Milescraft 1214 Door Hinge Mortising Kit

by Milescraft

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Increase security and privacy in your home by replacing interior and exterior doors without damaging the jamb or door frame with the Hinge Mortise Kit from Milescraft. By routing matching mortises for hinges into the door and jamb, you won't have to tear a hole in the wall just to hang a better wooden door. Featuring an easy to use drop-in template design with a sturdy steel frame, this kit comes with everything you need for most hinges on 1-3/4-Inch and 1-3/8-Inch doors and jambs. Gone are the days of chiseling or setting stops and pegs to rout a mortise. Simply set the door thickness selector knob, attach to the door or jamb, drop in the plainly marked template for your door hardware, and rout! Includes a durable tungsten carbide tipped 1/2-Inch router bit with ball bearing, eliminating the need for guide bushings. Also includes an Easy Measure Guide where we have done the math and made it simple for you to get standard industry placement of your door hardware. Centered tabs on each template ensure complete accuracy. This product is packaged in a clamshell that snaps shut to act as a hanging storage container for your templates when not in use. Simply cut off the package seal edge when opening for reuse. Includes the following templates: HINGE MORTISES (For square AND rounded hinges): 2-1/2, 3, 3-1/2, 4, and 4-1/2-Inch hinges. Some chiseling required on templates with square corners.

Product Description

Increase security and privacy in your home by replacing interior and exterior doors without damaging the jamb or door frame with the Entry and Interior Door Mortise Kits from Milescraft. Each kit features an easy to use drop-in template design. Sturdy steel frame adjusts from 1-3/8" to 1-3/4" doors and jambs. Centered tabs on each template ensure complete accuracy. Includes a durable carbide tipped 1/2" router bit with ball bearing eliminating the need for guide bushings. Includes easy measure guide to simplify standard industry placement of your door hardware. Hinge Mortise Kit includes templates for 2-1/2", 3", 3-1/2", 4" and 4-1/2" hinges

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16.6 x 6.9 x 1.5 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001JEOIG8
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 1214
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,458 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Does the job, but not great. I'd give it a 2.5 stars if that were available., December 3, 2010

By 

Kengar - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Milescraft 1214 Door Hinge Mortising Kit (Tools & Home Improvement)

I ruined two slab doors before getting this mortise template, first trying to trace a hinge and chisel out the wood then trying a butt plate and chiseling out the wood. When I made the mortisses using this product on new doors (i.e., starting over), I was thrilled with how easy it was to use. Then, however, I hung the doors (two of them) and all was not great, since the doors both interfered with the jamb when closing, and it sounded/felt as if one or more of the hinges was/were getting torqued somehow. On the first door, I re-routered the top mortisse a little deeper, and that seemed to do the trick, but that did not work on the other door. Ultimately, I got the comparable Ryobi product from Home Depot, and it worked much better (i.e., it fixed the problem on the door where reroutering to a deeper depth did the trick).

I think the problem with the Milescraft product is twofold (at least). First, it uses two cam devices -- one at either end of the metal frame -- to adjust for different thickness doors, and I think there is a little bit of play in the cam devices. Second, you place the metal frame against the edge of the door to be mortissed and slide it laterally such that the cams butt up against the face of the door (either front or back), and to hold it in place, you either nail it using the pair of "pins" that are provided or, better yet, using some small wood screws (e.g., #4 or #6 by 1/2 or 3/4 inch) passing through a pair of holes in the metal frame. The problem is that with the play in the cams and the play between the edges of the holes and the pins/nails or screws you use to hold it in place, the mortisses do not necessarily come out perfectly aligned with the door, and that is part of what caused the interference between the door and the jamb. Additionally, if the insert that gets put into the frame to guide the router -- there are several available in the kit to make mortisses for a number of diffferent hinge length/corner radius combinations -- does not remain squarely inserted into the frame, the depth of the mortisse can vary from one mortisse to another, further throwing things "out of whack."

In contrast, the Ryobi product uses a screw-down clamp pad that extends along the length of the device and that bears against the face (front or back) of the door uniformly to secure the device in place. That makes it far, far easier and quicker to move the template from one mortisse to the next, and it keeps the device properly alinged (which the Milescraft cams/pins don't seem to do). Rather than inserts, it has a slide member at one end of the cutout to adjust for different length hinges, and to accommodate different corner radii, there are two little inserts that can be flipped around to yield either 1/4 or 5/8 inch radius cuts. Thus, there is no risk of depth variation from cut to cut due to template not staying flush with frame. Further still, it has a pair of "wells" formed in the side of the frame that you can use to set the router bit depth to make cuts for relatively thin hinges or relatively thick hinges, although the instructions leave a little to be desired in regard to how thick thin hinges are and how thick thick hinges are.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inexpensive Solution Works Well, June 25, 2010

By 

Just Another Shopper - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Milescraft 1214 Door Hinge Mortising Kit (Tools & Home Improvement)

This did the job quite well. I only need a product like this every couple of years and this worked out well for me. If you expect to use this frequently, I would look for a higher quality product.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very easy to use, September 17, 2009

By 

Marie Layne (Broken Arrow, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Milescraft 1214 Door Hinge Mortising Kit (Tools & Home Improvement)

I just lined up my new door with the old door, tapped in the holding nails, set the proper depth on my router and within seconds on each hinge, the door was done. Recommend it to anyone.