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I am replaceing all the doors in my house abut 35 of them and I need to cut door knob holes. What is the best jig to do this that isn't to high of a price? I used a plastich one from HD a while back and it was ok got the job done but doing a bunch I think I want something a little better.
Most of the jigs are made from plastic, but some look better than others. I had one from Home Depot that worked OK, but the plastic eventially broke. See the Dewalt jig in the link.
http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-D180004...ref=pd_cp_hi_0
I use this one
http://www.coastaltool.com/a/port/511.htm
The dewalt works ok as long as you are careful to get the lock cylinder hole centered on the edge of the stile. Its easy to get a little bit off and have the latch plate not want to sit in the center of the door anymore. Then you can see the uneven reveals on each side of it, though the lock set still works typically.
The irwin they sell at the borg is junk, for greater accuracy you are better off drilling freehand with a beaver tooth after seven shots of jack daniels while standing on your head than using that thing. The porter cable is fantastic though rather expensive. If I installed lock sets for a living I'd own the PC. You could make a pretty good jig to simulate the commercial ones with some accurate layout and some press bushings from the hardware store. Add a few good forschner bits and its a go. That might be a good option if you are installing all the same thickness of doors.
Now. I have one of the better jigs but if you don't want to spend the $ just take a thick block of the hardest wood you have and make a L piece and drill holes squarely on the drillpress so all you have to do is to clamp it on the door and drill away. I would make the jig a little bigger so you can have one set of holes for each combination of backset and door thickness.
Also two drills will speed things up a little. If the height is the same on all doors you can also extend the jig to hook the top of the door so no measuring is needed.
Chad
35 doors? Is this house like 10,000 SQ feet?
I have a Kwikset kit purchased at the orange borg for around $100 maybe 15 years ago. It is all metal, fairly heavy and works fine for boring the lock and latch bolt holes. The kit includes chisels to outline the strike plate and latch bolt mortises but they aren't very good and only fit Kwikset locksets. Overall, this kit has been worth it IMO but not for a full-time door hanger.
Ok, since someone has to be the neo-luddite smart aleck, I'll go ahead and do it....
Why use a jig at all? Door knobs are trivial to install with a hole saw, speed bore, combo square, pencil, and chisel. You can make rounded plate mortises with a laminate trimmer and a jig if you have to, but I just use a carving chisel to do the corners. And yes, I hate those rounded corners! :D
I'm not entirely serious of course, get a jig if that's where your comfort zone is, but I do them as described so I thought I'd throw it out there.
my house has 25-30 doors and is only 3500 square feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zach England
that was before people were duped into the "open floorplan" gimmick pushed by cheapo builders to save money on....you know....doors.
and drywall is not trim.
and carpet is not a floor.
i could go on and on ;).
Might want to take a look at this new jig:
http://ryobitools.com/catalog/access...rview/doorlock
Benoit
Take a piece of hardboard and make a pattern. What could be easier, and cheaper.
30 doors 4k sq ft.
Yea I use to live in one of thoes houses wher ith had about 9 doors and 2500 sq ft. It is nice to have big closets in rooms now. Of course they use 2 doors ea. but thoes I don't have to drill.