Thread: Hinge Route for Interior Doors

Silent C and Jarrah,

…My main quibble with templates is that you have to be quite accurate when you cut them out and for enclosed shapes, they can be a bit fiddly and time consuming if you don't have the right tools…

…A jig for this would surely be alot simpler to knock up….

I used to think that templates were labour intensive but after constructing my share I have changed my mind. The simplest template comprises a few straight pieces of 6mm MDF attached to the job with double-sided tape. If you are wasting the material to full depth inside the template follow the profile with a pattern bit. If you are removing the material to part depth such as a mortice use a template guide and the router depth mechanism, or use a pattern bit and a thicker template. Your template needs to be re-sized to accommodate the difference between the diameters of the template guide and the cutter.

More complex templates involve specific shapes such as curved profiles on table edges, arched rails on panel doors or perhaps a hand cut-out at each end of a food tray. In this case templates spawn templates and the final product may then have clamps or screw holes included in the design to attach it to a workpiece.

To make complex templates sketch the pattern on 6 - 12mm MDF and cut it with a tenon or jigsaw (I use a bandsaw because it is more convenient or a jigsaw for inside cuts). Cut slightly outside the line and sand back to the line achieving a smooth edge. A disc and/or stroke sander would help but I get by with the ‘multi-tool’ on my grinder.

Sooner or later you will nick the edge of your template with a cutter and need to make a new template. For complex patterns I use the original template to make a second (or working) template and store the first as a master copy.

For curved shapes requiring symmetry simply cut half the shape, clean it up, layout on another piece of MDF flipping the half shape to complete the picture.

Ploughing a router bit through hardwood can stress the cutter and the machine. For heavy work waste as much of the job as possible with a jigsaw and clean-up with the router.

From a safety viewpoint templates contain the travel of the router bit to within the profile, provide a large work-surface for the router to travel on and in some instances are safer than using the table. Make sure the work-piece and the template are securely clamped to the bench.

For a good read on the topic try ‘Fast, Easy & Accurate Router Jigs’ by Pat Warner ISBN 1-55870-486-8