Hi Igor,

Just another thought. Sometimes I think that it is easier
to build the face frame around the door. I built a storage cabinet
for the shop that measures about 72" H x 96" W. After attaching
the face frames and fitting the first 64" x 22" inset door, I thought
to myself that it would be a lot easier to hang the doors first and
then fit the face frames around them since the doors were so
large and hard to handle on the jointer (or plane).

On normal cabinet sized doors, I don't find it too difficult to
fit the inset doors, but I do have trouble with getting the
hinges placed exactly where I want them. Using the Euro
type hinges help, but if you want the classic look with
a mortised hinge set into the door and face frame, it is
time consuming IMHO. I usually attach the hinges first,
making the door as snug as possible, then back off the
door size with the jointer until all reveals are equal -
I use a 3d nail for my "spacers". This method involves
quite a few intstall/remove/joint operations, so it does
get to be tedious after a few doors!

Lou

In article , igor
wrote:

Is it really that tough to make and install an inset cabinet door?

Granted, I've not yet done any inset cab doors, just overlay. Yet, I am
puzzled by the detailed article in the current FWW (176) on how to install
an inset cab door. It looks more like "How to fix a bad inset cab door
situation".

The author starts out saying, "As with any door fitting, the process is
easiest if the door and the opening are reasonably square and free of twist
to start with." That makes sense, even to me. He goes on to say, "I build
the doors just a hair (no more than 1/32 in.) larger than the case
opening." Considering that he wants a finished 1/32" gap all around, that
means he builds a door 3/32" too large and works down from there.

For those of you w/o the mag, the 6-page article and photos show him using
a TS sled to trim the bottom of a cab door at a very slight angle to fix
for square w/ the opening, using shims to determine how much needs to be
trimmed for size, and then trimming the other sides with a jointer and TS
for fit.

(BTW, did you ever think that maybe Formica started out as a shim company
and one day someone said, "Hey, y'know if we made this stuff in large
sheets maybe we could sell it for countertops."?)

Considering that the author says that he has hung "hundreds of inset
cabinet doors" and that his article is in FWW, I figure there may be
something to his methods. Yet, he seems quite clearly to be saying that he
cannot build a "square" cab opening and door. OTOH, that seems like a heck
of an admission. OTOH, I can imagine that even a small out-of-square on
the door or cab can make the gaps uneven -- and the key is the gaps.

Is it really this tough? Is this why most cabs have overlay doors? Is it
really good SOP to construct panel doors oversized? What about a
double-door cab?

I may have to rethink my new kitchen plans. Either that or start getting
in shape for lots of running up and down the stairs from the kitchen to the
basement shop. Comments solicited. TIA. -- Igor