Right you are, and I did. I've never seen a
mortise lock in a newer home. But, it sounded
like the OP simply meant a standard lock with a
plate around the plunger mortised into edge of the
door. On rereading it, he probably did mean a
true mortise lock. He ought to have someone else
do it for him if he isn't skilled with hand tools
and be prepared to pay a lot.

DanG wrote:
You, sir, need to find out what a mortise lock is.

Here is a definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortise_lock

Here is an example:
http://www.sargentlock.com/products/...duct_group.php

______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"George E. Cawthon" wrote in
message
...
blueman wrote:
Robert Allison writes:
blueman wrote:
I need to mortise out a door to accept a Baldwin mortise
lock.
I know that the tolerances are really tight (with errors
being pretty
disasterous) and that locksmiths typically use a router with
a fancy
mortising jig.
However, I have not been able to find the jig in the local
tool
rental
shops, so I was wondering whether there are any reliable
alternative
approaches or sources for a good jig?
Thanks
What is really tight is the mortise for the plate that the
plunger
passes thru (the one that you see when you have installed the
mortise
lock). For the interior, it is not that critical. You can do
it with
a drill and a good chisel.

First lay out the two areas to be mortised. There will be one
for the
plate and one for the lock (a rectangle within a rectangle).
Select
the proper size drill bit and drill a series of holes within
the
layout marks for the lock. Use the chisel to clean out the
rest.
Then, use the chisel to mortise for the plate.

You should drill the handle holes after doing this, and from
both
sides, rather than straight through the whole door.

My concern is that I need to keep the drilling & chiselling
"plumb" or
otherwise I will "poke" through the door. My understanding is
that
there is not much wood left standing between the mortise hole
and the
door faces.

I guess I could always just be careful, but this is not a
mistake you
want to make (and maybe I should just dig into my pockets and
get a
locksmith to come out to my house...)
I'm not sure what the Baldwin lock is, but normally any lock has
a big hole in the side of the door (key part) and a small hole
in the edge (plunger part). Some also require the edge around
the small hole to be chiseled for a plate.

If it is a normal lock then both Lowe's and HD carry a jig plus
hole drills for locating and drilling the holes accurately
(about $12 for a wood door and a bit more for a steel door).
Chiseling for the flat plate (plunger end) is usually done
freehand.

The jig is nailed or screwed to the edge of the door and the
nail/screw holes are filled after use.