Frame and panel door questions

[Zalsa]

Folks:
I am building a sideboard cabinet with frame and panel construction on the doors, which are 22" tall and 20" wide with frames that are 7/8 thick and attach flush with the legs of the cabinet (the legs are 2" square). I have 2 questions related the doors:
1. The bottom of the stiles protrude proud of the rails, and will have to be trimmed, as will a little bit of the rail so as to fit well into the opening of the cabinet. Is there a way to do that on a table saw that is safe (and if so, what is the method)? If not the table saw, what would you recommend?
2. Hinges - I want to use butt hinges that are mortised into the door and leg. Any recommendations on which hinges I should buy? I am having a difficult time figuring this out.
Appreciate your help on these questions.
Thanks

[Halfathumb]

I've trimmed almost all of the F&S cabinet doors. I purposely make the stile slightly long so I can cut them to size. I trim them on the TS using my sliding side table. But if you don't have one I recommend you make yourself a solid panel sled of which there are several on line ides to do this.

For the hinges I like to use hinges that are solid and look good on the piece of furniture you're making. I'm not sure if this what you're asking though.

[Zalsa]

Thanks - good reason to make a cross cut sled!
In terms of hinges - I am looking for brass hinges, but can't quite figure out what is the height and width I should be looking for.
Thanks!

[jteneyck]

Your hinge width is limited to the thickness of your door; actually less because they are typically set in a hinge mortise and don't extend the full thickness of the door.



Keep in mind that if you door is inset on the leg it won't open much more than 90 deg. If that's a problem the doors either need to be flush mounted with the legs, or you need to use a hinge where the barrel protrudes out to the edge of the leg. Hinge length? There are guides for what length hinge to use with standard passage doors, but I don't know of any for cabinet doors. I don't often use butt hinges, but when I do I typically pick their length to be about the same as the width of the rails.



As you see in the photo, the hinge is usually set so that the end of the hinge is about even with inside edge of the rail.

For a quality project, Horton Brasses hinges are hard to beat.

Hope that helps,

John

[Bibliophile 13]

+1 on Horton Brasses. Reasonable prices for very well-made hardware.

I always trim doors with a handplane. You can sneak up on a nice, precise fit that way. A block plane would be a little small for that thickness of stock, though. A smoothing plane or jack plane would be just the ticket.

[Zalsa]

Thanks everyone for the info. which was very helpful. Just ordered hinges from Horton, so appreciate the referral to them. Will post pics once I get the cabinet done....hopefully before the year is up!

[jteneyck]

There have been several good articles in FWW and others about how to trim and fit cabinet doors. Like many others, I use a sled on my table saw, and shim the door as needed as I make the cuts. I always try to leave the hinge stile alone. There is more than one way to go about it, but I start by trimming the bottom so that the hinge stile and bottom fit perfectly in the opening. Then I trim the top so the door just fits into the door opening. I put the door in place on the hinge side, and top and bottom, and closed until the handle stile hits the frame. Then I scribe the handle stile, or mark it at the top and bottom if I can't scribe it, and trim it. At this point the door should fit like a piston in the opening. Now it's time to install the hinges. With that done, hang the door in the opening, and then trim the top, bottom, and handle stile for an even reveal. Some folks do the final trimming with a hand plane, others use the TS and then sand. Whatever you feel most confident with is the right way. Some folks even trim the handle stile with a hand plane with the door mounted in the cabinet. If it's a small cabinet, you just lay it down, hold the door open just proud of the cabinet side, and plane the edge with the plane lying on the side of the cabinet. Works very well when the cabinet construction allows you to do it and automatically puts a small clearance angle on the edge of the door. In any case, go slow and check your progress.

John

[rwe2156]

Zalsa said:

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1. The bottom of the stiles protrude proud of the rails, and will have to be trimmed, as will a little bit of the rail so as to fit well into the opening of the cabinet. Is there a way to do that on a table saw that is safe (and if so, what is the method)? If not the table saw, what would you recommend?

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I use what I call a panel cutting sled which is basically a sled with the fence on the far side. For just a couple doors I would cut them with a hand saw.

Quote:

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2. Hinges - I want to use butt hinges that are mortised into the door and leg. Any recommendations on which hinges I should buy? I am having a difficult time figuring this out.

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Good quality 2 1/2 - 3" hinges. Be prepared to dig in your pocket