Deep mortises for locksets
- Thread starter live4ever
- Start date
I owned a PC lock mortiser for many years and used it as much for door construction mortises as lock set mortises.
The one I had was within a few thousands of an inch of being centred on the door without any special effort taken. Setting up the width of the mortise is a bit of a fiddle, but it gets faster as you get used to it. I used the 5/8" cutter for construction tenons mostly.
The cutters are carbide, and you can get sizes from 5/8" to 1-1/4" They last for many years of use. It is a very fast process once set up.
I have seen some people set them up to cut the ends of the rails in order to use loose tenons, but I always used the sliding table on the shaper to cut the tenons.
With the Domino XL now available, my method may be a non-starter, but it worked well and produced rock solid doors with mortise and tenons that when dry fit required a good size rubber hammer to disassemble.
I would have had a hard time justifying the cost of the tool just for lock mortises, but when using it for construction mortises as well, it was well worth it in my shop.
The one I had was within a few thousands of an inch of being centred on the door without any special effort taken. Setting up the width of the mortise is a bit of a fiddle, but it gets faster as you get used to it. I used the 5/8" cutter for construction tenons mostly.
The cutters are carbide, and you can get sizes from 5/8" to 1-1/4" They last for many years of use. It is a very fast process once set up.
I have seen some people set them up to cut the ends of the rails in order to use loose tenons, but I always used the sliding table on the shaper to cut the tenons.
With the Domino XL now available, my method may be a non-starter, but it worked well and produced rock solid doors with mortise and tenons that when dry fit required a good size rubber hammer to disassemble.
I would have had a hard time justifying the cost of the tool just for lock mortises, but when using it for construction mortises as well, it was well worth it in my shop.
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AlexThePalex
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- Nov 12, 2008
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A carpenter buddy of mine has invested a good 2000 - 2500 euros in factory supplied jigs for locks and hinges.
They basically exist out of a long, thin aluminium rail you can place on the door, indexed from top or bottom, and on that rail you clamp various templates for the proper lock and the proper hinges. He then routs all the mortises with a router. It all works very quickly and the result looks very clean, like it's made by a factory CNC machine. You don't need to measure anything.
After you've done the door you can place the same jigs on the door frame, again indexed from top or bottom, replace each template for another if needed, and route the mortises on the frame. Because they're indexed by the jig, you don't need to measure anything and all mortises on both door and frame are correctly lined up.
Doesn't matter if you've got 40 years on the clock with a chissel and a drill, you're not going to top that in speed and precision. The days that a door had one lock and two hinges are also long gone. Hardwood doors often have 4 hinges and 3 separate locks or one single 3 point lock, which is a long rail which runs along the entire side of the door, locking it in 3 places with a single handle in the middle.
[attachimg=1]
They basically exist out of a long, thin aluminium rail you can place on the door, indexed from top or bottom, and on that rail you clamp various templates for the proper lock and the proper hinges. He then routs all the mortises with a router. It all works very quickly and the result looks very clean, like it's made by a factory CNC machine. You don't need to measure anything.
After you've done the door you can place the same jigs on the door frame, again indexed from top or bottom, replace each template for another if needed, and route the mortises on the frame. Because they're indexed by the jig, you don't need to measure anything and all mortises on both door and frame are correctly lined up.
Doesn't matter if you've got 40 years on the clock with a chissel and a drill, you're not going to top that in speed and precision. The days that a door had one lock and two hinges are also long gone. Hardwood doors often have 4 hinges and 3 separate locks or one single 3 point lock, which is a long rail which runs along the entire side of the door, locking it in 3 places with a single handle in the middle.
[attachimg=1]
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I did 2 or 3 door sets with the multipoint locking system. It is a lot of work, but I was able to mill the latch side locking insert on the shaper before the door was assembled, so it made it a little quicker.
Some hardware is so much work to install that the jigs pay for themselves pretty quickly.
I find the jigs are not just about speed, but also accuracy with repeatability.
Some hardware is so much work to install that the jigs pay for themselves pretty quickly.
I find the jigs are not just about speed, but also accuracy with repeatability.
R
Rob Z
Guest
It's likely that we are now on double secret probation ! [eek] [scared]
Oldwood said:
I can sort of relate to the post above. I have been professionally involved in dust extraction to the small workshop for many years and when I see some of the bad "advice" given on fora such as this I find it difficult not to react as it is someone's health on the line. Then I get told that my advice is wrong or over the top for a single woodworker so these days I grit my teeth and say nothing. Some of the ideas I see using Vacuum Cleaners and even Festool vacs are simply ludicrous but I have found that amateurs always know better. Take this post for what it is worth but I won't debate it as that is simply a dead end to nowhere.
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