I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after installing new carpet and am wondering what would be the best saw/blade combo to use. I'm thinking a worm drive with a 40 or 60 tooth blade but have no experience trimming doors so am looking for someone who has "been there done that" before I butcher them and get in hot water with the war dept.

Rob Mills ~

The saw and the blade have nothing to do with it, assuming the
blade i s reasonably sharp.

The best thing would be to make an edge guide to clamp to the
doors. This requires more material and assembly. Read through
this article:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00035.asp

It can be done freehand depending on your skill. Mark where you
want to cut the door. Using a straightedge, cut through the
veneer with a fresh utility knife blade. Do not try to cut right
at this line, make sure you cut slightly longer than this line.
You only need to cut one side of the door as the blade will give
you a clean cut on the bottom, the problem is splinters coming up
in the top which get stopped by the knife cut. Make sure that the
bottom of your saw is not going to scratch the doors ( a layer of
masking tape on the saw's shoe will make sure). A few strokes
with a sanding block on a bevel and you are done.

The knife cut on the veneer is necessary with either method. The
bottom should be sealed with a coat of paint or varnish to prevent
the doors swelling from humidity. New doors' warranties are void
if this is not done.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Rob Mills" wrote in message
news:0s1te.928$Zt.810@okepread05...
I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after
installing new carpet and am wondering what would be the best
saw/blade combo to use. I'm thinking a worm drive with a 40 or 60
tooth blade but have no experience trimming doors so am looking
for someone who has "been there done that" before I butcher them
and get in hot water with the war dept.
Rob Mills ~

I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after installing new carpet and am wondering what would be the best saw/blade combo to use.



table saw w/ fine tooth crosscut blade

"Rob Mills" wrote in message
news:0s1te.928$Zt.810@okepread05...
I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after installing new
carpet and am wondering what would be the best saw/blade combo to use.

Maybe it's a case of "when the only tool you have every problem looks like a
nail" BUT I find that a belt sander can take a lot of the bottom of a door.

"DanG" wrote in message
news:cQ1te.1710$Lr4.840@fed1read03...

The best thing would be to make an edge guide to clamp to the
doors.

I had planed to clamp a piece of 1X across the door for a guide.


Using a straightedge, cut through the veneer with a fresh utility
knife blade.

Never thought of this one. Years ago I tried to trim a door and completely
messed it up with splintering. Thanks for the heads up on this one.

I'd love to do this on a tablesaw as one poster suggested but my tablesaw
won't handle that much width so guess I'll try the worm drive (blades on the
side I work best with) with a 60 tooth blade along with your knife scoring
idea.

Thanks to all who responded, Rob Mills ~

Never thought of this one. Years ago I tried to trim a door and completely
messed it up with splintering. Thanks for the heads up on this one.

I'd love to do this on a tablesaw as one poster suggested but my tablesaw
won't handle that much width so guess I'll try the worm drive (blades on the
side I work best with) with a 60 tooth blade along with your knife scoring
idea.

Thanks to all who responded, Rob Mills ~


Well my Tablesaw will handle a door....But it is by far much easier to
use a straight edge and a circular saw to trim your door.... Makes no
difference if the circular saw is a worm drive or not....Just use a
good sharpe blade ...

Scoring is a good idea and I would do it...plus I tape the edge from
which the blade exits the door...(with a circular saw that is the
visible top facing edge...) it would be the bottom if using a
tablesaw....

Hint...if the door is a closet door just make the cut so the inside
surface would be the side that splinter... but I would still tape and
score..

Good luck...Its not really hard to do...

Bob G.

"Bob G." wrote in message
...

Good luck...Its not really hard to do...

Thanks, I need all the luck I can get.
My son offered me an old door that he didn't need this morning so I'm going
to be able to make some practice cuts first.
I picked up a worm drive saw at an estate sale last week so being right
handed I think it will help me seeing what I'm doing while making such a
thin slice (3/8 to 1/2 in) off the door.
What really made me nervous is that carpet installers will not trim doors,
even for a price. RM~

I used a 7 1/4 inch blade on a circular saw. Put the door on a couple
sawhorse. Put a board (1 x 3 or so) side to side. Clamp the board on, about
six inches from the bottom of t he door. Or as needed for the width of your
saw. Run the edge of your saw along the board. That helps make for a
straight cut.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Rob Mills" wrote in message
news:0s1te.928$Zt.810@okepread05...
I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after installing new
carpet and am wondering what would be the best saw/blade combo to use. I'm
thinking a worm drive with a 40 or 60 tooth blade but have no experience
trimming doors so am looking for someone who has "been there done that"
before I butcher them and get in hot water with the war dept.

Rob Mills ~

Oh, I may disagree with that. I used a "jig saw" one time. What my Dad used
to call a sabre saw. Made a straight cut one side of the door, and a curvy
ugly cut on the other.

Circular saw works better.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"DanG" wrote in message
news:cQ1te.1710$Lr4.840@fed1read03...

The saw and the blade have nothing to do with it, assuming the
blade i s reasonably sharp.

Push the saw VERY slowly.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Rob Mills" wrote in message
news:aO5te.937$Zt.730@okepread05...


Using a straightedge, cut through the veneer with a fresh utility
knife blade.

Never thought of this one. Years ago I tried to trim a door and completely
messed it up with splintering. Thanks for the heads up on this one.

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 17:43:12 -0500, "Rob Mills"
wrote:

I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after installing new carpet and am wondering what would be the best saw/blade combo to use. I'm thinking a worm drive with a 40 or 60 tooth blade but have no experience trimming doors so am looking for someone who has "been there done that" before I butcher them and get in hot water with the war dept.

Several times I've done this I've used my circular saw and a fine
tooth (don't know how many) hollow ground plywood/plastics/laminates
blade, wrapping the cut line and adjacent area with several layers of
masking tape, never a splinter.

BTW, you should set your line length in OE to 70 characters.

--
Luke
__________________________________________________ ____________________
"Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by
the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts
were being fixed around the policy."
-- The Downing Street Memo, July 23, 2002
http://www.downingstreetmemo.com

Use a panel saw.

"Rob Mills" wrote in message news:0s1te.928$Zt.810@okepread05...
I have several interior hollow core doors to trim off after installing new carpet and am wondering what would be the best saw/blade combo to use. I'm thinking a worm drive with a 40 or 60 tooth blade but have no experience trimming doors so am looking for someone who has "been there done that" before I butcher them and get in hot water with the war dept.

Rob Mills ~

Rob Mills wrote:
"Bob G." wrote in message
...

Good luck...Its not really hard to do...

Thanks, I need all the luck I can get.
My son offered me an old door that he didn't need this morning so I'm going
to be able to make some practice cuts first.
I picked up a worm drive saw at an estate sale last week so being right
handed I think it will help me seeing what I'm doing while making such a
thin slice (3/8 to 1/2 in) off the door.
What really made me nervous is that carpet installers will not trim doors,
even for a price. RM~

They won't trim them for obvious reasons - it's not their job and
there's a chance they'll screw it up and owe you a door.

The worm drive isn't necessarily better in this application. The extra
weight is a liability and you don't need the extra oomph. Instead of
using a 1x clamped in place, use one of those clamping straightedges.
Very useful.

If you use a plywood blade, you'll probably get some burning as they're
meant for thinner stock. If you score the cut line, you really don't
need one. I usually set the straightedge so the cut is just outside
the score line. Then clean up with a plane and chamfer back to the
score line. Factory edge.

R

You should slightly chamfer the cut edges so the doorskin veneers with
a block plane so they won't splinter. Skew the plane so it slices
better.