Tool for door hinge "insets"?

[ET1742]

I am about to hang an interior bedroom door and want to "inset"(?) the hinges so they will be flush with the door and the door jam. I know I could just try to chisel out the spaces for the hinges. But is there some kind of tool or gadget out there that is made for this (other than a router)?

[marson]

a router is the way to go. however, even if you use a chisel, using a butt hinge marker (google this) will help. also, invest in a vix bit for drilling pilot holes for your screws.

[ET1742]

Thanks. I had never heard of a butt hinge marker or a vix bit. But I did the Google search and they both look good for what I want to do. I'll look for them at Lowes, Home Depot, ACE Hardware, etc. later today. I especially like the vix bit idea since no matter how many times I try to drill pilot holes for hinges, they never seem to end up being centered correctly. Thanks again.

[Nospam]

[Robert Green]

On This Old House I saw Tom Silva use a plastic clamp-on door hinge template for his router. IIRC, he said the big boxes sell them.

Google found this one:

I've not used them or the vendor, but it if Tom Silva uses something like them, that's all the endorsement I need. :-)

-- Bobby G.