123 – A Butt Hinge Mortise

Video - July 16, 2010

While building my 6-panel cabinet recently (pictured left), I decided to capture the process of mortising for a butt hinge. With a router, a small straight bit, a chisel, and some careful layout, you’ll find mortising for hinges to be fun and easy.

These simple tips will make the process much easier:
– Create some sort of story stick for repeatability.
– Use a marking gauge and knife to scribe the hinge locations for ultimate accuracy.
– Use a router remove the bulk of the material at a consistent depth.
– Use a sharp chisel to fine-tune the fit.

Discussion

Billiam July 16, 2010 1:53 pm

Heheh…butt.

Reply
Paul Sebastian – Mesa AZ July 16, 2010 1:53 pm

As always. Great Stuff!

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Trevor July 16, 2010 4:22 pm

Hey Marc I enjoyed the vid as always butt (tee hee) for me I still prefer making a little jig on my circular saw to the hinge size & using a bearing guided template bit in my router clean out the corners with a chisel as you did.. I guess it all hinges on your personal taste
have a good weekend
cheers
Trevor

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 16, 2010 4:41 pm
  
  HANG on. You SWING in here and try to SWAY my opinion? LEAF me alone!
  
  hahal Ok that’s the best I could come up with on short notice, :). I’m not much of a creative poet.
  
  Reply
  - Trevor July 16, 2010 4:47 pm
    
    Nice one I’ll “pin” it on my wall or perhaps keep it in my pocket….. maybe I could ask for a “rebate”…..enough already I give in Mr Spagnuolo you are the master.
    signed
    Grasshopper
    see ya!
    
    Reply
- Sarit July 17, 2010 1:53 am
  
  I was wondering about the effectiveness of making a jig myself. Does each hinge vary enough that you would need to mark each one individually? I could see how 4 hinges equals 8 mortises to cut and a jig would certainly come in handy for that.
  I’ve only installed concealed hinges myself so I really don’t know which way is best.
  
  Reply
  - thewoodwhisperer July 17, 2010 6:43 am
    
    Nothing wrong with making a jig. Certainly less room for error. But in the time it takes me to make the jig, I would have the mortises cut already. As for variation, there are times when the hinges vary. That’s why I have become partial to fitting each one individually. I’ll admit to being pretty darn picky about it though.
    
    Reply
Dan July 16, 2010 6:28 pm

What brand of hinges are those?

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 16, 2010 6:56 pm
  
  They are made by Rocky Mountain Hardware: http://www.rockymountainhardware.com/
  
  Reply
  - Vic July 17, 2010 7:04 am
    
    That’s what I wanted to know, too. Also, is it wrong to be bugged that none of the screw’s slots are in alignment?…:o)
    My OCD showing.
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer July 17, 2010 7:07 am
      
      No it bugs me too. But what bugs me more is stripped out screws. :)
    - Frank Kovach July 20, 2010 3:52 pm
      
      I didn’t want to say anything, butt…
Thomas Spoo July 16, 2010 8:05 pm

Marc,

Nice video excellent work.

may I coment on some saftey matters, bieng the mentor that you are to so many and in your work you show that you are wearing a ring. that has cost many thier finger.
Thank you and keep up what you do

Thomas Spoo

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 16, 2010 8:29 pm
  
  Hey Thomas. The ring issue has come up before and I honestly have no good rebuttal. Its a personal choice to wear one despite whatever risks might be present. I appreciate you bringing it up though so that others can make an informed choice for themselves.
  
  Reply
- Brian July 17, 2010 4:22 am
  
  I had my ring custom made and it has a “weak spot” in it so that if anything happens the ring will break before the finger.
  
  Reply
Simon Arthrell July 17, 2010 1:50 am

Hey Mark, fit the fence to your colt router and set it so that it cuts the correct distance in from the edge of the board. This has two advantages, firstly it stops you making a mistake and crossing the long grain line, secondly it means you don’t have to chop along the grain which is harder to get right than across the grain.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 17, 2010 6:40 am
  
  haha, you’re assuming I actually know where that fence is. :)
  
  Reply
Trevor July 17, 2010 10:51 am

Hey Marc I don’t want to get too controversial here but I think it’s a bit unfair to reprimand you for setting a bad example with the ring. I agree safety in the shop is paramount but there aren’t many activities that could snag a ring other than on the lathe or drill press most other power tools would remove a finger with or without a ring in a heartbeat if you got that close. I speak from experience having lost the middle 2 on my right hand to a circular sawwhen my back gave way & I pushed my hand through the blade & no guard on earth would have prevented that,apart from a sawstop. Just use your loaf guys

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 17, 2010 5:41 pm
  
  Yeah I do get crap once in a while for the ring. My line of thinking is very similar to yours. But I have to be careful about expressing that here on the site. Ultimately, no one can argue that it is probably “safer” to take the ring off. So even if the risks are very small, the ONLY recommendation I can make to people, if I make one at all, is to take the rings off. But this is probably the ONLY time you’ll see me take the “do as I say, not as I do” route.
  
