How To Cut A Door For A Mortise Lock

To use a mortise lock your door must be thick enough to accommodate it.

How to cut a door for a mortise lock.

The brace is a u shaped steel hand tool that has a wood cap on one end and a bit chuck on the other. To install a mortise lock into a wood or composite door requires a pocket drilled into the edge of the door with the centerline of the door prep at 39 3 16 above the finished floor. To cut a lock all you need is a pair of bolt cutters. In the early days the pocket was cut out using a brace and bit.

Create a series of angled chisel cuts between the outlines. A mortise lock in a very strong special locking system fitted to the inside of a door. You can also cut through a lock with an angle grinder. Test fit the plate as you work to check the mortise depth.

Fit the latch and faceplate into the door. Here are six things you need to know about mortise locks for residential door security. Fit the latch and faceplate into the door. Tap the chisel at sharp angle to cut through the base of the chisel cuts.

Hold the lock at an angle as you cut through it which will make the cutting process easier. Make sure to put on gloves and a face shield first since grinders can produce sparks. Use a bevel edge chisel and hammer to square the corners of the mortise if the faceplate has square corners. Tap the chisel with a hammer to make a 1 8 inch deep cut again match the hinge leaf thickness.

Move the chisel as needed to cut along the full width of the mortise. Starting at the top of the faceplate outline make a series of closely spaced chisel cuts about 1 8 inch deep inside the marks. The minimum door width is 45mm or 1 75 inches. Cut through the base of the cuts to empty the mortise of excess wood.

Clean out the mortise until its bottom is smooth and flat and at a depth exactly equal to the thickness of the strike plate. 1 the mortise lock defined. Using a router attachment remove the wood between the pencil lines drawn on the door edge to create a mortise for the faceplate. Using a router attachment remove the wood between the pencil lines drawn on the door edge to create a mortise for the faceplate.

Use a bevel edge chisel and hammer to square the corners of the mortise if the faceplate has square corners. The result will be to remove these cuts. Remove the waste wood with the chisel bevel side down held nearly parallel to the jamb.