Accessories

Porter Cable Strike Template
The template worked OK. I only had to do a few doors so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a template I was only going to use a few times in my life. The two double-headed nails that they provided were OK for attaching to the door but I was getting some movement when using my heavy 3.25 horsepower plunge router. I recommend using a couple of short sheet rock screws to hold it firmly in place. Their directions for setting the depth of the bit were funny. They wanted you to turn the router upside down and put the template on the bottom of the router to adjust the blade depth with the strike plate on top of the template. This was very awkward as I was not using the Porter Cable but a Bosch that has a cord coming out the top of the router not the side (like the Porter Cable they pictured) so it was crazy trying to balance the router, template and strike on with the cord of the router in my way. Why couldn't they just give you the depth measurement of the template where the router was going to be resting? I measured the depth of the strike and did a test on an old door for depth. The strike plate was a bit off and the the router wore a hole in the side of the template that has an insert (which are not replaceable-I was on the phone with customer service for 45 minutes) so I had to buy a whole new template to complete the job and that one already has a wear mark. In addition the pins that are used for the depth of the door are in the way when routing. I had to turn the router to get to part of the area that needed to be router, Overall it still beats chiseling.

Not well centered
Purchased the "Improved Design!" version of the Porter-Cable 59375 Strike and Latch Template. The locator pins would not accuratly center on a 1 3/8" door. The intructions and illustrations are poor. It took a while to relealize the hole for the locator pin was off by an 1/8". I had to center the jig on the door manually. The results were OK, but it would have been nice if it worked as designed. It may work for other door thicknesses.

If you buy this jig, make sure you double check the centering before turning on the router. If not, the result could be be a nice cutout in the wrong place :(

It is going back.

professional handyman/carpenter
Very impressed with the template, the only thing, I use dry-wall screws instead of the nails provided. I like the router bit with bearing included, but was able to use my Craftsman router with the bit/guide and the strike plates fit perfectly.

Works well
Does a good job for routering strike plates. Feels a bit cheap and you'd think they's imporve the way you fasten this to the door frame or else charge less than $20. They did give me a few extra nails in this pack. Al this being said I would purchase another one for $20 if this one breaks.

Door templates
These templates delivered exactly what they promised. Once you get used to using them they are perfect. I reccomend them to anyone who only needs them occasionaly and doesn't want to pay the price for professional sets