I spent some time making a jig to simplify mortising the doors and the frames for the butt hinges I’m using. These hinges are not adjustable, like many of the hinges used today. The downside of this is that you have to be quite precise when fitting them. They do however, look great when installed. And since there are no adjustable parts, they never require adjusting.
I made a simple jig from two pieces of plywood, where the opening in the top piece is exactly the height of the hinge leaf and as wide as the leaf should fit into the edge of the door or frame.
Using a router bit with a bearing at the top, I can set it to exactly the thickness of a hinge leaf and route out all but the corners of the mortise.
Following up with a sharp chisel and the edge of the jig as a guide, it short work to square up the corners. When done right, you get a very nice fit.
My ‘kit’ for making the mortises is my jig, the router, a chisel and mallet, and a couple of clamps (not shown).
A simple kit is good, since I have 36 mortises to make (nine doors, two hinges each, a mortise in the door and frame for each). My doors are all glued up and tomorrow I’ll start fitting them into the openings.
