Favorite hinge mortising jig?

[Tom Bain]

The only one I’ve ever used is the Porter Cable Butt Hinge Jig, and it worked great. But, it’s pricey if you are only doing 7-8 doors. You could probably re-sell it on EBay and make at least 50% of your cost back.

[Bill McNiel]

The Bosch jig is the way to go, IMO. Setting up a wood jig for different height doors , for different hinge sizes that I run into would not be viable.

That Bosch jig looks very similar (identical?) to the old Stanley and Milwaukee jigs I used for many years, and still have one of each and the Bullet Head router. Great jigs and fully adjustable.

FWIW - hanging doors was one of many ways I earned a living while attending school (I also cut stair stringers and roofs).

[Larry Edgerton]

Whatever jig you end up with, the longest part of the process is waiting for the router to wind down, before lifting it out. If you don't do that, odds are high that the jig will end up with a bite out of it.

Sad to say, but that is a lesson I have learned more than once.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

$100 for a templaco makes them all fit perfectly
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[Paul F Franklin]

I used the milescraft jig for 6 doors. It works fine but as you mentioned, has to be positioned for each hinge. No big deal, but calls for careful marking and takes a few extra minutes. If I was going to be doing a lot more doors down the road, I probably would go with the Bosch. If you are fitting the doors to existing jambs with hinge mortises already in them, then the milescraft will let you match them perfectly even if there is some variation from door to door. If the existing jambs are all perfectly identical, then I'd probably make a jig out of 1/4 mdf so I could route all three hinges with one setup.....

If you have to route for the strike as well, the milescraft set I bought handles that as well....