Hello all i have just taken on a big fire door job 39 hardwood doors so im going to invest in a hinge and lock jig.Are the jigs easy to use and worth buying. Cheers martin
that many doors yes they are worth buying if for no other reason than a picky clerk of works or a sub contractor hating quality controller can make your life hell if all the hinges dont run in a dead straight line along a corridor yes they are easy to use
Cheers mate its not the clerk i was too worried about it was doin them all by hand lol.Had a look at the trend jig today looked very good.
personally i think hinge jigs are a waste of time just use a lam trimmer by hand the clean ends with a chisel as for a lock jig thumbs up to the trend jig
linings yes casings no. If the intermesant in in the casing then it makes cutting the hinges in by hand easy
so your time is worth jack then is it? buy a lock jig and it will do most of the locks you need and do hinges freehand
i use both hinge jig and free hand trimmer.done mainly new builds and barn conversions over the last 10 years and have only ever used casings.did a job with 90 doors and the jig came in to its own,but doing barn conv at the moment where there are some odd size doors,thats when the trimmer router comes out.
it takes about 10 minutes to make a jig to save £180 or whatever, 'wasting' 10 minutes seems okay you could say if you buy one it will last you forever this is true but if you're careful, a self made one will last you hundreds of doors. even more if you're really careful.
sorry i meant jig for locks not hinges when i made the comment about time making a jig as the trend 1 is £60 and does 12 different size face plates and 4 different mortice sizes. And i clamps on the door super snug
finaly bought the trend jig last week what a great bit of kit so simple to use and realy cuts hanging time down
Quality !, I might be biased, but I think it's worth every penny of £60, It's ok making your own jig, if you only ever fit one size, type or style of lock, Just my personal opinion, andy@trend
if you are thinking of a lock jig as well,google the porter cable 513 and 517 portable mortiser and face template.i have one and for speed and a perfect finish you cant beat it, you can mortise a bathroom/mortise lock in about 20 seconds.no chiseling or drilling.