When installing your door, getting the measurements of door hinges and cutting them accurately is necessary, and using the best door jig will always get you the accurate measurements. If you haven't used a jig in the past, you might need help to find the best one because they come in different types and qualities but first, let's get to know what door hinge jigs are and how they operate.
What is a Door Hinge Jig?
Door hinge jigs are special tools that can be used to cut rectangular hinges and you can use this to make specific cuts on different pieces of wood or different sizes of cuts. They are recommended because irrespective of the size that you are working on you will be able to overcome a precise and accurate cutting when fixing the door hinges.
The list of some best door hinges includes a guide that helps ensure right cuts for your hinges needed. So now that we have defined what door hinge jigs are this article will help you understand the kind of hinge jigs that are available and which is the best hinge jig to use when carrying out your project.
1. PORTER-CABLE Door Hinge Template 59370
- Quick and easy set up with lock-in pins to ensure security
- Complete with double headed nails for easy removal
- Included along with the template are a high-speed mortise router...
- 8 hinge sizes from 2-1/2 inch to 6 inch and 5 door sizes from...
- Quick and easy set up with lock-in pins to ensure security
PORTER-CABLE Door Hinge is among the best jigs that come with guarantee that configuring will not be a hard task going by the built-in lock pin and it is a very versatile jig that will work with any door regardless of the thickness and will cut the hinge in different sizes. Furthermore, the jig does not wobble or move around because of the double-headed nails used to fix the template to the door hence minimizing the rocking and moving chance when using it. Thus a mortise, which’ll have accurately defined shapes and it is easier to remove the jig when working with the double headed nail.
PORTER-CABLE jig includes the platform that is made out of the plastic material, however, the construction of the platform is highly durable and has a long service value. It is fiberglass construction overall and these two materials should let you get a good amount of use out of the jig. The platform is also wide and will improve on the overall stability of your jig and it comes with the routing bit with bearing brads, so you’ll not be required to make a purchase elsewhere.
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2. Ryobi A99HT3 Door Hinge Installation Kit
- NO NEED FOR ANY SCREWS OR NAILS thanks to the integrated...
- CUT FOR ROUNDED OR SQUARED HINGES thanks to the removable plastic...
- WORKS FOR ALL STANDARD HINGE THICKNESSES AND LENGTHS (1/4 inch or...
- 3 INCLUDED BITS – 1x Carbide Tip Router Bit, 1x Self Centering...
- WORKS WITH BOTH COMPACT AND FULL SIZE ROUTERS
Ryobi A99HT3 will enhance the experience of your mortising by enhancing these features as follows: The tool is equipped with a plastic clamp which enables user to attach the jig to all standard door sizes firmly. Furthermore, the clamp also help exclude chances of rocking or moving that may unveil to you in making a rounded-shaped mortise or perfect square and hence arriving to an accurate and precise mortise.
Ryobi A99HT3 door hinge come with routing bit and you are not going to have to buy that on its own – since the one provided does come with an innovative adjustment system that will let you identify how far deep you want to go as well as set the width of the channel that you want to cut effortlessly. Furthermore, the jig has a front guide for chisels or compact routers that you can use; moreover, it is small enough to fit in a small bag and is easily portable.
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3. Milescraft 1213 HingeMate150 - Hinge Mortising Kit
- Increase security and privacy in your home by replacing interior...
- By routing matching mortises for hinges, strike plates, and latch...
- Featuring an easy to use drop-in template design with a sturdy...
- Easy to use drop in template design with clearly marked templates
- Sturdy steel template frame with door thickness selector knob for...
Milescraft 1213 is a hinge mortising kit with easy to use intuitive mortise and template designs, drop-in connection to a piece of work you are working on. Also, the door hinge jig design is with a strong steel construction that will provide a great and safe fixing reducing the possibility of vibration or shifting while you are operating.
Milescraft 1213 works on many wooden jobs and comes with a router bit made of hard wearing tungsten carbide so you will not have to procure one elsewhere. This template also has clear labels on it, the tabs and guides are centered hence enabling you to get the right angles and measurements when using your door jig. Also, it comes in reusable packaging where the tool can be kept after using it as a set of pliers.
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4. Kreg Tool Company KHI-Hinge Jig
- Make cabinet door installation easy! Get drill press accuracy...
- Accurate hinge positioning with built-in indexing tabs
- Repeatable results with built-in measuring scales
- Reliable drilling with bit guide and stop Collar
- Simple to use with any drill—no special tools needed
Kreg Tool Concealed Hinge Jig is a jig for modern doors and the concealed jigs have become popular due to the extra features provided. As you will find in other jigs in the market, this one has an electric handle whereby operating the jig is more efficient and smoother as you’ll see it comes with an outstanding build quality which enhances its duration.
The Kreg Tool Company KHI-Hinge Jig is very easy to assemble, and since there is a clear guide to its use, it shall assist users. One is that the door jig is easily removable where removing and fastening requires little or no effort at all and will save you a lot of headaches, two the jig is cheap. However, the door jig created for door planning is not versatile; it only accommodates doors of a particular thickness, thus you should have the right door measurements.
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5. BI-DTOOL 35mm Hinge Drilling Jig
- Our 35mm Jig is made of engineering plastic, This is a set of...
- BI-DTOOL Hinge jig comes with adjustable dials design, limited to...
- The concealed hinge Jig is suitable for 35mm hinges and also...
- The drill bit is razor sharp, easily drill the new holes with...
- Simple to use with any drill, you don't have to be a well...
