There are two ways to cut a hinge mortise neatly: guide a router with a jig, or guide a chisel with a template. The Ryobi A99HT3 kit is the second way — a mortiser template that clamps to the door and gives you scored, accurate lines to chisel to, bundled with the A99LM2 door latch template for the handle hardware.
It is the low-cost, low-noise route into door hanging: no router to buy, no dust storm, and a kit that covers hinges and latches in one box. Its 4.5 average across 616 ratings reflects a tool that does a simple job simply.
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The short answer
Buy the A99HT3 if you hang a door now and then and own sharp chisels: it templates both the hinge mortises and the latch, costs a fraction of a router setup, and is rated 4.5 out of 5 across 616 ratings. Hanging doors in batches? The router jig below is faster and machine-consistent.
What it does
The template clamps onto the door edge at your hinge position and frames the mortise outline. You score the outline and chisel out the waste to the depth of the hinge leaf — the template’s job is accuracy of position and size, which is where hand-cut mortises usually go wrong.
The bundled A99LM2 handles the other half of a door slab: marking and cutting for the latch, so the handle hardware lines up with the frame strike plate.
Specs
| Type | Mortiser template kit (chisel-based, no router needed) |
| Covers | Door hinge mortises |
| Bundled | Ryobi A99LM2 door latch template |
| Method | Score and chisel to the template outline |
| Best for | Occasional door hanging, one-off slabs |
The good and the not-so-good
- No router to buy, borrow or store — chisels you already own do the cutting.
- Templates the latch as well as the hinges, so the whole slab is covered.
- Quiet and dust-light compared with routing.
- 616 ratings at 4.5 — the occasional-door crowd rates it.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Slower per mortise than a router jig, and the finish depends on your chisel work.
- For one door with existing mortises, no template is needed at all.
Template or router jig?
Choose this kit if you hang a door now and then and own sharp chisels. Choose a router jig like the Milescraft HingeJigPLUS if you hang doors in batches and want every mortise machine-identical. The Ryobi is cheaper, quieter and slower; the jig is faster and less forgiving of a wandering bit.
Using it
- Mark hinge positions from the old door or the frame.
- Clamp the template dead square at the first mark.
- Score deeply along the outline with a utility knife before touching a chisel — the score line stops the grain tearing past the mortise edge.
- Chisel in shallow layers and test-fit the leaf; it should sit flush with the door edge.
Worth comparing
Milescraft 1229 HingeJigPLUS — the router route
The dual-clamping router jig that cuts mortises for hinges from 2.5 to 4.5 inches, plus strike and latch plates, rated 4.2 out of 5. If doors are a batch job rather than an occasion, this is the upgrade — full detail in our HingeJigPLUS review.
Questions people ask
Do I need a router?
No. This template is designed for chiseling and scoring, not routing.
Does it do the latch as well?
Yes — the A99LM2 latch template is bundled in this kit.
Is it worth it for one door?
For one door with existing mortises, no tool is needed at all. For one new slab, this kit is the cheapest way to get the mortises right.
The bottom line
Not glamorous, not powered, and exactly enough tool for the occasional door — that is the A99HT3’s whole pitch, and it lands.
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