Thanks, Lincoln.
Just for the sake of interest and to check that I wasn't being that old-school, blinkered, head-in-the-sand guy - I just watched the demo video for the Souber DBB lock jig. It's a clever idea and it looks very well engineered - but the setup time to do both the deep and shallow mortises is crazy. I could have completed the entire job by the time the guy had even started drilling - and to a much, much tighter and better-looking standard. I have no idea what that bit was which he was using to drill/rout/whatever, but the result looked like it had been chewed out by the guy's pet beaver, especially on the shallow faceplate mortise. And I wonder how long that thing would last when faced with a dozen solid European kiln-dried oak doors - a timber which eats blades, bits and cutters for breakfast? And how much is a new one?
Of greater significance - in the UK this costs £100 (Axminster Tools) and does one job - not very quickly, not very well, and with ongoing (and undoubtedly high) bit replacement costs. So spend just £15 more at the same store, and get a beautiful set of 6 Kirschens in a wooden presentation box instead - tools which can be used for dozens of tasks, not just one - tools which will last a lifetime with a little care, and which can be passed down to your grandchildren - just like the Robert Sorby chisels which my grandfather passed down to me, and which are still as good as the day they left Sheffield. It's an absolute no-brainer. Above all - tools like these will make you a better, more confident and skilled woodworker, instead of becoming dependent on ridiculous gadgets like this.
I was thinking about this today in the workshop, since I'm part-way through building 8 x hardwood doors for a customer. So I timed myself - 1 x lock mortise on the door, 1 x striker plate mortise on the frame, 3 x hinge mortises on the door, plus 3 more on the frame, all done using chisels, a wooden mallet and a 22mm spade bit in a Hilti SF6H 22-volt combi.
Yeah - I know that I've had years of practise and have hundreds of doors under my belt ............. but 37 minutes.
You will, however, be delighted to hear that I used my TS55 to put a 1-degree backplane on the door leading edge before fitting the lock, and I'll be sanding it using a Mirka Deros, both hooked up to a CTL26. And I'll be delivering the doors in one of those new-fangled vans instead of my horse and cart.
