How Cut Into Door For Locks

Use a bevel edge chisel and hammer to square the corners of the mortise if the faceplate has square corners.

How cut into door for locks.

The body of the lock can be used as a template which you should hold against the correct position on the door and mark with a pencil. Measure up from the finish floor 36 inches or the height of other knobs in the house and mark the door s edge. Fit the latch and faceplate into the door. You want to drill part way into one side of the door stop and then start to drill from the other side.

Knowing how to cut a mortise is essential for installing a deadbolt lock. This ensures you don t splinter the wood on the face of the door as you blast through drilling from just one side. Using a sharp 1 inch wide chisel cut a series of parallel lines into the jamb about 1 4 inch apart staying within the scored lines and holding the chisel perpendicular to the wood. Create the mortise using a router attachment remove the wood between the pencil lines drawn on the door edge to create a mortise for the faceplate.

Score around the plate with a sharp utility knife. Tap a chisel into the scored outline. Open the door halfway and tap two shims one from each side between the floor and the door bottom to hold it steady. Fold this template around the edge of the door at least 6 inches above.

Fortunately cutting out this mortise isn t nearly as difficult as it sounds. Make a cut out for the strike plate make a cut out of about 3 mm deep into which the strike plate fits neatly. Position the strike plate on the jamb so it is centered on both lines. Place the edge of a sharp chisel into any of the mortise outline grooves.

Then gently tap the back end of the chisel with a hammer or mallet pushing it into the door. With the large hole cut it s now time to drill the small 1 inch hole in the edge of the door. Remove the deadbolt from its packaging and take out the instruction sheet with the template for marking the holes on the door. With a square extend this mark across the door s edge and 3 inches onto one face.

To prepare the mortice slot for the lock start by marking the centre of the thickness of the door. The outer face of the strike plate should be flush with the edge of the door frame.