  Reply
  - Claude Stewart July 19, 2010 9:21 am
    
    Ok Marc Here my crap for ya. Ever lose a wedding ring because you took it off to put on hand cream at work and left it. Believe me you don’t want to go down that road.
    
    Reply
    - Frank Kovach July 20, 2010 4:00 pm
      
      I lost my wedding ring recently because I took it off and placed it in the center console on a car trip to join my wife and my in laws. I am pretty sure that I accidentally knocked it off and into the trash bag I had hooked onto the gear shifter right there, then threw the trash bag away at a rest area. So, when I get it replaced I will not be taking it off except when absolutely necessary. That’s my second one. Ring, that is. I’m with the “common sense” crowd here. I don’t think that in this particular video the ring posed any danger, unless maybe you were trying to demonstrate how to safely remove a router bit while the router was running with your left hand. Butt seriously, Marc, does this method pretty much take the guesswork out of perfectly aligning inset doors? I’ve only installed euro style cup hinges, and even though I had a jig and they were adjustable they weren’t as easy as I had originally thought. I’m wondering if by using this method and just being careful the inset doors just come out okay. It’s not like you can adjust them anyway, so maybe this is a stupid question.
    - thewoodwhisperer July 20, 2010 9:06 pm
      
      This does take the guess work out….at least for me it does. Once these mortises are in place, I will position a door in the opening, using shims to wedge it in place and lock its position down. Then I simply transfer the hinge locations to the door. If you have center marks to work off of you can just transfer those marks with pencil. For this project though, I used an x-acto knife to transfer the start and stop points of each hinge mortise. Allows for very precise locating.
mike haines July 17, 2010 12:30 pm

Hi marc
Cool video, you make it look so easy. I have tried it myself and it never fails that the fit is just a little off. More practice, I guess

Reply
Thomas Spoo July 17, 2010 1:23 pm

Hey Marc I don,t mean to beat anybody up I,m just a safty nut seen to much damage to one that disreguardS safty including myself. I wear many scares because of it. always think twice before you do anything and you will always thank yourself later.

THOMAS

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 17, 2010 5:38 pm
  
  Hey no sweat my friend. You’ll hear no complaints from me about a safety reminder. My personal feelings about rings fall in line with what Trevor says above. But I don’t feel comfortable expressing that opinion myself, no matter how small the risk may or may not be. Ultimately, when it comes to guiding my viewers, safer is always better. So I do appreciate you chiming in and don’t hesitate to do it again in the future.
  
  Reply
John Myers July 17, 2010 5:44 pm

Hey Marc………another great video…..thanks again!!

Reply
Mark July 19, 2010 5:46 am

Another great informative video!

When doing this I have to say I prefer a jig though. I’m extremely OCD and am never happy with consistency unless I use a jig. Given I may have to make a new jig for each hinge, but I usually have enough scrap wood for that.

Reply
medfloat July 19, 2010 7:27 am

Marc, don’t let the ring thing sweat ya. There are many of us out here that disregard minor safety issues by choice. Be it a tabel saw without the guard (not really so minor), leaving cuttoffs on the floor by a work area or an extension cord across the floor we all have committed some safety error in one fashion or another. If the woodworker chooses to commit the safety error then they have done so (hopefully) consciously and are paying attention to what they are doing. Anyway, good video and nice correction at the end.

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tom hunt July 19, 2010 10:04 am

Marc, I really think you should get a pass on the ring thing considering the super job you do to raise awareness with “safety week”.

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DC July 23, 2010 5:42 pm

What about using just the chisel instead of the chisel/router combo? would you be able to get better results albeit much more time consuming?? I really have never tried making a butt hinge mortise, but it seems like that might give you more control over the results…

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 23, 2010 8:09 pm
  
  You can certainly use a chisel for the entire operation. But I don’t think the chisel would be any more accurate than a properly set router. The router offers both speed and consistency.
  
