Hi everyone.
I'm about to replace our lounge to hall internal doors. They are double
doors, but not standard size.
Getting tailored doors will cost £600, which is too much.
Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
meaning cutting against the grain?
Any help appreciated.
Hey guys, thanks for the input.
A router was first choice as you can take off 6mm at a time (1/4") and
slowly do a decent job. My only concern with using a circular saw was that
it doesn't always give a true straight cut as the blade cuts slightly off
angle.
Doors are about 1.5".
Router bit was to be a straight flush bit, like you use to cut kitchen
worktops, I wouldn't use a bearing bit due to several cuts being required.
"Sliding Dovetail" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
> > size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
>
> Matt: why a router? Are the doors thicker than 1"? I'm not familiar
> with the router bits in the UK, but I guess a typical door would
> require two cuts - one from atop and another from below because the
> router bit would not be long enough to make a cut in a single pass
> (1"?).
>
>
> > I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
> > there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
> > meaning cutting against the grain?
>
> Not a problem, but you have a greater chance of tear out when you cut
> against the grain.
>
> I would not use a router to remove 1" from a door. Perhaps a table
> saw or circular saw would be easier?
When I was fitting some new internal doors, I put the new door on top
of the old one and routed it to trim it to the same size. As the
original door was fine with the door frame, it worked fine until I
went over the lock area. The guide bearing dropped into the slot and
left a nice indentation. That was bad enough but I did it with the
next door too.
Providing the original doors are a good fit, you can do them easily
the way I did, but just make sure that the guide bearing goes over the
door and not over the lock.
Paul
On Tue, 1 Jun 2004 15:31:37 +0100, "MattP" <@tiscali.co.uk {add
mattspersonal before @}> wrote:
>Hi everyone.
>
>I'm about to replace our lounge to hall internal doors. They are double
>doors, but not standard size.
>
>Getting tailored doors will cost £600, which is too much.
>
>Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
>size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
>
>I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
>there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
>meaning cutting against the grain?
>
>Any help appreciated.
>
>
> Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
> size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
Matt: why a router? Are the doors thicker than 1"? I'm not familiar
with the router bits in the UK, but I guess a typical door would
require two cuts - one from atop and another from below because the
router bit would not be long enough to make a cut in a single pass
(1"?).
> I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
> there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
> meaning cutting against the grain?
Not a problem, but you have a greater chance of tear out when you cut
against the grain.
I would not use a router to remove 1" from a door. Perhaps a table
saw or circular saw would be easier?
On Tue, 1 Jun 2004 15:31:37 +0100, "MattP" <@tiscali.co.uk {add
mattspersonal before @}> wrote:
>Hi everyone.
>
>I'm about to replace our lounge to hall internal doors. They are double
>doors, but not standard size.
>
>Getting tailored doors will cost £600, which is too much.
>
>Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
>size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
>
>I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
>there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
>meaning cutting against the grain?
>
>Any help appreciated.
>
>
a saw will probably do a better job for you than a router.
On Tue, 1 Jun 2004 15:31:37 +0100, "MattP" <@tiscali.co.uk {add
mattspersonal before @}> wrote:
>Hi everyone.
>
>I'm about to replace our lounge to hall internal doors. They are double
>doors, but not standard size.
>
>Getting tailored doors will cost £600, which is too much.
>
>Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
>size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
Cut them with a saw.
Have a nice week...
Trent©
Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !
On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 15:31:37 +0100, wrote:
> Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
> size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
I would think so, though if they're hollow-core doors you want to be
absolutely certain you know how thick the internal stiles are.
I once picked up a pair of cheapo hollow-core doors that were 3"
over-height for the closet they were going into, and the knowledgeable and
helpful gentlemen at the orange box assured me the internal rails were
plenty thick enough to have an inch and a half cut off the top and bottom.
I'm sure you'll be as shocked as I was to find out they were quite wrong.
The contractor I had doing some other work on the house showed me how to
deal with this: chisel the veneer off the rails and glue them back into
the doors.
--
-Chip Olson. | ceo2 at thsi dot org
On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 08:10:44 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>a saw will probably do a better job for you than a router.
You'd be surprised. I've found that a router, with an upcut/downcut
combo bit is awesome for door trimming.
Barry
In article <[email protected]>,
"news.tiscali.co.uk" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hey guys, thanks for the input.
>
> A router was first choice as you can take off 6mm at a time (1/4") and
> slowly do a decent job. My only concern with using a circular saw was that
> it doesn't always give a true straight cut as the blade cuts slightly off
> angle.
>
> Doors are about 1.5".
>
> Router bit was to be a straight flush bit, like you use to cut kitchen
> worktops, I wouldn't use a bearing bit due to several cuts being required.
One or both of the doors will need bevelling. The circular saw will
handle that as well as the operator can. Clean the edge with a hand
plane if you're just dabbling and wish, to some extent, to avoid a
complete hack job.
--
Doors - Locks - Weatherstripping
POB 250121 Atlanta GA 30325
404/626-2840
In article <[email protected]>,
Wm Jones <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "MattP" <@tiscali.co.uk {add mattspersonal before @}> wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone.
> >
> > I'm about to replace our lounge to hall internal doors. They are double
> > doors, but not standard size.
> >
> > Getting tailored doors will cost £600, which is too much.
> >
> > Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
> > size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
> >
> > I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
> > there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
> > meaning cutting against the grain?
> >
> > Any help appreciated.
> >
> >
> >
>
> Unless you're completely aware of stile composition and hardware
> requirements, your best bet is to get undersized doors and fur them out
> using proper glue and joinery...to avoid compromising door integrity and
> avoiding any hardware installation problems.
P.S. If you're just thinking of taking off 1/2", or so, for the
T-Astragal, the "normal" doors pose no problem. Difficulty arises, for
both hinging and hardware installation, when the fillet on the edge of a
veneer door (often no more than 1/2") is substantially removed.
The tools of choice are circular saw for the gross cut and an electric
door plane to perfect it:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004U0SZ/104-2196253-9745
513?vi=reviews
--
Doors - Locks - Weatherstripping
POB 250121 Atlanta GA 30325
404/626-2840
In article <[email protected]>,
"MattP" <@tiscali.co.uk {add mattspersonal before @}> wrote:
> Hi everyone.
>
> I'm about to replace our lounge to hall internal doors. They are double
> doors, but not standard size.
>
> Getting tailored doors will cost £600, which is too much.
>
> Is it possible to buy 2 normal size doors and use a router to adjust the
> size. I'm talking of less than an 1" of each side.
>
> I'm presuming that the quality of wood will make a difference. Also, is
> there a problem in using a router when cutting horizontal and vertical,
> meaning cutting against the grain?
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
>
>
Unless you're completely aware of stile composition and hardware
requirements, your best bet is to get undersized doors and fur them out
using proper glue and joinery...to avoid compromising door integrity and
avoiding any hardware installation problems.
--
Doors - Locks - Weatherstripping
POB 250121 Atlanta GA 30325
404/626-2840