I have made and finished about 15 drawer fronts and 5 doors for inset cabinets. I made each a hair too large so they can be fitted to their respective openings.
I need to reduce the size without damaging the finish while avoiding tear out, particularly on the stile ends. It is my intention to clamp a piece of sacrificial wood to the door/drawer.
I have an article that uses the jointer, but I thought of doing it with a decent block plane or perhaps a belt sander (the little P-C one). The latter items will need to be acquired.
Once they are the correct size, I will mask the fronts and finish the edges.
I would really appreciate any help and guidance here.
Thank you,
Hastings
Replies
Hi Hastings ,
Sanding the end grain will give you the best results , without chipping or tearout . I use the jointer for sizing my door frames stiles . I use an edge sander , basically a long belt sander on edge for end grain.
How big a hair large are they ? Perhaps your best blade on the TS to cut the end grain , then a light sanding .
If you decide to use the jointer on the end grain instead of backing it up with another piece of wood you can make a micro bevel on the edges that your worried about chipping out.
What I finally learned to do was make the door ht correct from the start , it is seldom the opening is wrong up and down .So that leaves the width or the stiles only to trim and the jointer is my choice .
I was nervous about making inset doors fit at first but I leave about 3/32nds or less all around and typically if you are using Euro hinges (say yes) there is enough adjustment to dial the doors in perfect with no fitting as a rule, trust yourself .
luck to you dusty
Dusty:Thank you for your advice. I had not thought of the table saw! And I had forgotten the micro-bevel to avoid tear out. I had seen that trick demonstrated on the Wood Whisperer.I am using the non-mortise hinges. The middle screw hole is elongated to allow a minor adjustment. They are what I would call finial hinges, in other words they have a decorative tips. They contribute to the overall look that I wanted.Thank you again.Hastings
Dusty:Well the doors and drawers are all the right size and the edges finished. I used my jointer which I set to 1/32nd. On the end grain, I put in the micro bevel and it worked like a champ with no tear out.The doors are installed, but I'm waiting on the pulls, which are back-ordered, to finally install the drawer fronts.Thank you for your advice; I thought you might like to know that I used it and it worked!Regards,Hastings
Hastings ,
I'm glad things worked out , and you are very welcome .
remember " how good we are is how good we fix our mistakes "
dusty , and Maple flavored
This could become a major hassle if you've already mounted your door hinges. Unless you're using hinges that attach to the edge of the door, cutting down the hinge side will "move" the mounting location of the hinge. Probably not catastrophic, but aggravating.
Your other problem will be fixing your stain/finish so it blends without showing up. Masking will probably leave a noticeable line.
I can't think of any ideas that will make this job a piece of cake, but I would recommend that you make the stain/finish work the last step in future projects.
FWIW, I completely assemble my cabinets and get everything "dialed-in", then disassenble them for staining & finishing.
Dave:Thank you for you input."This could become a major hassle if you've already mounted your door hinges. Unless you're using hinges that attach to the edge of the door, cutting down the hinge side will "move" the mounting location of the hinge. Probably not catastrophic, but aggravating."I am using the non-mortise hinge, which I haven't started so I don't have to worry about the hinge problem. But worth remembering for the future."Your other problem will be fixing your stain/finish so it blends without showing up. Masking will probably leave a noticeable line."I am using a clear finish, no stain so I don't anticipate too much difference."I can't think of any ideas that will make this job a piece of cake…"My problem was that my wife wanted a rubbed out finish (1 coat of vinyl dealer followed by 4 coats of lacquer 220 in between coats and then rubbed out to 4000) and it was much easier to do before gluing up the frames and panels for the doors and drawers. I found that when I tried with assembled pieces it was impossible to get into all the nooks and crannies and they would fill with fine white powder from the rubbing out. The end result looks much nicer and I haven't encountered a problem with a glue line as I finish with the frames dry fitted."…but I would recommend that you make the stain/finish work the last step in future projects."Too right! The finished work draws oohs and aahs but it is extraordinarily time consuming and exacting. If this was a commercial project, I would be bust! But SWMBO likes it a lot."FWIW, I completely assemble my cabinets and get everything "dialed-in", then disassenble them for staining & finishing."I have had good success with that approach to the carcasses and face frames.Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience.Hastings
Any play in your hinges? I just finished fitting doors/drawers with a hand plane (1/16"+- gap all around) only to find the play in the hinges led to door sag. The door touched the face frame. I had routed a 1/16" spot for the hinges already, so I couldn't change back to my original blum hardware as others suggested I do. I bought mine from Lee Valley, and do not believe they are up to their standards. If yours are better, could you share the brand and where you got them? I like this hinge look also.
