How to Cut Door Hinge Openings with a Dremel - Handyman's World (2024)

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If you want to attach a new door to a door frame, and still need to attach the hinges to the door, then you have come to the right place. To make the hinges flush with the door, you’ll need to cut openings for them, and this is exactly what we are here to teach you today. Let’s get to it and learn how to cut door hinge openings with a Dremel.

Is Dremel the Best Tool for Cutting Door Hinge Openings?

Yes, the Dremel is in fact the best tool for cutting door hinge openings, mainly because it is so small and compact, therefore making it easy to work with. Moreover, the fact that you can use a router bit with this tool, and attach a plunge body, thus effectively turning it into a small and precise plunge router, helps as well.

An accurate plunge router is exactly what you need for this task. So, on a side note, yes, an actual plunge router will of course work as well.

How to Cut Door Hinges with a Dremel

Let’s go through a quick step-by-step tutorial on exactly how to cut door hinge openings with a Dremel. As you are about to see, it’s a straightforward process.

Step 1: Measure and Mark

You first need to find the right places on the door for your hinges to go. Measure 6” from the top of the door and mark that with a pencil. Remember, here we are talking about the spine of the door, not one of the faces. Use a T-square to make a line at the 6” mark that is parallel to the top of the door. This is where the top of the top hinge will go.

You can then also measure 6” up from the bottom of the door and repeat that first step, as this is where the bottom of the bottom hinge will go.

If need be, you can then measure halfway between the first two marks and repeat this process for the middle hinge. For the middle hinge, the halfway point between the first two markings is where the center point will go on the door.

Step 2: Score and Trace the Hinges

Now, take one of your door hinges and line the top of it up with the mark that you made at the top of the door’s spine. The top of the hinge should line up with that mark, with the top being just below that line. Keep in mind that the hinge should be able to rest folded over the door’s edge, as this is the axis for opening.

Make sure to hold the hinge firmly on the door according to your measurements, and while keeping hold of it, use a utility knife to score the profile of the door hinge into the spine of the door. Don’t press too hard with the utility knife, because you don’t want to injure yourself, but you do want the mark to be deep, so make three or four passes.

Then repeat this tracing and scoring process for the other hinges. Now, you want to use a pencil to darken the cuts you made with your utility knife, just to make it more visible and easier to follow with the Dremel.

Step 3: Prepare the Dremel and Take Precautions

When using a Dremel to cut out door hinge openings, you need to get it ready for routing, which means that you are going to need the Dremel 650 router bit, or any other Dremel router bit of a similar size.

Make sure that you use your wrench to tighten the spindle properly so that the router bit is secure. Unless you plan on doing this freehand, which we definitely don’t recommend, now is the time to attach the plunge body to your router, thus effectively turning your tool into a plunge router.

You then want to manipulate the knob that controls the height of the router bit and adjust it so that the cutting depth is the same as the width of the door hinges. Once your router is prepared, you want to put on some safety goggles to protect your eyes from flying debris.

Step 4: Make the Cuts

You are now going to place the Dremel over the area that you traced in step three. Now, turn the tool on and get it running at full speed, and then push the plunge body down into the door until the plunge bit has been fully inserted into the traced area.

You are going to use that router to follow the pencil line as closely as possible. You already set the depth of the router bit accordingly, so you don’t need to worry about how deep you go. Simply hollow out the area where the hinge is to go using the router.

You can then use some compressed air to blow away any sawdust and woodchips. You now want to take a hinge and try to place it in the freshly cut area. If the hinge sits flush with the spine of the door, your job is done. Repeat this process for the other two hinges,

Step 5: Attach the Door Hinges

You can now use a drill to make pilot holes into the spine of the door so you can screw the hinges on. You should now have a door with three hinges.

Mistakes to Avoid, Tips & Tricks

Let’s go over a few tricks to help make this process easier for you:

• If you don’t have the plunge body for your Dremel, we recommend getting one, as doing this freehand probably won’t end well
• If you have a plunge router, you could use this instead
• Remember that you will also need to cut door hinge openings in the door frame, not just the door itself

Summary

There you have it folks, everything you need to know about using a Dremel to cut door hinge openings in a door. As long as you have the right bit and that plunge body, you shouldn’t have any problems.