How do I chop a hinge recess accurately with a chisel?

A hinge recess is a flat-bottomed housing cut to the exact thickness of the hinge leaf. Too shallow and the door will not close; too deep and it binds against the frame. The technique is old, simple and entirely about accurate marking.

Safety

What you'll need

• sharp bevel-edged chisels
• marking knife
• marking gauge
• mallet
• try square
• clamps

Step by step

1. Position the hinge and mark round it with a knife.Hold the hinge exactly where it goes and score round the two ends and the long edge with a marking knife. A knife line severs the fibres, so the chisel drops into it and cannot wander.
2. Square the end lines across.Use a try square to extend the marks accurately. Any error here shows as a hinge sitting at an angle.
3. Set a marking gauge to the leaf thickness.Set it against the closed hinge leaf itself rather than a ruler, then scribe the depth on the edge between the two end lines.
4. Deepen the knife lines.Go over the outline two or three times with the knife, cutting a little deeper each pass. This creates a positive wall for the chisel.
5. Pare a small chamfer inside the line.A shallow V cut just inside the knife line gives the chisel a place to register vertically without crushing the edge.
6. Chop a series of cuts across the waste.Chisel held vertical, bevel facing the waste, tapped with a mallet to the gauge depth, working across the recess at three or four millimetre intervals. It looks like a row of fins.
7. Pare the waste out from the side.Chisel flat, bevel up, working in from the edge. The chopped fins break away easily and leave a flat bottom.
8. Work to the depth line and check with a straightedge.Lay a chisel back or a small rule across the recess. Light underneath means it is not flat yet.
9. Test-fit the hinge repeatedly.Drop it in as you approach the depth. It should sit flush with the surface without being forced.
10. Mark and drill the screw holes.A bradawl or a self-centring hinge bit through the hinge holes. Off-centre pilot holes drag the hinge out of position as the screws tighten.
11. Fit one screw per hinge first.Hang the door on a single screw per hinge, check the swing and the gaps, then fit the rest. It is far easier than correcting a fully screwed hinge.

Tips

• The knife line does most of the work. A pencil line is about half a millimetre wide and the chisel will wander in it.
• A self-centring hinge drill bit is inexpensive and removes the commonest cause of a hinge pulling out of position.
• If in doubt, cut slightly shallow. Deepening a recess is easy; packing a too-deep one with card is a repair.

Common mistakes

• Marking with a pencil — A pencil line is wide and has no wall. The chisel drifts within the line's width and the recess ends up oversized, so the hinge is loose and the door moves.
• Chopping straight down on the outer line first — The bevel forces the chisel backwards into the good work. Chop inside the line, then pare back to it with the flat face against the knife wall.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask