How To Mortise Hinges By Hand for a Perfect Fit 

Perfect! This is exactly the tutorial I needed, exactly when I needed it!

Great demo! I learned a new trick with screwing the hinge down first. My dad was a carpenter and he shared a story I will always remember. During the 1940's he was building houses in Virginia and the test for any new hire was to have him hang a door from scratch. The result was a pretty reliable gauge of his abilities. One of the men my dad worked with was a bit of a tinkerer and he designed a specialized router plane for cleaning out hinge mortises. He gifted my Dad and his father one. He used that plane for decades until his tools were stolen out of his truck on a jobsite in the 70s. When his father passed, Dad got the one he had and he passed it to me.

even though i have done this lots of times i learnt some great new tips,thanks

Very neat result which once again shows that patience pays off with woodwork! And a clear, detailed explanation which leaves no doubt, as always. Thanks a million!

👍I spent 17 years in a doorshop, millions of hinges…you have a master’s touch, bro. A true professional is Thoughtful, attentive & accurate every step of the process. 🤔 And if you can’t do precise work with hand tools, please don’t touch the power tools! ✊☕️🎩🎩🎩

Brilliant!! what I like about you and your Chanel is that you really teach us how make the things simple, without trying to Show Up a fancy tools or even trying to sell the amazon link to the followers as the vast majority of RU-vid woodworking Chanels does, instead of that you sell your owns creations or plans, thank you to share! Gracias mi Amigo!!

It’s already been said, but I’m gonna say it again: Excellent Tutorial John. I find there is always a trick I didn’t know, or a solution to a common but reoccurring mistake (and when you highlight them, the solutions are SO simple that’s it palm-to-forehead time yet once again) such as NOT marking ALL the way to the corners, and using the silly screws as clamps! D’Oh! Sure, it’s obvious - now. Many thanks once again John.

well that was a trip down memory lane, in the early 80's my step father and I had to do a load of fire doors in a new nursing home just the way you showed here. thank you John, Happy Days

Great tutorial John, that will come in handy when I add a hinge on a future project. I was thinking a router plane would be helpful for this, but you showed it's not needed. I still want a router plane to fine tune tenons to fit a mortise, but I know you don't have one from watching all your videos and you get by just fine.

Thanks for the freshened constructive remake. You make a task look like an unfamiliar hand could actually achieve success. Helps me just suck the fear back and go for it. You’re easy talking reference to defining areas for caution really help emphasize that the scope of practice can turn ones fumbling into finesse, thus improving my elementary woodworking skills. Thanks for making such good videos and hanging in there with your own lightness of internet parlay. Just leave the poo at the door attitude works for me.

Excellent rundown. As someone who works primarily with handtools it's easy to forget that what were foundational, assumed skills early in my training can be mysterious and intimidating for people who work and were trained in different ways of working. Cam at Blacktail Studio had a video recently where he covered hand carving dovetail inlays for a table top and he gave a great piece of advice. It's not really difficult or complicated, and doesn't require special tools (cheap chisels cut fine), the hard part is that it requires the patience to take time and care with it. His answer to that was just to acknowledge and embrace that hand work takes the time it takes.

Nice video. Installed doors professionally for many years and that was good technique. Interestingly, like you pointed out, most commercial hinge packs came with the cardboard shims inside the packaging.

Gordon here , Thank you for the info on doing the setup on hinges & dead bolts. Also thank you for the reassurance on going too deep . You saved my bacon lol.

Always makes me smile to see you using the chisels I tend to use myself ! I don’t know who really makes them, because I have seen them with all sorts of names on them, but they are okay, and I’m comfortable with them, I have a lot of chisels and some a lot better but somehow those have been coming to work with me for about the last 15 years.

Thank you for an understandable and well done tutorial. I’m installing the lid hinges on a jewelry box that I made for my daughter. Never mortised a hinge before and I’ve been really nervous about doing it for the first time. Your tutorial has really helped!

A master's class in using a chisel for delicate work!

The workmanship is quite precise and very beautiful!

Doors were your trade for a while weren't they?....So....pro tips right there.

Great job brother hope your getting some much needed rest. Miss your videos

Your technique to screw down the hinge first then mark it is a great idea. I will definitely try it. Thanks.

The girl in the hinge ...I've seen her before .. yes now I remember... in the saw blade 🌞 Good video and thanks for re-releasing it

Fantastic tutorial, John! 😃 Thanks a lot for all the tips! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

I think I love the ‘Speaker City’ t-shirt more than the woodworking tutorial!

Funny seeing the jump back in time. I like the small bench on the short wall that is there now, in the future. More surfaces can be nice. Just have to clear them every few days.

So happy I found this . Thank you so much . Love from London 👋💕

I used to be a locksmith and the cardboard trick is so useful. You can actually put a strip in either the front or back to change the position of the door by about 1/8th of an inch.

Helpful video, re the cardboard. I keep a deck of cards in the shop, they're great for shims or spacers.

Nice John. Done thousands of these by hand and some by machine. Only thing I do differently is use an Olfa knife or a utility knife to trace around the hinge. Thinner blade. Easy to get the hinge thickness depth.

Very nice video. Thank you! Learned a lot.

