What is the best jig for passage door latch / knob boring.

[Drew Sanderson]

In your experience, what is the best jig for passage door latch / knob boring.

[Rick Gooden]

I use a Kwikset 138 and have been happy with it. It runs over $200 so if your only going to do a couple of doors you might want to look at something else.

[Larry Edgerton]

Can't remember the name I have had it so long, but I have a nice kit made in California that has served me for 15 years or so, comes in an orange case. I see they are still available. I am not at the shop, so I can't go look just now.

Sorry, not rellay much help......

Larry

[Peter Quinn]

For a couple of doors, or a couple at a time, the dewalt jig for around $35 will get the job done if you are careful. The cheaper jigs are pretty much useless IMO. They certainly make better jigs, I think PC makes a nice one, or they did, but that runs over $200. For strike plates I make my own from MDF for about $.025 that works a well as anything. This is not really a complicated thing. For the jamb side i find it quicker just to screw the strike plate to the jamb backwards, scribe a line around this with a razor, freehand this close to the line with a hinge mortising pattern bit, and finish it with a sharp chisel.

[Russell Sansom]

I have the Porter Cable and would recommend it highly. Naturally, it depends on what your time's worth. I've been restoring victorians in San Francisco and the doors are what mostly needs routine work on these 1902 buildings. It's a great comfort to be able to plug up the mortise of an old mortise lock. let the glue dry for 3-4 hours, then install the modern round lockset using this jig. Once you get into this price range I'd guess all the better jigs are about the same.
I used a $20 jig for 6 or 8 doors, but it required so much supervision and "hand woodworker engineering," it basically wasn't worth the trouble. The PC arrangement, on the other hand, will hold the boring jig firmly in place during drilling and will EASILY let you drill from the other side to meet the original hole. These aren't so hard to do by hand, but the real prize is the jig for the strike itself. That hole really needs to be square and exactly halfway between the inside and the outside of the drill and the jig does a fine job on that.
I haven't regretted the expensive jig one bit. It lets me be confident and fluent in dealing with any door. The annoyances and incompleteness of the cheaper jigs certainly wasn't worth it for me.

[Larry Edgerton]

http://scienceray.com/technology/eng...oring-jig-kit/

Ok, here is my jig. I build some very expensive doors that are extra thick, and this seemed to me to be the best. I have not been disappointed other than one bit did not seem to be hardened. The company sent me a new one no questions asked, next day air, and no charge. Not the cheapest, but then neither am I.

Larry

[Brad Shipton]

I believe the drilling kit Larry is referring to is the one from Templaco. They do make nice templates and that kit is extremely well built. The templates are reasonable if you are making a few, but the boring set price will make you think twice. They do rent the boring jibs from what I recall, but that is not too handy if you are not on the West Coast.

Brad