Lock Mortiser

[jack dempsey]

Hello, I am looking for some advice. I am planning to build a few doors. One will be an exterior door (which I hope to find a way for some minimal insulation) for my son who is building a tiny house in the Maine Woods. Others will be interior 4 panel replacement doors for an olde,r first home my daughter recently purchased. I have done only one door in the past. This will be a learning curve for me. The previous door that I made I used a plunge router for the mortises. Currently, I have a bench mortiser but I do not think this will be a reasonably efficient tool for approximately 3" deep in mortises in White Oak. While looking for ideas on YouTube on methods to accomplish this I came across a Porter Cable Lock Mortiser which seems to be an efficient way to accomplish this. I would appreciate any education on anyone who has used a router driven lock mortiser. One issue if it is in fact the proper tool is where I may find a used one for sale. I imagine some may direct me to the Festool Domino but at roughly $1600. it seems a bit overkill. I apologize for this long winded description of what I want to accomplish. Your comments/advice will be appreciated. As an aside my son has experienced real temperature of -15 degrees in Maine this winter thus the search for ways to insulate an exterior door. He really wants a hand crafted door. Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Tom M King]

Do you have a total of 5 to do? If so, I'd never buy even a used Porter Cable for those few. The only ones I've ever done were done by hand. It's not that hard of a job for someone who calls themselves a woodworker.

If you can find a jig to keep drilled holes in the perfect orientation it makes it easier, but Many have been done without. I'll do some looking later, but have to be gone for at least half the day today.

First quick look: https://mbausa.com/souber-dbb-door-lock-morticer-standard-kit/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn9CgBhDjARIsAD15h0DTZVK6mJafn0E3-tUDdYvlU4UqNuYkr99VwTWGE1X4XpnI6Nu2hMsaAiJnEALw_wc B

[Jared Sankovich]

I have the PC513 and xl700 both work well for mortise locks (the festool needing more depth, but being relatively dust free)

The PC is real a one trick pony and at 5-600 on the used market not a lot of return. For only 5 doors I'd just do them with a drill and chisel/router..

[jack dempsey]

I may have to clear up my intention and use. I may be making 5 or 6 doors. My thought is to use whatever tool is required not just for the lock mortise but for all of the mortise and tenon construction on each door. For example for a 4 panel door there will be at least 6 mortises required for the rail and stile construction. Again, thanks for your help and advice.

[Kevin Jenness]

I may have to clear up my intention and use. I may be making 5 or 6 doors. My thought is to use whatever tool is required not just for the lock mortise but for all of the mortise and tenon construction on each door. For example for a 4 panel door there will be at least 6 mortises required for the rail and stile construction. Again, thanks for your help and advice.

In that case the Domino 700 is a good choice, though it may not go quite deep enough depending on the specific hardware. The PC lock mortiser is a bit cumbersome as a general purpose mortiser and I would not want to rely on it for plunging perfectly parallel to the door faces. Mafell makes a nice chain mortiser but you don't want to know what that costs. I use a stationary slot mortiser and I cut lock mortises prior to assembling the door frame. For production work, get a swing chisel machine like the MAKA. Face it, there is no cheap, accurate, efficient solution for what you propose to do. To keep it simple, use a plunge router and finish out the lock mortises with a drill and chisels, or use cylinder locks.

[Joe Calhoon]

A friend of mine bought the Souber mortiser Tom King linked to. He said it worked well for just a few doors. I did them for years with the Maka and a slot mortiser. Most of the time customers didn’t make their mind up till after the door was build. Pretty awkward putting assembled doors up on those but we made it work. Easy if done before assembly. A few years ago found a used Mafell and that works great. Pretty spendy even used.
the big Domino can help but limited by depth and most locks would require more than the 14mm cutter width. Not sure how 2 passes for width work on those.

[Mark Wooden]

I have the PC lock mortiser; works fine for installing mortise locks, but I don't think it would be accurate enough for making mortise and tenon joints for doors. the fit would end up a little sloppy or too tight; Ive experienced as much as +- 3/32"difference while making lockset mortises which is ok for a lockset, but too much for joinery.
If you have a good drill press, you can accurately bore most of the waste from your mortises and clean up with a chisel, not too awful to do.