Brad:"could you share the brand and where you got them? "I got these from Woodworker's Supply:http:http://www.woodworker.comItem number 143-609 at $12.19 per pair (same as Canadian!)Regards,Hastings
I would check them, those are imports too. I ended up installing some shim stock to counter the sag, but what a waste of time.
You are worrying me! :-)I have just done a Google search and came up with the same type of hinge for $2.99. It looks cheap and doesn't appear nearly as well made as the ones I have.What do you think of these:http://www.vandykes.com/product/02016833/Hastings
I am not a hinge expert by any means so dont worry. I am just sharing my experience to help someone avoid the same headache that I had. Check the ones you have, maybe they will work fine. I noticed it said they were imports, and I grow more and leary of china's quality control standards. Take the hinges you have in your hand and see how much play there is. I estimate the ones I had would rattle back and forth about 1/32". I have been told Vandykes makes good products, but have have no experience with the ones you mention.
I wondered if you had fixed the problem. Where is the "play"? around the pin or between the knuckles?
It was in the hinge pin. Not easily fixed by a woodworker. I countered the sag by adding shim stock behind the bottom hinge. I would have replaced them, but i already had mortised the hinges into the doors. It didnt take many pieces, but it was frustrating to cut little pieces, drill and test fit several times. I will not be buying anymore of these and will use either the Blum hidden hinges or quality european hinges in the future.
Hinges are made two ways Rolled is the most common, Machined is way better but tough to find. You could reduce the "play" by removing the pin and closing up the knuckle in a machinest vice or tapping on a metal block. All depends on how well they were made to begin with. Thanks for letting me know what you ended up doing.
Thats a good point as far as modifying the hinge, thks. I am embarassed to say, but I didnt even think of trying to fix the hinges.
Brad:I was in Woodcraft this past w/e and I notice that they now have a hardware section. In one of the bins they have the non-mortising hinges at about $5.50. Well they are quite simply a piece of s--t! They look cheap and the hinge pins have lots of play in them. If these are the type you have, then I'm not surprised that your doors started to sag.The hinges I got from Woodworkers supply are nearer $11.00 and have no play in the hinge and are well made.When you asked about the hinges, I didn't have a point of comparison. Having now seen the difference, I feel confident in recommending Woodworkers Supply.Hope this helps.Hastings
Thanks for the tip. Because of my location I am forced to order almost 90% of the things I need, so I never get to see them before. I had always bought from LV knowing occasionally they beat me out of a couple bucks, but I felt it was worth it as i thought they would only carry quality items. These imported hinges are not up to the normal quality I expect from them.
Brad
Brad,Have you contacted Lee Valley with your concerns about the hinges? My experience has been that they will bend over backwards to make their customers happy. I'd suggest you give them a call.Jim
"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold
Not yet, but I had been planning to send a note to them. I have always been impressed by their customer service and feel this is a case where they have been forced to be competitive. They probably work fine for some who are not fussy, but like many other knots people, I am. I have looked at some Hafele and Hettich hinges, and will probably spend the extra for nice hardware for future projects. The more euro things I buy the more impressed I am with their quality standards.
I am using the non-mortise hinge, which I haven't started ........
That's a plus! - lol On one of my first attempts with euro hinges, I had to trim ~1/16" off of the hinge stile. That, of course, "moved" the hinge cup which totally wrecked my day.
Using a clear finish (shellac?) is also a plus, but I don't think I would try masking. I suspect that you'll have better success blending the new finish into the old.
Have you tried using a tack cloth to clean off the white powder? I don't rub stuff to 4000 (none of my customers can afford that much of my time - lol), but often go to 220 or less. A tack cloth usually grabs all of the white powder from the sanding.
I'm glad to share whatever experience I can provide. I've been a regular on this forum for a couple of years now and still way behind the curve as far as what I've gotten here v.s. what I've contributed.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled