I needed this when I was replacing the hinges on my door. The trouble that I have with door hinges is that the placement of the hinge is critical to hanging the door properly. So naturally its the most difficult aspect. Is there someway to clamp the hinge in place even though the door is typically much too wide for a clamp? I suspose I could use tape to hold it in place until I had 2 screws in, but tape can mar the surface finish.
of course a pipe clamp is relatively inexpensive and you get one 20' long if you want. I don't use a clamp in that instance though. I hold the hinge in place and pilot a screw hole with a vix bit, then use the screws to hold it in place.
You can't just put the hinge in its mortice?
Sure I can, but what's to stop it from falling out when I let go? If it was a simple matter of setting it in the mortise and letting go I wouldn't have asked the question. Some mortises are tight enough to where that is possible, some aren't. Besides most door hinges are heavy enough to where simple gravity will pull them out unless the mortise is super tight. It's tough enough as it is, you're straddling a 30"+ door, trying to insert screws into a hinge plate that needs to be aligned perfectly and having to hold the hinge in place at the same time. It'd be nice to not have to hold on to the hinge while doing all that.
The blocks you put under the door of course.
Personally, I find it easier to install the hinges on the door, position it at about the right height on a block, position the hinge flap near the frame mortice, insert screw through hinge flap into pre-drilled holes and tighten. Pretty easy...
Alternately, take apart the hinges, install flaps on door and frame, slide knuckles back together, insert pins. That's pretty easy too.
6 Inch piece of masking tape, hanging the hinge off the front side of the door until you get 2 screws set? Then peel off the tape and put the rest of the screws in? As long as you don't rub it in to place or leave it there for hours, it won't hurt the finish.
Not rocket science, guys.
aem sends...
And that's really all I was looking for. Just a little confimation.
You are trying to hard. The mortise should locate the hinge place. The hard part is locating the mortise exactly. You hold the hinge plate in the mortise with one hand, put a pencil in each hole, and mark the hole. Make a dent in the center of each hole marking with a nail set, drill a hole (size based on the screw), hold the plate in position and screw in each screw. So the plate flops around you just screw each screw a little at a time until all are tight.
BTW, The hinge plates do not have to be located exactly. If they are not, you loosen screws on the door and on the frame, then put in the hinge pins and tighten the screws.
If you are hanging new doors on old frame you have to measure each exactly and fuss a little. If you have new frames and new doors, you should buy a tool for cutting mortises cutting with a router (two or three jigs fixed on a steel rod (no slop no mess, exact fit.).
Oh I have no doubt in my mind that I'm making it too hard. It took me a while to figure out that you can simply line the two doors up side by side and locate the mortices that way. It never occurred to me to do that. Now the notion of pre-drilling the holes was again something that slipped my mind. You're correct of course, its easier to pre-locate the holes before attempting to actually secure the hinge plate all the way. Part of the other problem that I was having was using a power drill to insert the screws - bad idea because you have less control over the initial direction the screw takes on the way in.
"Eigenvector" wrote in news:v7WdnaJCIb2TQLfYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
Maybe you are already aware but couple of tips.
Use a variable speed drill. Most decent ones are.
Use an ice pick or thin awl with a hammer to make a pilot hole deep enough so it can only go one way. As said, drilling a pilot hole works...if you can drill the hole straight:-)
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