[Kevin Jenness]

I have the PC lock mortiser; works fine for installing mortise locks, but I don't think it would be accurate enough for making mortise and tenon joints for doors. the fit would end up a little sloppy or too tight; Ive experienced as much as +- 3/32"difference while making lockset mortises which is ok for a lockset, but too much for joinery.
If you have a good drill press, you can accurately bore most of the waste from your mortises and clean up with a chisel, not too awful to do.

Agreed. It's hard to hold good joinery tolerances with a router bit on a long shaft in a bushing running on rods. Looks like the same with the Souber jig judging by the fit of the latch plate in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RyXZ_QqOUU&list=PLDYyhLP8wQl0F1opFGOJlbSYb4_npsf_b&index=17

A drill press can work with a solid tall fence for reference. Whatever means used, it's vital that the mortises wind up parallel to the face of the material.

[Cameron Wood]

Bit of a review here:

https://www.jlconline.com/tools/fastening-tools/power-tools/repurposing-a-lock-mortiser_o

Amazon reviews for the Porter Cable mixed- multiple five star ratings the texts tell a different story..

[Tom M King]

The last one I did by hand, I used a U-bolt, that I had checked to make sure the legs were parallel, as a feeler gauge to bring the sides of the lock mortise back to parallel. I drilled the holes smaller than needed by eye, and used a sharp chisel to bring it out to the correct width. It didn't really take that long and the lock works fine.

[Cameron Wood]

IME, for entry locksets anyway, they are all over the map for size and especially face drilling for the trim, so it's not fast in any case.

I've done quite a few, but I'm sure it averages less than one a year. The next one coming up will involve filling and re-mortising on an old door.

[William Hodge]

The bench mortiser can handle White Oak fine if you rough out the mortises first. I use a drill press, and a drill bit smaller than the mortises. The result is that the hollow chisel mortiser is just taking a small amount of wood off, and it handles it fine. If the chisels are sharp.

The bench top mortiser can be shimmed up off the base an inch with a piece of wood between base and column to give you room under the chisel.

[jack dempsey]

William,
Thanks for the information. I will give it a try. Jack

[Brian Holcombe]

If the stiles are laminated, you can cut the lock mortise with a dado stack. I built 25 9’ tall doors recently and did it this way.

[Jim Dwight]

I think the doors are an excellent excuse to get the bigger domino. I have one and have the seneca adapter so I can use the smaller cutters the DF500 uses. I use Amana or CMT cutters to save a bit. I also make my own tenons, often much wider than normal domino tenons. The DF700 works great to cut slot mortises that overlap either in length or width. Just yesterday I used a 10mm cutter to cut a 1/2 inch mortise to start the inletting of an airgun action into a block of wood that will eventually be a stock for the gun. The mortise is about 2 inches long so I had overlapping cuts in both directions. No problem at all. I cut it 70mm deep which is more than sufficient but not hugely over deep. My point is just that it is a quite versatile machine that is a joy to have. Any sort of slot you need is quickly and easily cut.

I have not made doors with mine yet but I have made a few beds with it, some for me and some for my kids, and tables and chairs. Recently I made a 10 foot long diming table for 10 people and 10 chairs mainly out of cherry. Almost all the mortises were cut with my domino. The vertical back slats for the chairs (6 per chair so 60 total) have the cross section of a 12mm domino and sit in mortises made by my DF700. Saved a ton of time on just that one operation. It cut the mortises in the curved top rail and the straight bottom rail.

I used to have a hollow chisel mortiser but I did not use it once after getting the DF700 and have now sold it. I have used plunge routers to make mortises too and it works well but the setup time is SO much longer than using a domino. I am no festool fan boy but the domino is a great tool. It is pricey but it is well engineered and well made and it works great. It can save you a bunch of time making your doors and then you would have it for your next project. Another huge advantage is it doesn't take up a ton of space. My shop is only 14x24 and the fact that the domino takes up only a smallish shelf on the workbench and a little drawer for it's extras is a great help in maintaining functionality for good mortise and tenon joints without choking the shop space.

