Soss Routing Jig-Select Size

I had to install 6 of the 204 Soss hinges on a set of two window seat lids, any mistake and the cost of the wood alone would be double the cost of the jig. I read other reviews and thought to myself, do you really want this thing made out of anything other then wood?? It was a joy to work with and works just as good now as it did the first time I used it. Who ever invented it Thanks!

The template has two drywall screws that stop the guide bushings for the edge of the deeper mortise. One of the screw hole was stripped.
Overall the quality was fair for the price. If the screw hole wasn't stripped I'd give it a better rating.

Needed customizing to be of any real use.

It works, so I can't complain too much. But its a block of wood with a routered hole and two dowel pins. The sad part is that the stops for the deep mortise are drywall screws with the ends ground off. The jig was hard to align using clamps to hold it down. They want you to use nails, which puts holes in your doors. Definitely not for me. This should be made out of aluminum with some nice square shoulders. Bore your hole outof alignment and you are out of luck and plugging the door.

This template is ok, as the other reviewer said it is lacking in many respects. It is expensive for what it is and the materials used are inappropriate for its intended use. There are a number of points of failure in the design and it is already starting to get a little "sloppy". The nail holes that are used to peg it to the work pieces are already starting to open up allowing for slight movement while routing. This is due to the soft wood that the template is made from and the limitations of the finishing nails used to secure it. Also the screw holes for the screws that are used to create the deeper center portion of the mortise are starting to open up again allowing slight movement of the hole. I have only done 10 hinge mortises and the deference in accuracy between the 1st and the 10th hole is obvious. Thankfully I realized this when I first received the template and I used the factory jig as a template to create an better clamp-able one from aluminum. BOSS would be better served to provide an drilling jig to create ones own template rather then selling this jig which I fear will become unusably sloppy in the near future. This jig is really only useful to use as a template to create a "real" jig or for a very few number of jobs.

Actually, I had to modify it before I could use it. To position the jig along the board, there are two pins that hold it in place. This is not very precise and does not allow for clamping. They provide two finishing nails that you are supposed to use to hold it in place. Since I didn't want holes in the edge of my finished piece, I removed the pins and mounted a piece of 1 x 2 on the bottom of the jig so that I could clamp it to the edge of the board. Also, because the jig is quite thick, it requires a fairly long collar on the router. My standard collar set did not have the proper size. Luckily, I have a metal lathe and was able to make a bushing to attach to one of my router collars that worked. It would be relatively easy to make your own jig, that would fit the collars you already have. Since I have it, I will use it, but I wouldn't buy it again.

I was disappointed because to use it I would have had to purchase some special router bits. Therefore I am returning it.

I used a drill press and half inch Forstner bit to install the hinges.

One would think with instructions that specify measurements down to 1/64" of an inch that the jig would be made better. I replaced the cheapo finish nails with some #6 x 1" wood screws and I had to widen the jig by 1/32" because it was too small for the SOSS #101 hinges I needed to use.