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Review on Enhanced SEO-Optimized Door Hinge Template: PORTER CABLE 59370 by Robert Espinoza

Revainrating 2 out of 5

Inexpensive, you get what you pay for

"Quick and Dirty " Homeowner or a homeowner who needs to make a door. This is NOT for professional results. This light has design flaws that will leave you with disappointing results. It's made of plastic, which means the back of the template, which is mounted to a door or post, will flex when you pass the router over the back. Unfortunately, if Porter Cable had taken the time to design this product, they could have solved (or at least improved) this problem by adding a horizontal rib to reinforce this part of the mount. If the template bends, you're extruding too much material from the back of the hinge and it will look bad. If you are making finished (unpainted) wooden doors, there is no easy way to fix this. If you draw, you can probably just fill it in, but that's extra and unnecessary work with a poor-quality tool. Also, the grooving tool that comes with that cheap jig is complete crap. The cutters are plain scrap steel with no hard (carbide) teeth to cut even soft woods like pine. Because he does not cut well, he will burn the tree. Not a big deal, but getting the beat to do its job is MUCH difficult because it's not sharp. It's literally garbage. The cutters made in China are much better. You might as well throw it away. After much frustration trying to build a few doors, I finally invested in some Freud. Moves like butter through wood compared to Porter Cable Trash. Fixing could also be better with contrasting color markings. It's just encapsulated in plastic. So it will take some learning to remember which side is used for the jamb and which side is used for the panel (door). While the kit is cheap, you get what you pay for. It's fine if you need to make one door, but don't rely on it if you're making multiple doors or getting good results. It will do, but not pretty unless you are very careful and have patience.

Pros
  • 8 hinge sizes from 2-1/2" to 6" and 5 door sizes from 1-3/8" to 2-1/2"
Cons
  • little things