  Reply
nateswoodworks July 31, 2010 8:28 pm

Good video, but the best part is the fact that I am not the only one that laughs everytime I say butt hinge, you would think that after the almost 15 years that I have been doing woodworking I would mature! Automotive wiring is even worse, butt-splice, now that’s just wrong.
Nate

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Dan November 28, 2010 2:23 pm

This is a great video. I have one follow up question. How do you handle hinges with ball tips? The balls seem to be in the way of inserting the hinge to the recommended depth. Do you have to make a cut out for the ball?

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- thewoodwhisperer November 28, 2010 7:49 pm
  
  If you have a ball at either end of the barrel, you simply need to make sure the barrel stay outside the frame. You shouldn’t have to make any special allowances for the ball.
  
  Reply
Chris March 6, 2011 12:49 pm

I’m just starting out and with any kind of cabinet making and your videos are amazing! I have been learning so much from each one. Great work!!

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Kevin June 19, 2011 7:40 pm

Hi Marc! I wonder if you can remember where you got the marking gauge used in the beginning of the clip? Thanks- and thanks for the videos.

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- thewoodwhisperer June 20, 2011 6:58 am
  
  Hey Kevin. That marking gauge was made by Tommy McDonald’s old Major Leage Tools company. I don’t think they make products anymore. But you can find similar gauges easily enough. Like this one from LV: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wo.....2936,42948
  
  Reply
Lenny April 5, 2012 7:02 pm

REALLY ENJOY YOUR VIDEO’S
I INSTALL WOOD DOORS AT MY PLACE OF WORK.
I USE A SHARP UTILITY KNIFE OR X-ACTO TO THE THICKNESS OF THE HINGE AND THEN A ROUTER CLOSE TO THE LINE WHICH REMOVES MATERIAL VERY CLEANLY, LITTLE CHISEL WORK. THANKS FOR YOUR VIDEO. LENNY

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John C. December 9, 2012 8:24 am

Marc. Thanks for the video. I’m using it to practice a few times before trying my fist actual install. I have a question though. If I measure and install from the center of the barrel, and then use a router to set the depth of the mortise, the front of my hinge is level with the case surface, but is raised as it moves closer to the barrel.

So should I cut a deeper mortise to account for this? If yes, how to I know how deep to go?

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- thewoodwhisperer December 9, 2012 9:26 am
  
  It’s hard for me to say without inspecting the hinge itself. You don’t want to go deeper without knowing for sure what the final result will be. Hinges can be tricky that way. Best thing to do is try it on scrap and make sure your door will close completely.
  
  Reply
Marg April 12, 2014 11:06 am

Hi,

I’m finishing up a kit cabinet that was started by someone else.

The kit came with surface mount shiny brass H hinges which I hate with a burning passion so I want to use butt hinges.

The door of the cabinet has a half round bead running all around it so I would really like it if I could mortise the hinges double depth into the door and flush mount onto the case so that the barrels line up with the bead.

Is this crazy and unworkable or can I get away with it?

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Tim June 5, 2015 12:52 am

Hi Marc,

Thanks for this video. I’ve been using your website for a good while now to teach me new things and I’ve developed a lot of respect for your work and your teaching. I’ve never commented here before, but I made the mortise for a lock striker plate last night by the method you show here. It’s in a gate made from old mahogany I have reclaimed from some old sliding garage doors, so I practiced first in an off-cut. I’ve always used a hammer and chisel before, but I’ve never really been satisfied with the results and I’ve never enjoyed the job. Last night, I made two pretty perfect mortises, one for practice and one for real, and it was a proper thrill to make them so good, so easily. I’ll never set a hinge any other way. GREAT result for me, so thanks a million. I have a new skill, now.

Cheers!

Reply
Miel (Milly) Vasulka December 28, 2020 11:12 pm

I have a question for you Wood Whisperer? My cabinet doors are really nice (I stained and varnished them myself) but the cabinets are old and the hinges that are already there are not in the same spots throughout. I don’t want to drill a whole bunch of new holes in the cabinets as I’ve already painted them and I am not sure I am skilled enough or have the tools to imbed the hinges. I guess I could try but it would take me for ever. I do have a young man coming to help me with the final installation tomorrow but I don’t think he hasn’t done this before. I gave him $400 for helping me. You know, I’ve given up on being perfect 20 years ago but I do like for things to look OK. Would it be alright just to sit the hinges on the surface?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo December 29, 2020 11:11 am
  
  As long as they are the correct, hinges, yes. Some hinges are meant to be recessed into mortises and some are meant to be attached on the surface.
  
  Reply

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123 – A Butt Hinge Mortise

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