Brand new hinge jig slipped on me this morning

I got one of those self-centering hinge jigs last week, figured it would speed things up. First try on a cabinet door this morning, it shifted about 1/8 inch halfway through the bore. Now I gotta fill the mistake and re-drill. Was I not clamping it down tight enough, or is that just how these things go?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

amybarnes2mo ago

...and the worst part is, I had actually clamped it down too tight because I was worried about that exact thing. Ended up crushing the wood fibers around the hole anyway, so the hinge sits weird even after I filled it. I think those self centering jigs are fine for softwood if you go slow, but on a good piece of maple or oak they just don't hold. I went back to using a center punch and a regular drill guide after that. Took a little longer but at least I didn't wreck a $60 slab.

4

jana_ellis952mo ago

That self centering jig tricked me the same way on a walnut table once. Ended up with a hinge that wobbled no matter how much wood filler I jammed in there. Now I just accept that my drill guide setup takes three times as long but saves me from my own overconfidence.

3