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strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:33 amby GringoLocksmith
What do you folks like to use for cutting out the mortises in wooden doors and jambs when doing fresh installs? It's hard with a flat chisel to achieve the rounded corners that come on strikeplates and latchplates.
There are router jigs that clamp to the door, but they don't offer much help on the jamb. And for the jamb there are nail-on router templates that leave little holes in your finished product. Once a guy told me he does most of the job with a chisel and uses a 1/4" forstner bit on the corners. I wouldn't trust myself to get that right every time. There are also gouges of the right radius.
How do you handle this?
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:14 amby 10ringo10
They do make rounded chisels -
flat wood bit - drill straight in or fix plate and go around with Stanley blade using plate as template
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:57 amby mdc5150
I don't do much residential work, but in those instances you can cut it in square, and then spackle the spaces left open. Touch up with a wet paper towel to clean up the latch or strike.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 7:38 amby oldlock
With care and practice it's very quick to do with a flat wood bit (spade bit).
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:53 amby jones
I use the regular chisel and nobody has ever, in over 20 years, said anything to me about the rounded corner not fitting correctly--then again I regularly leave the strike boxes out as well
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:35 pmby DIY Dave
I cut mine in square also. If you are really concerned about looks, you could try a tool like this kwikset mortise tool.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:25 pmby Doogs
Most of the latch sets I use come with both types but if not I just attach the strike plate/mortise score outline with a utility knife use a 1" chisel then clean up with a utility knife as already mentioned
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:43 amby GringoLocksmith
I install a lot of those Schlage B60 deadbolts. They only come with the rounded strikes, as well as the thick reinforcement plates.
I'll take out a block of wood this weekend and try with the spade bit as well as the utility knife, though my favorite answer is from Jones and DIY Dave -- just don't worry about it.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:54 pmby GringoLocksmith
So I tried two different methods of making rounded-corner mortises. As a test, I was installing a Schlage latch plate with the reinforcement plate behind it. Together they have a thickness of 7/32".
Scoring with a utility knife
I started by screwing the plate into place and then outlining it with the utility knife. Then I went back and forth between using a 3/4" chisel and cleaning the corners up with the utility knife. It was laborious and time-consuming to cut nearly 1/4"-deep curved corners with the utility knife. Plus, I was putting lots of pressure on the blade and was afraid the whole time that I'd slip and put a deep gash in my hand, or worse, a scratch in the mock door. I'm sure that using this method enough times would eventually result in one or both of those things happening.
Spade bit
Again I screwed the plate into place and scored the outline with a utility knife, though I could just as easily have used a pencil. Then I drilled out the corners with a 1/2" spade bit and chiseled out the rest of the mortise as I normally would. This method was much faster and easier than the first, but the spade bit splintered the surface of the wood. Maybe it was dull. I'd consider trying this again with a fresher bit and a softer piece of wood.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Mon Oct 27, 2014 8:54 amby gibson
there's also a small tool available from woodworker's supply (Rochler, Garret & Wade, etc.) that does corners for you. a lot of pre-hung doors have a rounded cut-out already milled in them. most guys i've worked with don't bother replacing strikes when they do installations, so you wind up with a collection of plates after a while. this way you usually have a plate of one sort or another to work with.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:13 amby DIY Dave
I don't use the reinforcement plates from Schlage, I don't see the necessity. I use the outside plate along with extra long screws. If someone kicks in the door the frame will give way before the strike plate breaks.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Wed Oct 29, 2014 7:41 amby GringoLocksmith
DIY Dave wrote:I don't use the reinforcement plates from Schlage, I don't see the necessity. I use the outside plate along with extra long screws. If someone kicks in the door the frame will give way before the strike plate breaks.
Somewhere I saw a comparison test showing that strike boxes with long screws are superior to strike plates with long screws. Both the National Locksmith and Consumer Reports did some rounds of forced entry tests and found that it's good to use strike boxes. Schlage's B60 deadbolt doesn't come with a strike box, but it does come with that reinforcement plate to add thickness to the strike plate, which I figure makes it more like a strike box than just having the top plate by itself. I'd love to find convincing evidence that it doesn't add any security.
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:22 amby jones
GringoLocksmith wrote:DIY Dave wrote:I don't use the reinforcement plates from Schlage, I don't see the necessity. I use the outside plate along with extra long screws. If someone kicks in the door the frame will give way before the strike plate breaks.
Somewhere I saw a comparison test showing that strike boxes with long screws are superior to strike plates with long screws. Both the National Locksmith and Consumer Reports did some rounds of forced entry tests and found that it's good to use strike boxes. Schlage's B60 deadbolt doesn't come with a strike box, but it does come with that reinforcement plate to add thickness to the strike plate, which I figure makes it more like a strike box than just having the top plate by itself. I'd love to find convincing evidence that it doesn't add any security.
Hell Yeah it adds security, anytime you tie a couple of 3" screws into the strike it has to make the locking system stronger. I won't do the extra work at no added charge, is all I meant
besides anytime the door opens out, I don't feel it likely needs any kick-in reinforcement
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:33 amby DIY Dave
jones wrote:
Hell Yeah it adds security, anytime you tie a couple of 3" screws into the strike it has to make the locking system stronger. I won't do the extra work at no added charge, is all I meant
besides anytime the door opens out, I don't feel it likely needs any kick-in reinforcement
I agree the 3 inch screws in the strike plate add security. That's why I DO use them. I don't see the need for an extra plate behind the main one. Is that extra plate going to hold up better than the first? I don't see how it would help. The weakest link would be the door or frame itself not the strike plate
Re: strike and latch mortises with rounded corners
Posted:
Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:38 pmby GringoLocksmith
I agree that out-swinging doors don't need the reinforcement plates.
And maybe this is just my cynicism, but Schlage's B60 is the cheapest grade 1 deadbolt by a wide margin, and I suspect they did the absolute bare minimum to achieve that rating. If they could just toss in a couple of regular 3" deck screws and stay at G1, wouldn't they do that?
What do you suppose makes a strike box superior to a strike plate?