side than the other (eg. 30 inches on one side, 29 7/8 on the other).  This is because the edges (probably) have a taper of a couple of degrees.  First, make sure that you hang the doors facing correctly: think of a tapered cork fitting into a bottle, that's how your door should fit into it's opening (narrow side touching door stop).  Secondly, if you do some planing, make sure you maintain the taper (don't get too fussy, just let the plane ride the taper)  

    If you mess up a screw hole, most people will stuff it with glue and toothpicks (or splinters from shims or 2x4) and drill a new one.  That's fine, but I get a little anal.  I enlarge the hole with a 1/4" drillbit and stuff in glue and a fluted 1/4" hardwood dowel from Lee Valley.  My mistakes are stronger than the original, and easy to drill a new hole without the drill bit wandering.

    A self-centering drill bit is a nice luxury, but not a necessity.  It'll ensure that your screws sit nice and flush in your hinge.

    If you need to shorten a door...if it's a modern masonite-skinned hollow core, the rails are maybe 1" thick.  You can cut maybe a 1/4" off each end; the manufacturer will tell you the limit.  If you have to cut off 1" or more, you'll likely cut out the entire bottom rail.  The rail will have masonite still attached.  Use your power planer or run it through a table saw to remove the masonite, then glue the rail back into the door.   

    To cut a door so that it doesn't splinter: you need a shoot board, a circular saw with a 40 tooth blade, and some painter's masking tape.  Mask your cut line, clamp on the shoot board, and saw away.  The alternative to the masking tape is to set the saw blade for a 1/4" deep cut and run it backwards.  After making this first (splinter-free) cut, set the blade for the depth of the door and complete the cut properly.

    If you're hanging heavy, solid core doors, or children will be swinging from the door knobs: replace the screw in the middle of each hinge with a 3" screw so that it reaches framing (the middle screw is likely the only one that will hit framing; the other two will hit drywall/plaster after penetrating the jamb).

    Have fun!

    Tim Ruttan

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