A router bit leaves a rounded corner; a hinge leaf is square. Screw the leaf down over that radius and the door sits proud, the paint cracks along the edge, and the screws work loose the next time the door slams.
A corner chisel is the small tool made for that pocket. The Carbatec double spring corner chisel in our catalogue is one option; a bevel-edge chisel can pare the same corner by hand. We sell these tools — we don't make them. The brand on each card is the manufacturer.
Cut in this order
- Position the hinge and mark around the leaf with a knife, not a pencil. A pencil line is wider than the gap you're trying to close.
- Chop to depth around the mark, staying inside the line, then pare the waste from the middle out towards it.
- Seat the corner chisel in the rounded corner and give it one firm strike with a wooden mallet. Don't twist it in the cut — that tears the fibres in soft pine and on a painted architrave.
- Test-fit the leaf. It should sit flush with the edge, not below it. A recess that's too deep makes the hinge bind.
What to hit it with
A wooden carpenter's mallet is the right striker. A steel hammer mushrooms a timber handle and can chip a thin corner chisel. You'll find both under Chisels and Job extras.
This is for homeowners and small contractors who already plan to hang or rehang a door. If the jamb is rotten, or the opening is further out of square than a hinge can take up, that's a carpenter's job, not a chisel job.
