Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

This one at an hundred quid is 70 cheaper than the Trend one but the
apertures for the hinges seems fixed:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...=null&ts=07858

This one looks totally unadjustable:
http://www.tooled-up.com/ZoomPicture...MG=TB27688.jpg

And while I am on the subject of door jigs:
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/hjig/

Anyone know why a simple ally extrusion with what must take seconds for
a machine to rout out the appropriate holes and minutes for unskilled
assemblers to stick together the assorted blocks inside, should cost
more than a 110V router?

And a degree of price fixing going on here too.

BTW I am getting myself one this week, so if any lurker wishes me to
knock out a simple jig from it to do the same thing -minus all the
bells and whistles, just e-mail me with the hinge sizes, rebate depths
and the positions he wants the hinges set at.

Weatherlawyer wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

Must admit that I have only ever seen one in real life. The guy that
bought it said that he got on with it alright, I think that it was the
screwfix one. Often wondered how you clamp them to the door. My Freud
router spinning at 20000 rpm could do some real damage if it came
adrift 3 foot up in the air!
Legin

"Weatherlawyer" wrote in message
ups.com...
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

This one at an hundred quid is 70 cheaper than the Trend one but the
apertures for the hinges seems fixed:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...=null&ts=07858

This one looks totally unadjustable:
http://www.tooled-up.com/ZoomPicture...MG=TB27688.jpg

And while I am on the subject of door jigs:
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/hjig/

Anyone know why a simple ally extrusion with what must take seconds for
a machine to rout out the appropriate holes and minutes for unskilled
assemblers to stick together the assorted blocks inside, should cost
more than a 110V router?

And a degree of price fixing going on here too.

BTW I am getting myself one this week, so if any lurker wishes me to
knock out a simple jig from it to do the same thing -minus all the
bells and whistles, just e-mail me with the hinge sizes, rebate depths
and the positions he wants the hinges set at.


A couple of bits of MDF spring to mind.

Weatherlawyer wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

This one at an hundred quid is 70 cheaper than the Trend one but the
apertures for the hinges seems fixed:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...=null&ts=07858

This one looks totally unadjustable:
http://www.tooled-up.com/ZoomPicture...MG=TB27688.jpg

And while I am on the subject of door jigs:
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/hjig/

Anyone know why a simple ally extrusion with what must take seconds for
a machine to rout out the appropriate holes and minutes for unskilled
assemblers to stick together the assorted blocks inside, should cost
more than a 110V router?

And a degree of price fixing going on here too.

BTW I am getting myself one this week, so if any lurker wishes me to
knock out a simple jig from it to do the same thing -minus all the
bells and whistles, just e-mail me with the hinge sizes, rebate depths
and the positions he wants the hinges set at.

I'll say it before anyone else does !

I take it as obvious that you have a need for this rather than buying
one for the sake of doing so rather than cutting the rebates out by
hand. I built two doors recently and it didn't take that much time to
prepare the rebates. I'm always concerned with jigs that I have them
set correctly which then requires a test run on a piece of scrap - so
that takes time.

Two questions come to mind - do these jigs angle the rebate bed back
properly and can they be used to prepare the rebate on the door frame ?
The angled bed may not be necessary, but it's how I was taught to do
it - OTOH handling a heavy router at head height on a vertical face in
a jig does not appeal at all.

Rob

The message k
from "dennis@home" contains these words:

A couple of bits of MDF spring to mind.

There's even a Norm Abram about it somewhere.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Weatherlawyer wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

This one at an hundred quid is 70 cheaper than the Trend one but the
apertures for the hinges seems fixed:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...=null&ts=07858

This one looks totally unadjustable:
http://www.tooled-up.com/ZoomPicture...MG=TB27688.jpg

And while I am on the subject of door jigs:
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/hjig/

Anyone know why a simple ally extrusion with what must take seconds for
a machine to rout out the appropriate holes and minutes for unskilled
assemblers to stick together the assorted blocks inside, should cost
more than a 110V router?

And a degree of price fixing going on here too.

BTW I am getting myself one this week, so if any lurker wishes me to
knock out a simple jig from it to do the same thing -minus all the
bells and whistles, just e-mail me with the hinge sizes, rebate depths
and the positions he wants the hinges set at.

Do you really need a jig? It's quick and easy to just mark them up and
cut with router - clean up edges with chisel, or cut completely with
chisel if you are only doing one or 2 - quicker than getting the router
out.

cheers
Jacob

legin wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

Must admit that I have only ever seen one in real life. The guy that
bought it said that he got on with it alright, I think that it was the
screwfix one. Often wondered how you clamp them to the door. My Freud
router spinning at 20000 rpm could do some real damage if it came
adrift 3 foot up in the air!
Legin

You also need the corner chisel. :-)

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

dennis@home wrote:
"Weatherlawyer" wrote in message
ups.com...
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:


They dont have to be adjustable,just positioned evenly for a normal sized
door.
The actual size of the hinge rebate is worked out with the size of router
guide bush used in the template.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

robgraham wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

This one at an hundred quid is 70 cheaper than the Trend one but the
apertures for the hinges seems fixed:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...=null&ts=07858

This one looks totally unadjustable:
http://www.tooled-up.com/ZoomPicture...MG=TB27688.jpg

And while I am on the subject of door jigs:
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/hjig/

Anyone know why a simple ally extrusion with what must take seconds for
a machine to rout out the appropriate holes and minutes for unskilled
assemblers to stick together the assorted blocks inside, should cost
more than a 110V router?

