Chop a Hinge Mortise
In this video, Garrett Hack demonstrates the care and patience required when cutting a hinge mortise completely by hand.
Oct 25, 2005
The Beatles were wrong. All you need is patience; patience is all you need. As good friend and co-worker Barry NM Dima has written about before, it’s impossible to overstate that there is not magic woodworker sauce; there is only patient, deliberate work. As amateurs we are not blessed with hours and hours of uninterrupted shop time. It’s hard to slow down and take 20 minutes to fit a hinge–but sometimes, that’s what it takes!
Many woodworking videos (including ones I’ve had a hand in) are guilty of making things look easy. In our newer video workshop series, we really have tried to include as many of the finicky parts as we do the fine parts. This week, while searching for who knows what, I came across this video that spoke to me—nay, screamed at me —“you screw this simple thing up because you rush this simple thing.”
Most of us see Garrett Hack as a woodworking virtuoso, and this video is an example of why he is and I’m not. I think I spent about 5 minutes on a hinge mortise and this edited video is a little more than 7 minutes. So it’s safe to say that even though Garrett is a lot more talented than I am, he’s also more patient and methodical. I think we can all learn a lesson or two watching him work.
-Ben Strano
Comments
Nice to see the patience, but hard to see the lines to which he is cutting. Too much camera movement and the lighting doesn't bring out a shadow at the back knife scoring cut. Also not clear how Hack is determining the depth of the cut as he goes along.
It’s a sixteen year old video, shot in standard definition, extracted from a longer piece, specifically to demonstrate the patience of a craftsman.
Well done, Ben.
Well, the importance of good lighting and a steady camera were well understood in 2005. Somehow I expect fine videography from Fine Woodworking.
Well I'm glad Ben didn't decide NOT to resurrect it because the lighting and movement was not optimal. I for one enjoyed the view and learned a few things. Thanks Ben.
Finesse and technique demonstrated by a master is always a privilege to see. I would have just, and unfortunately did in the past, just mark the outline of the hinge, take a few serious wacks with a chisel, and breakout the waste. Took perhaps 60 seconds, worked, but was hardly a quality fit and finish. Doing it right takes time but the resultant quality lasts even longer and looks a hell of a lot better!
Yeah, it's an old video, in lo-def, and it's hard to see the lines, but I still got the idea and this still demonstrates what you need to know: patience and discipline. I tried this on a few standard-size room doors over the years, and always messed it up and gave up, and went the easy way: bought a jig and router. If I had this video, a good work holding solution, and more patience, then maybe I would have gotten better mileage from my effort.
Its been some time since I've seen Garrett out and about, what's he doing these days?
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in