To hinge jig or not to hinge jig?

[SteveJB]

Morning Guys,

Im in a bit of a quandary, following over 30 yrs as a chippy, I started to suffer from arthritis in knees, feet, and wrists.

The GPs advise was to take an easier life, and I never see myself doing manual work again, then consultants telling me the best thing was to keep moving, working all be it a bit lighter. In the mean time I had sold most of my big power tools.

Fast forward now Im back doing private work, and wondering wether to replace the hinge Jig or just to make do by hand? Its not new doors and linings every day, but will be occasional new house build.

Sorry for the round about post, but took a bit knock in the confidence stakes.

Steve

[cleatmr]

I thought about it and as you say a jig is ideal for new builds.

I do domestic work and get by using a router with the fence set to the width of the hinge. A chisel and Stanley knife to score the hinge outline.

Simple as that.

I have also knocked up a hinge jig with a bit of scrap mrmdf. But find it easier to do the way I stated above.


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[D4np]

Sorry to hear about your quandary.. I always make hinge jigs out of left over skirting . Screw it to frame , cordless router , unscrew , corner chisel , rinse and repeat on the door .

I oddly like making the jigs (I’m a bit weird like that ) . Usually make one when i start on a site once I know whether they are metric or imperial and the type of hinges to be used

Once you get a few made then you can usually find a previous jig that works for a different job



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[dewaltdisney]

I think you have to approach this from a number of angles. A lot of people gain from taking Glucosamine supplements but also there are various foods that should be avoided. Certainly keeping moving is better than sitting and you can help painful joints with a Tens machine. Quite frankly doing something is better than doing nothing so do not feel down about it, just accept that this is a problem you have to live with but do not let it get you down.

This might be worth a look at http://www.arthritisforum.org.uk/ or similar if anything, you will see that there are a lot of poor folk worse off than you and there is a a sharing of knowledge and relief methods.

Good luck

DWD

[fin]

ive never used a hinge jig yet.

i do solely domestic work. never been on a new build site ever. all i use is either old skool hammer and chisel or more recently ive free handed em with a router after scoring with a stanley knife first

[ayjay]

A hinge jig is much quicker if you have multiple doors to hang with the same set-up, but it's not going to make door hanging much less labour intensive - the manual side of it is in the actual moving of the doors and trimming and fitting them - unless you find that chopping butts in by hand is too strenuous, and if that's case then you should really reconsider things.

[SteveJB]

Thanks Chaps, some food for thought there.

Its surprising how some health issues can knock your confidence.

Steve

[D4np]

Thanks Chaps, some food for thought there.

Its surprising how some health issues can knock your confidence.

Steve

A friend of mine was a chippy , he is 33 and the doctors ‘advised’ him to change career because he had a bad back . At 33 he was advised to change .. if carpentry is all you know and enjoy then don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it - only you decide what you can or can’t do


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[Job and Knock]

Im in a bit of a quandary, following over 30 yrs as a chippy, I started to suffer from arthritis in knees, feet, and wrists.

I'm in my mid 60s and have had arthritis in my knees and ankles for more than 15 years. My father had arthritis in his hands in his 60s which eventually did for his ability to drive, so it looks like it is maybe a genetic thing. But in the meantime I take the medicine (diclophenac) when required, but I am not yet bad enough to require it all the time, only sporadically at this point. So I keep going because when I don't work I am constantly stiff. Working actually keeps my joints supple in a way that going to the gym doesn't (I tried it). So I have an idea, first hand, where you are coming from

Fast forward now Im back doing private work, and wondering wether to replace the hinge Jig or just to make do by hand? Its not new doors and linings every day, but will be occasional new house build.

I do have a Trend jig, and I use it when I'm on new installs where the doors haven't been pre-hung (increasingly rare on commercials these days), but I only use it when I have three or four doors to swing because it is faster. For one-offs I don't bother, and certainly for new doors in old openings I tend to just use a laminate trimmer to hog the waste out (far more consistent than using a chisel and a lot easier when dealing with materials such as oak) and hand mark. For mortise locks I'm also jigged-up with a Souber DBB jig - again because for mutiples it is faster and easier on my frame. All I can say is that my solution works for me - so far. Good luck finding something that works for you