I'm replacing Mortise locks with contemporary levers on solid wood doors in my apartment. The doors are pine, 1 3/4" thick. I've removed the Mortise locks, leaving behind two large holes and the Mortise cut-out in the door (first photo).
My goal is to stain the doors, so I want to patch the entire area and avoid using fillers for a nice, clean look; I believe this type of patch is called a Dutchman Patch (second photo).
I purchased a low-end plunge router to cut out the area, but I'm not exactly sure what size bit is suitable to cut 1/2" deep; the area is about 4" x 7". In the video they mention "upwards spiraling" bit, I'm assuming this means "up-cut", I'm just not sure what shank size and bit diameter is suitable for cutting this area effectively, cleanly, and without me standing there for an hour; I have to make 9 of these, correction, 18 (doors have two sides 😀 )
Question
What shank size and bit diameter is suitable for cutting out the area for the patch?
Best Answer
If you don't want it to take a long time, why did you purchase a low-end router? You won't be routing anything 1/2" deep with that thing successfully, I'll predict. Indeed, it's generally not a smart idea to try routing that deep in one pass with any router, but you'll be limited to nibbling away in tiny increments with a small-shank underpowered tool. If it's additionally plagued with poor bearings it will work even less well. And you'll be stopping to charge batteries on a regular basis.
More directly to your question: Since you are using the tool you have purchased, and it only takes 1/4" shanks, you'll be looking for a 1/4" upcut spiral bit. And you'll be "standing there for hours," except when you are sitting somewhere else waiting for batteries to charge.
Or you'll buy a half-decent (or decent) plug-in router with a 1/2" shank and be done a lot faster.