I learn so much from you John! Thank you!!! Here's my tip too, I use playing cards as shims. They are precise, thin and cheap.😉

Hey John, What's up with the reflection on the hinge when you are first drilling the location hole? Some one you know?

Man that was satisfying to watch. Nice work John

John, I also notice that you turn your chisel certain ways for certain reasons. I'm only learning this now -- i.e. upside down to prevent it from digging in too deep. Great tutorial!! I love your work and tips. PLEASE keep it up. =)

My favorite story from the old days of Canada’s frontier is actually “The Shame of Ragged Mortise,” one of Robt Service’s more obscure poems.

Good to see you back John! :)

All Your tutorial are very interesting. I've learned some stuff from You- thanks.

This sure covers the bases. Good technique

Thank you for these occasional skills videos.

John: It is good you are back, enjoyed the video David

Excellent video John, very informative. I wish I saw this before making the mistakes you showed us how to avoid.

Thank you John!!! Great info!!!! 👍😎😃🤘

I like that bit, need to make one of those for sure:)

Great lesson. I have had to mount 4 doors in my life and knowing this technique back then would have reduced stress and made the job much easier. Of course the final result would have looked more professional too.

Excelentes enseñanzas! Gracias.

Have you made this video before? I just got major deja vu.

Sweet, I plan to do this over the weekend, good timing

Nice little tutorial & well done as usual John! 👍👍👏👏😉😉

This is excellent, thank you

Well presented. Thanks

Use marking guages for consistency when cutting in hinges by hand.

Thank you for sharing your expertise! I learned a lot!

You could use your marking gauge to mark the thickness of hinge

Glad to see you, it's been a while since you posted a video

Love the 'shame' comment ! Thanks John, learnt some great tips there.

Love your videos

Great tutorial!!!

Nice video John, I like you techniques very well done!

Beautiful execution !

Excellent! You’ve convinced me to buy a router.

Wish i had this a few years ago when i was recutting the shallow for a strike plate, it would look better, oh well, live and learn :D

Key to this is a very sharp chisel, don't try I with a dull one.

Very creative and useful, nice job my friend!

Thanks that was a great tip

5:14 yup, standard practice since forever, cardboard, shims, folded paper, some cotton, masking tape, whatever is on hand.

Happy New Year John. Good to see you back.

Great Job and I learned so much just watching this video alone. Thanks. As I new to this channel ... What is the story behind the ScarJo images?

Really awesome tutorial and great techniques.

Like these mid-week videos

Very informative;! You are a great instructor, I like the way you teach, I keep having to raise and lower the strike plate, do to weather temperatures . I wish they made a bigger strike plate, maybe I can make my own! Thanks for the lesson!- / video!

Instead of cardboard, I make shims out of aluminum when shimming a hinge. Aluminum cans make a great source for aluminum for this purpose.

I'm embarrassed to admit I was 8 minutes into this before realizing something looked off about the background. 👍👍

excellent! thank you!

Great video

Good info on the hinge install, ok, now lets talk about the female image on the hinge when drilling the center hole.

Great video John if I may also suggest you can take a peace of tape on the flat side of your chisel to mark the depth of the hinge plate that way your not guessing how deep to go. you can also scribe a line on a dedicated chisel and use a Marks alot to high light it.

2:17 run pencil over edge of hinge and then holding something flat off the edge, rub it it will give a good depth gauge.

Very nice. Thanks

I enjoy your videos John 👍🏻👍🏻

Master class!

Thank you!!

On overcuts, I think it's much better to fill with glue and sawdust using the hinge itself to set the depth. Cardboard over time will compress and allow the hinge to loosen.

So this was a super helpful video but I just gotta ask. WHERE DID THE FACE COME FROM ON THE HINGE

John, the "much more than audio" guy!

I think with the ball catch I would have drilled out the big hole in the middle first. Incase it was a bit off you reference the screws off of that

Learned A Lot... Thank You!!!

Great tips! (Did no-one else see the face?!?)

Nice shirt John 😉

Awesome tutorial!

What did you do to yourself??you look so Young!Cheers from Toronto!!!Do send the recipe!!

Face reflection on the hinge at 0:40? 🧐

Ok, this was great. You did professional door installation if I'm not mistaken. I like how you do your layouts and essentially premounting the hinge to ensure a perfect fit. How do you ensure they're aligned and leveled? (Or is that not a thing for doors like these?) Is this a situation where cutting it by hand it far quicker and cleaner than trying to use a router?

Good content.

Good info sir! Love the videos

NO, NO carpentry is done with a chain saw? John was off of his coffee when he did the video i am sure he does it with a chain saw as the rest of them wanna-be door professional people did the same way the doors would not open? john awesome video i am now wondering if the samurai carpenter know what be doing to wish the the Matias Wandel channel does more the one video a year

Thank you!

Nice job John! I always slip and cut the slight edges around the part I’m cutting out. Argggg. didnt you make a “Chisel and Plane blade” sharpening video a few years back? Is it still the way you do it and if not, might you consider a new sharpening video? Hope all is well with you up there!

Someone who admits, being able to hide a mistake is okay. Be careful, taking responsibility is frowned upon, lol. Good job John.

How do decide which way the bevel on your chisel should be Pointed when removing material?

Awsome I struggle with this

Nice technique 👍