BI-DTOOL is the best door hinge jig when it comes to the accuracy as it provides a maximum guarantee of the accuracy of every feature. First of all, it has a dial that can be adjusted depending on the offset of the hinge you want to create, thus, it does not restrict you to create only one, as well as you can change the distance between 3,4,5 or 6 millimeters. You can also make holes of this diameter amount, and you can use this with lot of doors; though it is of construction plastic, it is durable and strong to take much hinge jobs.
BI-DTOOL drilling jig has a special design to facilitate least chippings and breakouts therefore, you will not have to struggle to make accurate and precise holes on your workpiece. Each hole has clear labels which reduce the likelihood of having wrong size holes on the surface, and a Turbo drill bit which is very sharp and can easily work on most wood surfaces.
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What Are the Different Types of Door Hinges?
a). Butt Hinges
The most common sophisticated multipurpose and the simplest of all types of hinges are the butt hinges, which are rectangular in shapes and slightly curved hinges to be inserted into the door’s surface through mortising. These hinges have much flexibility and can basically be fitted on most types of routers.
b). Spring Hinges
A spring hinge is nearly the same as the butt hinge, but it is load with a spring and when under the pressure resulting from the spring it automatically closes. These are useful and simple hinges that need to be installed in different sorts of cabinet doors. Individual spring door hinges can, however, be rather lengthy, and numerous spring hinges can be synchronistically placed to apply the right closing force.
c). Kitchen Door Hinges
These hinges come in two sizes – 26 and 35 mm. This means that you may not need to make any changes installing or introducing new hinges. They are sometimes called conceal or hidden hinges but their are not fully hidden from sight. All of them are simple to operate, and some have great additional accessories like a cutting straightener mounted for the perfect cut.
d). Concealed Door Hinges
Concealed door hinges are very popular because they are hidden and since its neat, you can display the door design with them. Moreover, it is possible to maintain the overall simple view of the design not adding door hinges and are appropriate for wardrobes and kitchenettes for the most part. These hinges use a different jig and are installed using the special concealed hinge jig which helps to quickly and easily determine the suitable location of each hinge.
What to Consider Before Purchasing the Best Door Hinge Jig
1. Build Quality
When looking for the best door hinge jig, the build quality is among the first things to consider. Most units will have a steel frame while those having a plastic frame will be fewer and therefore make sure that you obtain a good quality hinge as it will be almost impossible to work with units that have a bad frame.
Other than the frame make sure that all your other parts are strong because no matter how strong the frame is and how bad the holes are, you will not be on it for long. Choose door hinges that are constructed from quality materials throughout their makeup.
2. Attaching Mechanism
It is important to note that although some jigs have a mechanism of being attached by a certain type of attaching mechanism, other jigs will require you to use other types of attaching mechanisms. However, when you get a door hinge that has an attaching mechanism, ensure that it can be fastened securely enough when it shouldn’t wobble loosely when closing or opening your work pieces.
It is impossible to work without a secure attaching mechanism thanks to many wobbles and movements. Also, if there is motion in the process then you’re dexterity will lower down considerably.
3. Drill Bit
All door hinges come in sets of several router bits and are placed on your router to cut the hinges out of. That is why it is advisable to get a door hinge with quality ones because they enable you to get the best from the hinge. The sharpness and the material will let you know how rich quality is at where the sharpness has to check testing.
Ensure that the door hinge that you are to buy comes with a drill bit, in case, the bit is not included in the material that came with the hinge, it is available but you are expected to buy it on your own. But it is wise if it contains one, making sure the bit is made of quality steel so that, it will not wear out so quickly and also it must be sharp.
4. Labels
Door hinge jigs mostly come with multiple holes on the body and if you make different sizes of holes on your work then all the holes should be labeled. absence of labels could see you producing wrong size holes on the surface, and this would eventually make the work piece utterly irrelevant. Well, this is why you should avoid door hinge jigs that do have ambiguous marking on the body of the tool.
5. Compatibility with the Door
Before you go out there searching for the best door hinge jigs you should have an insight of your door kinds and their dimension, thickness being the most crucial. This is important because not all door hinges come with flexibility, and some of the doors may not be supported; therefore, you need to find the thickness. To do this, you then need to make sure that the door hinge jigs you adopt are compatible with the thickness.
6. Setup
The use of door hinge jigs is expected to make your work of cutting the door hinges even easier than what is currently being practiced; therefore, a difficult set up is not the best because it will make the work harder than it should be. Instead of this, make sure you go for door hinge jigs that are easy to set up, and unless there are written guidelines, go for jigs that come with guides because as long as you adhere to the instructions, it should be very easy to use.
Frequently Asked Questions on Door Hinge Jigs
1. How Do you Use a Door Hinge Jig?
You will first need to take accurate measurements of the door with the correct jig used then position the jig where the slider is on top of the hinge length. After that, ensure that the desired setting is well set from your router, fix the router bit, power on your router, move the router along the jig strip and cut your hinge depending on need.
2. What Is a Router Bit?
A router bit is a standard mortising bit, the only difference being that the cut makes is slightly less deep compared to other mortising router bits. These ‘bits’ will connect to your router and will assist to shave your hinge as required.
3. Is it necessary to chisel the door hinges?
Basically, it's recommended to use door hinge jigs on most of your work, but if the chisel makes you feel comfortable, you can use it. However, a chisel is only ideal if you only have one door to hang because the accuracy may be somewhat affected when using a chisel instead of a door hinge installation kit because one uses estimation on the depth. So it’s not possible with a chisel.
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