And a degree of price fixing going on here too.

BTW I am getting myself one this week, so if any lurker wishes me to
knock out a simple jig from it to do the same thing -minus all the
bells and whistles, just e-mail me with the hinge sizes, rebate depths
and the positions he wants the hinges set at.

I'll say it before anyone else does !

I take it as obvious that you have a need for this rather than buying
one for the sake of doing so rather than cutting the rebates out by
hand. I built two doors recently and it didn't take that much time to
prepare the rebates. I'm always concerned with jigs that I have them
set correctly which then requires a test run on a piece of scrap - so
that takes time.

Two questions come to mind - do these jigs angle the rebate bed back
properly and can they be used to prepare the rebate on the door frame ?
The angled bed may not be necessary, but it's how I was taught to do
it - OTOH handling a heavy router at head height on a vertical face in
a jig does not appeal at all.

Can you say a little more about the angled rebate? - I've never heard
that before.
Simon.

robgraham wrote:

I'll say it before anyone else does !

I take it as obvious that you have a need for this rather than buying
one for the sake of doing so rather than cutting the rebates out by
hand. I built two doors recently and it didn't take that much time to
prepare the rebates. I'm always concerned with jigs that I have them
set correctly which then requires a test run on a piece of scrap - so
that takes time.

I just use an 'L' shaped plywood jig that I can clamp to the door to provide
a flat surface for the router. No real set up time, just clamp it level
with the egde, rout by hand & clean up with chisel.

Two questions come to mind - do these jigs angle the rebate bed back
properly and can they be used to prepare the rebate on the door frame?

No. Most door jobs I get involve replacing doors so I can use the existing
rebates. Be different on a building site I guess.

The angled bed may not be necessary, but it's how I was taught to do
it - OTOH handling a heavy router at head height on a vertical face in
a jig does not appeal at all.

Wot dis angled bed bit then?


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

robgraham wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the alternatives to the Trend router
jig? They all look to be either hopelessly complex or highly
unadjustable:

This one at an hundred quid is 70 cheaper than the Trend one but the
apertures for the hinges seems fixed:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...=null&ts=07858

This one looks totally unadjustable:
http://www.tooled-up.com/ZoomPicture...MG=TB27688.jpg

And while I am on the subject of door jigs:
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/hjig/

Anyone know why a simple ally extrusion with what must take seconds for
a machine to rout out the appropriate holes and minutes for unskilled
assemblers to stick together the assorted blocks inside, should cost
more than a 110V router?

And a degree of price fixing going on here too.

BTW I am getting myself one this week, so if any lurker wishes me to
knock out a simple jig from it to do the same thing -minus all the
bells and whistles, just e-mail me with the hinge sizes, rebate depths
and the positions he wants the hinges set at.

I'll say it before anyone else does !

I take it as obvious that you have a need for this rather than buying
one for the sake of doing so rather than cutting the rebates out by
hand. I built two doors recently and it didn't take that much time to
prepare the rebates. I'm always concerned with jigs that I have them
set correctly which then requires a test run on a piece of scrap - so
that takes time.

Two questions come to mind - do these jigs angle the rebate bed back
properly and can they be used to prepare the rebate on the door frame ?
The angled bed may not be necessary, but it's how I was taught to do
it - OTOH handling a heavy router at head height on a vertical face in
a jig does not appeal at all.

It takes about half an hour to hinge a door and frame but with a jig it
can be done in a few minutes. If you are a joiner doing them regularly
then it might well pay to buy one.

I am about to start a contract replacing doors. This means I will have
to try to match the previous frame hinge heights. But the point is that
I do need one for new builds. It will pay if I get such work on a price.

"robgraham" wrote in message
ups.com...
....
I take it as obvious that you have a need for this rather than buying
one for the sake of doing so rather than cutting the rebates out by
hand. I built two doors recently and it didn't take that much time to
prepare the rebates. I'm always concerned with jigs that I have them
set correctly which then requires a test run on a piece of scrap - so
that takes time.

The Trend jig does not need much setting and there is no need to do a test
run.

Two questions come to mind - do these jigs angle the rebate bed back
properly

I've not seen that done since steel hinges replaced tapered cast iron ones.

and can they be used to prepare the rebate on the door frame ?

That is precisiely why you use them. The jig ensures that both sets of
rebates are in exactly the same relative positions and that there is a
proper clearance at the top of the door.

Colin Bignell