Jigs for drilling cup-hinge holes come in a variety of designs. Some offer stark simplicity at a low cost. Others are more sophisticated and come with a price that reflects that refinement. But all of the jigs have a couple of things in common. They get their power from an electric or cordless drill. And they serve as a surrogate tool for the drill press, supporting the 35mm bit when a drill press can’t be used. Without that support, a large bit like this will skitter around the wood. These jigs are especially handy when you’re faced with drilling cup-hinge holes in a door that’s large and unwieldy, or if you’re at a remote site where there’s no access to a drill press. We gave seven of these jigs a workout to see how they would perform.

The Veritas is a nicely built jig that’s designed to be handheld. A pair of brass machine screws serves as an easy-to-adjust fence. The depth stop works well. A long, bent rod that mounts to either side of the jig quickly allows you to set all of the holes the same distance from the door top and bottom. A built-in carbide-tipped Forstner bit comes with the jig.

But the design could use a little tweaking. For instance, when trying to drill a pilot hole for the mounting-plate screws, the drill chuck butted against the jig, preventing me from drilling a hole that was square to the door.

All in all, this is a sturdy jig that looks like it could hold up to drilling lots of holes. The jig felt comfortable in my hand, but it was awkward to hold flat when drilling. My preference would be to clamp it in place. The Veritas Hinge-Boring Jig is available through Lee Valley Tools.

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