Fixture for drilling long holes in doors

For a door having a hinge edge, an opposed latch edge, a broad face connecting the hinge and latch edges, and an aperture through the broad face adjacent the latch edge, a drill guiding fixture for drilling a long hole from the hinge edge, parallel to the broad face, to the aperture, the drill guiding fixture comprising:

• a) an elongate rigid body having a long axis, a first end, a second end, and a bearing face provided with a non-marring, planar surface for bearing against the broad face of the door to determine the drill path;
• b) a plurality of drill bushings mounted at the first end and aligned along a drill axis parallel to the bearing face, and spaced apart from the bearing face by a fixed distance;
• c) a first clamp assembly affixed to the first end at a site past the drill bushings toward the second end, and constructed for clamping to the hinge edge to draw the bearing face against the broad face;
• d) a second clamp assembly connected to the body adjacent the second end, and constructed for clamping the door through the aperture to draw the bearing face against the broad face, and being slidable on the body to adjust for the distance between the hinge edge and the aperture;
• and
• e) wherein the bearing face of the body being forced against the broad face of the door at both of its ends defines the position of the drill axis parallel to the broad face and the path of the drill through the door.

A method for drilling a long hole from a hinge edge of a door along a path parallel to a broad face of the door to an aperture through the broad face adjacent a latch edge of the door, the method comprising:

• a) providing a drill guiding fixture with an elongate rigid body having a long axis, a first end, a second end, and a bearing face provided with a non-marring, planar surface for bearing against the broad face of the door to determine the drill path, and a plurality of drill bushings mounted at the first end and aligned along a drill axis parallel to the bearing face, and spaced apart from the bearing face by a fixed distance;
• b) clamping the body to the broad face at the hinge end with a first clamp assembly affixed to the first end at a site past the drill bushings toward the second end;
• c) clamping the body to the broad face through the aperture with a second clamp assembly connected to the body adjacent the second end, that is slidable on the body to adjust for the distance between the hinge edge and the aperture;
• and
• d) drilling the hole with an elongate drill passing through the guide bushings and into the door.