Door Hinge Template: The Fastest Way to Install 85mm & 100mm Hinges
A door hinge template turns hinge recessing from a 10-minute chisel job into a 90-second cut — and if you're hanging five or more doors a day, that difference decides whether your quote makes money or eats your afternoon. Most delays on-site don't come from the install itself, they come from re-marking a mortise you cut slightly off, or squaring up a hinge that's sitting proud because the recess was chiselled freehand.
What Is a Door Hinge Template and Why It Matters
A door hinge template is a metal or composite guide that clamps onto the door edge and gives a router a fixed path to follow, cutting a hinge mortise to consistent depth, width and position. Instead of scribing a line, chiselling to depth, and eyeballing the fit, you clamp the template, run the router around the guide, and lift off a clean recess.
For Australian carpenters this matters because the standard is tight: 85mm hinges for standard doors, 100mm hinges for heavier fire and external doors, positioned 200mm from the top and bottom of the door on most jobs (check the door schedule for fire-rated and commercial work, where spacing can differ). A hinge that sits even 1–2mm proud or recessed causes the door to bind, drop, or rub the jamb — and on a five-door day, that's five callbacks waiting to happen. A template removes the guesswork that causes those errors, which is why it's become standard kit for volume installers rather than a "nice to have."
The Fastest Way to Install Hinges: Use a Door Hinge Template
The fastest way to install hinges without sacrificing accuracy is to stop chiselling by hand and use a router-guided hinge template. Hand chiselling requires marking the hinge outline, scoring the edges, chiselling to depth in multiple passes, and checking the fit — every hinge, every door, with fresh room for error each time. A template cuts that to one clamp, one router pass, done.
The time saving compounds fast. On a single door with three hinges, hand-chiselling runs 25–30 minutes once you include marking and fit-checking. A template cuts the same job to under 5 minutes, and every recess comes out identical — which matters when you're fitting hinges you didn't cut yourself, or when an apprentice is doing the marking. The template also removes the single biggest cause of rework: an undersized or crooked recess that needs re-chiselling once the hinge is test-fitted. If speed and a flush first-time fit are the goal, the template is the answer, not a sharper chisel.
How to Use a Door Hinge Template: Method Comparison
Using a template is straightforward: clamp it to the door edge at the marked hinge position (200mm from top/bottom for standard doors), set your router depth to match the hinge leaf thickness, rout around the guide in one pass, then square off the corners with a corner chisel if your hinge has square corners. Repeat for each hinge position, then move to the jamb and repeat the process there.
Here's how the main methods stack up for a tradesman doing this daily:
| Method | Time per hinge | Consistency | Error risk | Best use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freehand chisel | 8–10 min | Low — varies by installer | High — depth & squareness drift | One-off jobs, no template on hand |
| Router + hand-marked guide | 3–5 min | Medium | Medium — marking errors carry through | Custom hinge sizes |
| Router + hinge template | Under 90 sec | High — fixed guide every time | Low | Volume installs, 3+ doors/day |
The template method wins on every metric that matters for paid work: time, consistency, and error rate. The only case where freehand still makes sense is a genuine one-off repair where the template isn't on the truck.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size hinge template do I need for Australian doors?
Most residential and commercial doors use 85mm hinges, while heavier fire-rated and external doors typically need 100mm hinges. The Fast Hinge Template Kit covers both sizes in one set, so you're not carrying two separate templates on the truck.
How far from the top and bottom of the door should hinges be placed?
The Australian standard is 200mm from the top and bottom of the door for the first and last hinge, with a third hinge centred between them on heavier or fire-rated doors. Always check the door schedule for commercial or fire-rated jobs, as spacing can vary from the standard residential measurement.
Can I use a hinge template with any router?
Yes — a hinge template is designed to work with a standard handheld router and a compatible router bit (typically a TCT or carbide bit sized to the template's guide bushing). You don't need a specialised router, just the right bit and a router that can hold a consistent depth setting.
Does a hinge template work for both hinges and latches?
A hinge template is built specifically for hinge mortises. For latch and striker plate cutouts, you'll want a matching latch and striker template — many carpenters run both together in a combo kit to cover a full door install with one setup.