Trig Industries - Jambmaster Door Hanger's Jig

Editor's Review: Fuss-Free Door Hanger's Jig

This doorsize jig allows you to rout a perfect rough opening on any type of door, prehung or slab, in widths from 18 in. to 60 in.

The heart of the system is a pair of lightweight vertical aluminum frames with built-in router-template guides. The aluminum frame is set to the jamb dimensions, placed in the rough opening, and plumbed using a surprisingly accurate built-in bubble vial. Then you use hot-melt glue to attach flat shims along the inside of the rough opening. Using a bushing-guided straight bit, you rout the shims down to mirror the plumbed and squared sides of the Jambmaster. The prehung door then can be slid snugly into the shimmed opening; next, the door is nailed through the routed shims and into the framing. You get a perfectly hung door on the first try.

On my first day with the jig, I averaged a little less than 30 minutes each by the end of my fifth door. That's pretty good for a system that doesn't care whether openings are old and twisted or new, square, and plumb. At nearly $500, however, this tool is expensive. Still, if you do doors for a living, it might be worth it.

Editor Test Results: