Hinge and lock jigs

We use Trend Hing Jigs and they are worth their weight in gold imho. We screw them to the door (rather than use those braddle things) but this leaves holes. No problem if the door is to be painted but walnut door are difficult to fill holes in.

A large pair of sash cramps would hold the jig to the door and would leave no holes.

We use small Trend routers (can't remember the model) with these jigs, you want the smallest router that will do the job. There is a Trend router bit that is made for use with the hinge jigs, also worth getting is the corner chisel for cleaning out the rebate in one go.

The whole thing makes for very accurate hinge pockets done in extremely quick time.

We bulk buy hinges (and set the jigs up to suit these hinges) as it's quicker (as with any jig) to use the same settings each time. We also use dedicated hinge jigs for 3" hinges and for 4" hinges, again to avoid having to re-setup the jigs.

 

definitely go for the trend, the cheap ones are too flexible

the holes left by the bradawl are hardly noticable, for your walnut doors a light sanding would fill the hole with dust and it would just look like a tiny blemish or knot and would not be an issue

router - the trend t5 or dewalt 615, dont bother with the smaller trend, as it is not as accurate

 

44 doors fitted and hung in 2 days easy with a jig
then you have just got to do your latches

the lock jig is only really any use for cutting your face plates, its quicker to drill the mortices(did you get the trend one?)the cheaper lock jigs dont come with enough templates so you will end up cutting and filling, the fixing is not very good either, you will need to clamp it on some how

 

This one mainly for wuddy, or any one who cares to answer. Wuddy, am real serious on this question and would really appreciate honest answer. Is 22 internal doors a day shot and swung possible with a trend hinge jig? If so will buy one for my 2nd fix lad. Cheers.

 

yes, but then again it depends on the person doing the work

i pride myself on being efficient and finding ways to improve quality without slowing the job down

how i do it is

i load out my doors then go round with my electric plane to fit them, i use a 4mm spacer on fire doors or 3mm spacer on lightweights and plane the doors until i can run this down the side of the door perfectly, i then use a 20mm scribe across the top of the door and plane to that line

on average 65% of the doors will not need to be touched then some will be too gapy and need the lining wedging after

once they are all fitted i will then go round with my jig, i also have a trend door stand to hold them

once they are all routered i then go round and fit the hinges and hang the doors, by being precise with my gaps when i planed them i will not have to do any adjusting apart from a few wedges in the gapy ones and maybe a shaving of the odd one to give it a bit of a leading edge
when i have completed the rest of my 2nd fix i will then go round my doors again and take off a shaving or 2 if it is damp and the have swelled and also take the arises off and give them a quick sand

not only is it quick to jig the doors but it also gives you a much tidier job, doors can be swapped round from frame to frame and will usually fit and you also save time with fitting intumescent strips as the gaps between the hinges are always the same so you can batch cut them all

when you get your jig set it up for 3" hinges then use the bradawl to scribe a line in the jig to mark the position of the blocks and scribe a line round the depth stops, do the same for 4" hinges then in the future swapping from one to the other only takes a minute plus if you ever have to go back to swap a door you will know exactly where to set the jig

 

i forgot to say
when i scribe the top of the doors i check the bottom is sitting on the floor properly first and give that a plane if need be before i scribe the top but it is not very often i have to do this, it may be different if you do a lot of renovation /conversion type work but i mainly do production site carpentry

 

Really appreciate that Wuddy. Thanks very much for taking the time. Really made me stop and think. Thought that I was not doing bad out of my lads if I got 8 to 10 shot, hand chopped and swung a day. Out of curiosity, on the days you swing doors, do you wear a dress? See yer.

 

Sorry but have got to come back on this one. Have been thinking about it all day.
Wuddy, you obviously know your trade very well. You have given the best description of swinging lumps that I have ever heard or read.
I am 95% sure that your answer was honest and sincere in the same way that the question was asked, but 5% of me still thinks its a wind up, as I don’t see, with out prejudice, how you can manage a door every 22 minutes even with the production line that you have set up..
I have seen a trend jig, but have never used one or seen one being used, possibly this is my problem. Bless yer.

 

I have seen a trend jig, but have never used one or seen one being used, possibly this is my problem. Bless yer.

old un, look on youtube.

 

Bloke in demo does door and frame in 1 min 55 seconds, (edited of course).

 

I have been using the Trend hinge jig for several years now. My best days production for swinging doors was 28 fire doors in a day. That works out to a door every 15 mins after taking breaks into account. They were polished finish and bl**dy heavy

I had previously fitted the linings so there was only 3mm to be taken off each door (linings were pre made and the doors a little too snug.

I was fortunate that it was a nursing home with long corridors so there was minimal moving about once I got set up.

Twenty two light weight doors a day should not be a problem

 

Apologies wuddy for doubting your honesty and integrity.. Thank you to the two other gentlemen who also posted, pointing my nose in the right direction.
There is no fool like an old fool. I hang my head in shame.
Phoned around this morning. Found a lad who has a jig.
Went to his place and he gave me demo. He had a leg of an old lining which he put on a couple of horses, placed and fixed jig with bradawls. routed out for two hinges turned it over, done the same other side. Chopped out all 8 rounds. Time taken 3.5 minutes.
Definite must for any one doing priced field ranging.

 

the real time saver is that it cuts the exact depth so as long as you have fitted the door accurately once you screw it in place it is finished, no need to take it off to cut a hinge a bit deeper or add a packer

your never too old to learn

and yes i do sometimes wear a dress as long as its not too breezy