I'm in the middle of making a folding screen out of cherry wood and need to cut hinge mortises. I've got a router plane ready for shallow cuts, but I just noticed that the hinges I bought have rounded corners. I'm uncertain about the best way to create those rounded mortises either with my router plane or by using chisels. Any tips or techniques that you recommend? I have both a straight blade and a pointy one for my router plane.
3 Answers
For those rounded corners, I've had luck using thin wall tubing cut at 45 degrees. Even if it's not the exact radius, you can manage a nice cut by working your way around. Always start by laying out your cuts with a knife first to get your bearing. On larger doors, I've used a router and a template to get a consistent shape.
Rounded hinge corners are definitely tricky! I prefer square hinges for hand tool work, but if you're committed to these, start by using a knife to outline where the hinge will go; this helps define the mortise boundaries. After that, it's mostly about chiseling or routing out the waste, but do be prepared to deepen your knife lines as you go. Just a heads up, square corner hinges would simplify things in the future!
A solid approach is to first cut the straight edges of the mortise and then use a marking knife to scribe the corners. Then take a small chisel or your router plane to gradually remove the wood for those curved corners. Just take your time and re-adjust your cuts as needed, adapting as you go along!