Hinge pro test

[jfc]

Facing the daunting task of having to cut around 130 75mm hinge mortices i thought i would give the hinge pro a go . £90 is a bit steep IMHO but if it does what it says then it may well be worth it .



The first thing i noticed is that you cant use it with the work flat on the bench because the depth supports are longer than a normal thickness of a door or window so you have to have the work clamped in a vice . I tried it without a vice but you need to put a fair bit of pressure on the work to get the hinge pro to cut so its better in a vice ( not good for site work)
It actually cuts a perfect hinge mortice



But any bounce in the work and it will leave a bit of a mess .
Another thing i noticed is that it allows for the small gap in the hinge so you cut the depth perfectly , this isnt such a good thing as you end up with binding on the hinge side but i suppose this depends on what hinges you are using .

It actually took me longer to hang one window than normal but i will wait until i have cut the other 126 mortices before i cast judgement on the hinge pro .

[sainty]

Nice review JFC. Is there any adjustment for the size of the hinge? Any better than a router (T3) and template?

[engineerone]

presumably this is a kind of chisel in the box, which is why i guess it has to be slightly oversize??

how does it provide the clean bottom cut??

looks like you have to change the body to adjust for narrower hinges, or is it indeed for only one size?

nice review. look forward to the 216 review ;D

paul

[jfc]

looks like you have to change the body to adjust for narrower hinges, or is it indeed for only one size?

Who knows as there are no instructions , just a nice little sock to keep it in I think the main problem is they dont know what sharp is ;D

[engineerone]

so when have you got colin coming round ;D

paul

[colincott]

engineerone said:

so when have you got colin coming round ;D

paul

Hang on Paul

Are you my manager

As you seem to be offering my services

[dom]

I think Paul should receive a percentage of the pizza for finding you work

[engineerone]

not sure i should mention this here

but thing is i got a phone call from someone claiming
to be the agent for hudson.

apparantly, he is having problems negotiating his new
contract with dom, and was wondering whether anyone
else might make him an offer.

so after picking myself up after hearing the costs, i sought to
see whether i could increase my income, so what can i say colin, all managers must look to maximise their assets ;D

honest dom, i did not approach him directly

now you know how football club managers feel ;D

paul

[colincott]

Problem is Paul is looks like work for free

[engineerone]

you mean that's not how it goes

i knew i had been doing something wrong after all these
years ;D

helping your mates (as long as they are not taking the p**s)
is good and very useful and who knows what else it brings apart from pizza ;D

paul

[jfc]

Well thats a pile of crap ! It's good for marking out the hinge but thats about it IMHO .

[engineerone]

interesting, for the first time in ages i went to jaycee this week, and they had some kind of similar jig, in two different sizes,
can't remember the name, but a nice window display

anyway consensus seems it works ok in softwood, but not
in hardwood.

paul

[Scrit]

jfc said:

It's good for marking out the hinge but thats about it IMHO .

Hmmm. But wouldn't one of these be a mite cheaper?



They're all of £7.98 in the 4in size, £7.81 in the 3in size........

With your new found enthusiasm for mechanisation I'm surprised you didn't consider one of these:


or even this:



Scrit

[jfc]

Might be cheaper but wont look as good as a door stop ;D