Technique for driving hinge screws to minimize misalignment

Question

When fitting hinge screws I've noticed that, unless the pilot holes are centered exactly on the holes in the hinge and at a precise (within 2-3 degrees) horizontal/lateral right angle to the hinge plate, the edge of the screw head is always misaligned with the hinge hole by the time the two come in contact.

In this case, the countersinks in the screw heads and hinge holes are a close size match, so even small discrepancies in position/angle end up with the head displaced to one side by up to a millimeter.

Driving it to resistance forces the head into the center position (I presume either by the metal bending or, possibly, the screw thread giving way slightly) but it still ends up tilted in its final position.

In DIY videos concerning hinge installation, instructors, DIYers and professionals often drill pilot holes, almost casually, at funny angles, and drive the screws straight in without thought to position. I'm thinking they must have the same problems but aren't bothered by it or using a method unknown to me.

Is this just me being needlessly perfectionistic? If not, can my technique be improved?

I'm also interested to know if it's usually the (stainless steel) screw bending or the thread (in hardwood) giving way that repositions the head of a misaligned screw when it's driven to resistance.

Answer 1

As you are a perfectionist for installing hinge screws perfectly it turns out that there is a product made just for this purpose. It is a self centering pilot drill that aims the pilot drill bit right on center in the hinge hole.

There is a spring loaded sleeve around the drill bit that pushes back as the bit bores the hole. The tip of the sleeve centers in the counter sink of the hinge hole.

These are often sold in sets for the range of hinge screw sizes that you are likely to encounter.

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Answer 2

In addition to the other answer, there are self-centring punches (often explicitly intended for locating hinge screws). You could also use an appropriately sized transfer punch.

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Answer 3

It's overly perfectionist for the hinge screws, but for the strike and strike plate screws, there is no level of perfection that you should not attempt to achieve.

Usually doors only have one set of hinges in their lifetime. If I don't need toothpicks for the 5th time I'm changing the lock, then you did it right: pre-drilled with a bit that's not even as large as the screw shank, and that hole pre-pre-drilled with a bit that's as small as possible without you breaking it. Jimmy suggests using a 1/64; that's too small for me.

Answer 4

I've hung a number of residential passage doors, some with custom made, modified, or rebuilt jambs. And changed the swing direction a few times. I'm not a pro nor an expert but this is the technique I've used to get them to work well.

Tips & steps:

• Get the hinge mortises as accurate as possible. Doing this takes some pressure off getting the screw location exact (explained below). I use a router template and measure as accurately as possible for new mortises. Actually when possible I don't measure at all, but transfer marks between the door & jamb directly, using an appropriate spacer at the top.

• Initially do a minimal installation - top & bottom hinge only, and one screw each.

  For these first screws I tend to err on the side of locating the screw closer to the mortise - when the screw is driven in this pulls the hinge into the mortise nice & tight. I eyeball an awl (or nail) into the center to get things started. Drilling a pilot is not essential in softwood, many hinge screws have a cutting edge.

  The accuracy of the mortise pays off at this step. The screw & wood will flex just enough to seat properly. (Assuming no gross error in positioning the screw). Analogous to how pinned mortise & tenon joinery can be done with the wooden pins driven through intentionally offset holes.

  I agree that if the screw is not 90 degrees this may be visible. But probably not a functional issue.

• Hang the door on just the 2 hinges / 4 screws. This helps to align the hinge halves with each other and also aligns the top & bottom hinge barrels.

• Add any remaining middle hinges, one screw only

• Add all remaining screws. I like to get ideally one screw per each hinge through the jamb into the framing. Careful not to warp the jamb though, this needs a shim.

Caveat - I think this would work even for a really heavy door, but use common sense.

If you can do all this at the workbench, that's fine, but it works for existing jambs also.

A lot of times if you are modifying an existing old door I particularly like the flexibility of this method. It helps to work around defects in the wood especially, like old screw holes which are almost in the right place but not quite which prevent the screw from being in the perfect spot anyway.

If you are doing fine joinery or working on a small scale, maybe this technique would not be appropriate.