Installing Hinges Using Chisels

[Jim Koepke]

Here is another funky video:

https://youtu.be/gd-gNGmLjFg

In this one I do the work of cutting a hinge gain with a chisel.

jtk

[David Eisenhauer]

Thanks for the show, but better you than me with "inexpensive" hinges. The ones with the sloppy fit between the barrels and the leaves killed me 30+ years ago and it was probably 5 years before I would attempt it again. By then, I had learned of the difference between the inexpensive and the better ones and had better luck. Looks like they don't cause you any grief though. Experience you think?

[Tony Wilkins]

Thanks for doing the video Jim. Do you think using the wider chisel helps to keep the bottom of the mortise level? I'd think so and that's the main reason I've predominantly seen the router plane recommended for this operation.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for doing the video Jim. Do you think using the wider chisel helps to keep the bottom of the mortise level? I'd think so and that's the main reason I've predominantly seen the router plane recommended for this operation.

You are welcome, glad you guys liked it.

Yes I do think the wider chisel helps, but I like it smaller than the total width of the hinge. The width helps with paring the waste out. One corner of the chisel can sit on the bottom and the rest of the chisel can be rotated in.

From watching this my thought is people should video themselves working, even if there is no intention of publishing the video. Besides my verbal errors, I can see some areas with room for improvement. It gives one a different perspective on their work.

David, the cheap hinges are used on projects for my own use. They are too sloppy for something I would want to sell. I usually buy better hinges as they are needed. Though sometimes I have found them on sale.

One sad thing about hinges though, there are some nice looking hinges in many stores that say "brass hinges" when they are actually brass plated. Our truth in marketing has gone to the dogs.

I need to start carrying a magnet on my key ring when I go looking for parts.

jtk

[Robert Engel]

I just use the hinge to score the xgrain line. A firm hand and light scoring stroke is the key. Hinges not always square.....
Marking gauge for length.

Its a shame good hinges seem to be so expensive.

[Pat Barry]

Good tips on the video Jim, but curious why you scribed the hinge outline with the knife and not using the marking gage? Maybe you were just showing options??

[george wilson]

I changed every door in this 1949 house because the glopped on old paint was too much trouble to remove. And,I just used a 1" chisel to inlet the hinges. Only took a few minutes to neatly inlet a hinge. I must have had a stack of old doors 3' high!

I used only a sharp chisel,pencil and a mallet. No marking gauges or marking knife.

The panels had shrunk about 1/8" on the old doors,leaving a thick line of oil base paint where the corners had been. A BIG pain to get loose. We had a few special doors we did strip.but the effort was too great to strip them all. And some sloppy fool had cut about 1 1/2" off the bottom of ALL the doors,apparently with a CHAIN SAW(no lie!) back in the days when they had deep shaggy pile rugs. I actually HAD planed the bottoms of the doors straight,and added wood to them before we discovered how much trouble the very old paint was to get off. I wish we had the paint remover that was common when I was young!

[Shawn Pixley]

I need to start carrying a magnet on my key ring when I go looking for parts.

jtk

I used a magnetic money clip. I always have something to test for ferrous metals. It is a loupe and a rule that I always forget.

[Jim Koepke]

Good tips on the video Jim, but curious why you scribed the hinge outline with the knife and not using the marking gage? Maybe you were just showing options??

I am not sure what you are referring to here. My knife marking was mostly for a guide to know where things should be.

When marking with a gauge it is easy to forget the start and end point which can leave a remnant of the layout on the finished piece.

With better quality hinges, the hinge itself can be the square and marking tool. Then there is a chance of scratching the hinge.

There are so many ways to do the same thing it can be confusing.

George mentioned if you are good at it a pencil, chisel and mallet are all you will need.

Being able to regulate mallet blows on repeated cuts is a skill worth having.

jtk

[Pat Barry]

I am not sure what you are referring to here. My knife marking was mostly for a guide to know where things should be.

When marking with a gauge it is easy to forget the start and end point which can leave a remnant of the layout on the finished piece.

With better quality hinges, the hinge itself can be the square and marking tool.
What I meant was that you placed the hinge and then scribed the perimeter with a knife using the hinge as the template, then you went back over it with a square to deepen the marks on the ends, and then a marking gauge to establish the width of the mortise. Why did you do both? I thought maybe you were just trying to show multiple methods.

[Jim Koepke]

Watch again, I didn't scribe the full perimeter. I made "a little mark here and another little mark here... ." Unfortunately my camera isn't good enough to pick up the small details.

The hinge could be used, but then as Robert Engel commented, "hinges not always square."

Often my marks are made at the edge of the work and then extended with the square.

jtk