[Brian Holcombe]

Not sure how well a domino will stand in as a lock mortiser. Sometimes the lock bodies are 4” wide.

[Cameron Wood]

If the stiles are laminated, you can cut the lock mortise with a dado stack. I built 25 9’ tall doors recently and did it this way.


I'm not getting this- can you explain more?

[Jared Sankovich]

Obviously over 70mm you are finishing the mortise by hand, still better than doing it completely by hand, and relatively dust free in a occupied space.

[jack dempsey]

Thanks for all the advice and insights. I plan is to tackle the exterior door first. That being said; I welcome everybody's thoughts on my initial thoughts. Since it is going to be for my son who lives in Maine I am hoping to insulate it in some manner. I'm thinking of using rail and style construction utilizing a mortise and tenon build. At this juncture I have white oak at the top of the list as a lumber choice. I was hoping to use solid lumber for the build and avoid plywood laminate. For the main panels I am thinking of milling white oak down to 1/2" thickness. My plan is to use two panels with some type of insulation between the two panels, possibly 3/4' foam board. The frame will be solid lumber. I realize this is going to make the door somewhere in the area of 2 1/4" thick. One of my concerns is the 1/2" white oak floating panel. I will leave room for expansion but I am looking for insights if this seems a reasonable plan. Keep in mind I have built a 4 panel interior door but this is my first exterior door. Thanks for your insights.

[Tom M King]

No reason 2-1/4 won't work. We have a four foot wide exterior door that's 4-1/4" thick. The lock side of the door needs to be tapered, and the lock side of the jamb also on a bevel to match which leaves clearance for the door to close, but still allows for tight tolerances.

[John TenEyck]

There's no reason you can't use a plunge router to cut the mortises for the M&T joints, and also for the locksets. You make a purpose-built jig for each. You can make mortises at least 2-1/2" deep which is plenty deep enough, especially if you pin them. Or use two mortises in each joint. It's easily possible with a door 2-1/4" thick. Twice the surface area; it's never coming apart. But if you think you really need 3" then switch to a longer bit for the last half inch. Anyway, for a few doors you don't need to spend money on new stuff.

Your approach for adding foam panels between the wood panels often is used. Prefinish the wood panels on all surfaces, and run a bead of caulk around the foam panel during installation to keep air from sneaking through.

John

[Jim Dwight]

I have made mortises at least 6 inches wide with my Domino XL. All you have to do is keep plunging along overlapping the holes. The dust collection may not be as good but otherwise the tool doesn't care. I will make one around this long tomorrow to inlet a airgun action into a block of wood. To center the mortise I will plunge from both sides and the holes will thus overlap in both directions. I already did a mortise this way for the trigger guard - but it was shorter, only a couple inches long and half an inch wide (made with a 10mm cutter).

Thinking of a domino as only capable of making the mortises for the tenons Festool offers is missing getting the best out of the tool. It can make any slot mortise you need, the only limitation is the 70mm depth. That is plenty IMHO for an interior or exterior door. If you really have to have a through mortise you could cut it from both sides.

[Brian Holcombe]

Again if you laminate the stiles, then you can just cut the main mortise with a dado stack. This is a common construction method for doors.

A 4” wide lock means the depth of cut is 4”.

[jack dempsey]

Thanks for all of the advice and pointers. I will digest everything and plan to move forward. Anybody have any doubts about the 1/2" white oak panels? I will make allowances for expansion so I am assuming this should not be an issue? Thanks again, I really appreciate folks taking their time to offer advice. Jack

[Jared Sankovich]

I was installing a door with a mortise lock yesterday and remembered this thread.

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[Mike Wilkins]

For small quantity door making, you should consider making your own hinge jig from scraps lying around the shop. I went this route for door projects at my own home. Easy to make and low out-of-pocket cost. Type in hinge jigs into YouTube and see what you can find.