What's Included In Ryobi's Door Latch Installation Kit And Is It Worth Buying? Here's What The Reviews Say

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If you've ever tried to install a latch on a brand-new door, then you know what a pain it can be. Many of them are designed to be recessed into the door so as to avoid coming in contact with the strike plate when the door is closed. Trying to line up and chisel out a space in the wood for the latch plate to fit into the door is a tedious task. You need meticulous measurements, sharp tools, and a steady hand if you want it to be clean. It's all too easy to misalign the latch with the bolt hole, over-chisel and leave an unsightly cut out, or, worse yet, split the wood on the door while chiseling and damage the integrity of the lock before you've even had the chance to finish installing it.

If you've found yourself searching for a tool that can make this process a little easier, then you may have stumbled across the Ryobi Door Latch Installation Kit (AKA the Ryobi Latch Mortiser). This is a sort of jig-tool combo that is designed to make the installation of both round and square latches significantly easier. But those who've stumbled across this kit on the shelves of their local Home Depot might be wondering what comes in the kit, how it works, and what customers and professional reviewers have to say about it before deciding if this sub-$20 Ryobi find is actually worth buying.

The Ryobi Door Latch Installation Kit isn't particularly big, but it's surprisingly versatile. In the packaging, you'll find the latch mortiser itself, along with a few accessories that help to extend its versatility. These include: A reversible mortiser cut-out bit that is square on one side and rounded on the other, a 90° Fence, a 1-inch PH2 Phillips head bit, and a 1-inch 8-10 slotted bit.

The jig itself is a multi-function cutout and chiseling tool. It's predominantly made of a hard plastic housing and has several fixtures that allow you to attach the included accessories. There is a recess in the cafe of the tool where you can insert the reversible mortiser. This allows you to line it up with the door and tap the back of the jig with a hammer to carve the outline of the area you want to chisel for the latch. The attachable fence can be inserted just below this, so you can lay it against the side of the door to keep the jig square. This prevents you from accidentally indenting the door at an angle. An arced chisel piece is permanently fixed to the top of the jig. This is designed so that you can line up the top of the tool with the outlined latch area and then tap the jig with a hammer to carve out the recess needed for the latch.

On top of all this, the jig also has a magnetic port at the bottom of the handle where you can insert the driver bits in order to turn the jig itself into a screwdriver for inserting and removing the screws that hold the latch in place.

So, is this new Ryobi product a budget-priced no-brainer, or might the conventional method still be the better option? Unfortunately, it seems like reviews for this tool are a bit all over the place.

The mortiser has a 4.5 out of 5 on Amazon, where customers have praised it for its functionality, value, and ease of use, while some reviews were more mixed about the sharpness of the chisel attachment. That isn't too bad, but it only has a 4.0 out of 5 on the Home Depot website, and an even lower 3.4 out of 5 on Ryobi's own page. Several customers reported that the tool only worked on a single door before the chisel attachment broke.

Other reviewers seem to like the tool more, though. The YouTube channel Consumer Tech Check stated, "It's almost comical how well this works. [...] This is worth the money. It does precisely what it's designed to do." Though he also noticed that the chisel attachment wasn't as sharp or as durable as a regular chisel, and had suspicions that it might not stand up to long-term, repeated use. Tool Review Zone, on the other hand, was just as impressed with the ease of use and the cutting capability, but also stated that they thought the tool felt quite sturdy.

If you decide that this is a Ryobi product you need and you're willing to chance the not-so-confidence-inspiring chisel attachment, you can currently get the kit on Amazon for $18.87, or you can find it at Home Depot for $16.47.