Mortising doors for mortise locks...

I need to mortise out a door to accept a Baldwin mortise lock. I know that the tolerances are really tight (with errors being pretty disasterous) and that locksmiths typically use a router with a fancy mortising jig.

However, I have not been able to find the jig in the local tool rental shops, so I was wondering whether there are any reliable alternative approaches or sources for a good jig?

Thanks

Reply to
blueman
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What is really tight is the mortise for the plate that the plunger passes thru (the one that you see when you have installed the mortise lock). For the interior, it is not that critical. You can do it with a drill and a good chisel.

First lay out the two areas to be mortised. There will be one for the plate and one for the lock (a rectangle within a rectangle). Select the proper size drill bit and drill a series of holes within the layout marks for the lock. Use the chisel to clean out the rest. Then, use the chisel to mortise for the plate.

You should drill the handle holes after doing this, and from both sides, rather than straight through the whole door.

Reply to
Robert Allison

My concern is that I need to keep the drilling & chiselling "plumb" or otherwise I will "poke" through the door. My understanding is that there is not much wood left standing between the mortise hole and the door faces.

I guess I could always just be careful, but this is not a mistake you want to make (and maybe I should just dig into my pockets and get a locksmith to come out to my house...)

Reply to
blueman

Yes, but I think that you are overestimating the difficulty. If you place the door on the ground and brace it to hold it still, it is not hard to do. I have often done this with the doors still hanging in the frame. I have never had a problem with either the drill or the chisels coming out the face of the door.

Try it with a 2x4 or 2x6 and you will see that it is not that difficult.

Reply to
Robert Allison

I'm not sure what the Baldwin lock is, but normally any lock has a big hole in the side of the door (key part) and a small hole in the edge (plunger part). Some also require the edge around the small hole to be chiseled for a plate.

If it is a normal lock then both Lowe's and HD carry a jig plus hole drills for locating and drilling the holes accurately (about $12 for a wood door and a bit more for a steel door). Chiseling for the flat plate (plunger end) is usually done freehand.

The jig is nailed or screwed to the edge of the door and the nail/screw holes are filled after use.

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Drill through a hardwood block and use it as a guide when drilling into the door. Handheld doweling jigs also make great drill guides if you don't have a drill press or other accurate way to make the guide block.

Reply to
B A R R Y

I've always just done them by hand with a chisel and then drill out the hole for the bolt. If you're bent on using a router (which makes sense if you've got a bunch to do), there are templates available but you can easily make one with a small piece of ply. Just cut the template taking into account the bearing on your router and voila! you've got a template. Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Practice on some scrap pieces of wood until you get good at it. Then do the door.

Reply to
scott21230

You, sir, need to find out what a mortise lock is.

Here is a definition:

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Here is an example:
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the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

"George E. Cawth>> Robert Allis>>>> I need to mortise out a door to accept a Baldwin mortise

Reply to
DanG

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Fast work for one of these.

I own one, but for only one door, I usually do it with bits and chisels. The fit for the mortise box and scalp plate on the door edge do call for a router template whether one or many.

Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message news:XrdZg.78315$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

Reply to
DanG

Yes I did mean a true mortise lock and our home is by no means new (at least by U.S. standards) since parts of it were built back in the

1700's and the rest in 1870.

Even so, true mortise locks, like the Baldwin Estate series, are used commonly today in many high end homes.

Personally, I love the solid feel of the hardware and the ability to have both a standard plunger and a dead bolt in the same mechanism.

Still debating though whether to do it myself or pay the several hundred dollars the local locksmith wants for the installation (plus his marckup on the lock itself).

Reply to
blueman

Yeah -- that's the exact tool I would love to rent. But for $979 can't really justify for one door...

Reply to
blueman

Well that's what I get for assuming, but I would have assume correctly about 95 percent of the time. And the date of your house explains it. Don't know about a high end house. High end here currently means $500,000 and above, but in CA my low end house would be above $500,000.

In the west a house built before 1850 is old, old, but then only a few trappers were around before

1850 in many places. You ought to see a one of the first houses in Boise -- log cabin about 10 feet by 15 feet. Not exactly high end. Kind of high end with all the money the spent on preserving the wreck.

blueman wrote:

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Yes there is but you need patience.

I had a chinese mortise lock set my friends got in China of all places. First of course you will need to router your outer flange area that will ho ld the mortise lock in place. Next, I was able to go to Home Depot and buy a 5/8" dia hole drill bit for my drill. I installed the bit on my drill with the shaft at it's "utmost ex tended portion" of the shaft. (I used a drill with a hand tightened chuck). Usually the lock set has a pattern so I marked were my lock set was going to be using this pattern. You have to make sure your drill is at a 90 degre e angel at all times while drilling the gap out. I had to use about 7 holes befroe I was done. Next, I got a very sharp wood chisel and a hammer and cleaned up the edges going deep into the wood. Get a vacuum cleaner to clean out the hole from t ime to time so you can see what you are doing. It may be rugged but if you are careful you will get the mortise hardware i n the gap easily. Next using your stencil pattern mark your holes, drill the holes then insta ll the lock. Taa Daa! Mine turned out pretty god.

Reply to
talljames007

2006 is what, seven years ago? Wonder if the guy ever got a lock on his door?
Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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