Photo 1- This is the primary template which you use to flush trim the mortising template. The arrows show the length of the template needed to match the hinges being mortised for.

The three dimensions that you must establish with the jigs for each mortise are: the depth, which equals the thickness of the hardware; the width, which depends on the type of hardware; and the length, which equals the length of the piece. Since there is a good chance that there will be some variation in dimensions on your hardware, it is a good idea to carefully measure all pieces before establishing the dimensions you will use on your jigs. Out of the 10 hinges that I used, all had thicknesses and widths that were very close, but two were 1/32nd less in height than the others. I chose to make the template to fit these hinges, which means I will have to lengthen by hand the mortises for eight hinges by that extra 1/32nd. This requires a little extra time but guarantees that all hinges will have a tight fit. If having the odd smaller hardware fit loosely doesn't matter to you, you can save time by going with the larger dimension.

The depth of the mortise is established by the depth setting of the router bit in its base. The width of the mortise is established by the location of the jig fence on the template. The only dimension that is fixed by the template itself is the length. After the jig is made this is the only dimension that cannot be altered without remaking the jig, so care in establishing this dimension is essential for accuracy.

Photo 2- Clear most of the waste out of the template plywood with a band, scroll or saber saw, then nail the plywood onto the primary template as shown.

Start by figuring all the lengths you will need for each template. In this case I needed four; one for the hinges, one for the ball strike, and two for the lock. On the lock mortise one template is used to cut the deeper hole for the lock box, and a second template is used to cut recesses on two sides for the brass plate. Figure the template lengths by adding onto the hardware lengths the distance from the router bit to the template guide, in this instance 1/8" on each side. With 2" long hinges the template length comes out to 2-1/4", adding 1/8" twice, once for each side. Also I subtracted 1/32" from this as explained above, and so arrived at 2-7/32".

Next carefully rip to width some scrap at the dimensions established for the template lengths. These ripped pieces will become the primary templates for flush trimming plywood pieces that become the jig templates themselves, and so it is this ripped dimension that, in effect, is the actual template dimension. Be sure to rip these exactly. Use hardwood or a harder softwood for the primary jig pieces so that the flush trim bearing that contacts the pieces will not dig in, altering the dimensions.

Photo 3- Flush trim the plywood to the shape of the primary template on the router table using a bearing guided flush trim bit.

The only other step for making the primary templates is to clamp onto the ripped pieces two straight scraps of equal thickness (photo 1). Since they are clamped along the ripped dimension the distance between them is that same dimension. The clamp will stay on through the flush trimming procedure, for that reason it is a good idea to use material for the primary templates that is thick enough to accommodate the pads of the clamps you use. Place plywood template stock over the U-shaped cavity of the primary template and trace the inside of the U onto the plywood so that you can cut out the bulk on the band or scroll saw. I use 1/4" birch ply for templates because it is tough and it machines well.

Photo 4- The mortise for the ball catch strike is just a hole. You could make this template 'T' shaped like the strike, but that takes a lot of extra time to get accurately, and it's so easy to cut out the base of the 'T' on your wood parts once the main part has been mortised.

At this point you are not establishing the width dimension of the jig, but you must leave enough room on either side of the U to attach the fence that will do so. I made the U an inch or so longer than it needed to be to cut the mortise, then fixed the birch ply onto the primary template with small brads as in photo 2. Now flip the template assembly over and flush trim the U on a router table as in photo 3. You could do this flush trimming with a router free hand, placing it on top of the plywood, but I find that with small template assemblies you have better and safer control on a table.

Photo 5- That's a measuring stick in the middle of the photo. I'ts being used to carefully set the distance between the two small chunks of wood being clamped together, thus establishing the length of the ball catch strike mortise.

It is most efficient to make all the templates you need together. I look on it as making a small production run of templates for doing a small run of hardware, and you might as well make use of production time saving in making the templates as well as in using them. So, I did all the ripping to width at once as well as all the flush trimming at the router table. Note that the template for the ball strike differs from the others because both the length and width dimensions are established at the flush trim (photo 4). To make the primary template for this, place two pieces ripped at the width dimension between two straight scraps, and clamp them all together with the ends of the ripped pieces spaced at the length dimension as in photo 5. Bore holes to hog out the waste, and flush trim as with the others.