# Doors with odd measurements



## Gordo (Feb 21, 2006)

K2eoj said:


> Yes blowout and a smoother cut. the 126 and some others are designed for doors with a bevel guide and it has the ability to change depth for following a scribe.


Sweet!


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## Gordo (Feb 21, 2006)

Greg Di said:


> Oh Gordo...that is SO much back and forth. Carrying the door in and out more than once...upstairs?. You must be into S&M!
> 
> The easiest and surest way to fit a slab to an opening is to center it in the opening, use a door hook to hold it tight to the jambs and scribe it.
> Take it outside, plane (bevel) to the scribe lines, mortise bore, hinge and install. NO BACK AND FORTH!!!!
> ...


:w00t: Its the old school in me! Most of the time I get it right on the first try....sometimes I need to scribe twice when the jambs have 'compound problems'. We have installed many twin by-swings....yeah they are fun....not to hard with two guys.

I will check this book out. Where do you get these door hooks?


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Gordo said:


> :w00t: Its the old school in me! ...Where do you get these door hooks?


Old school...You make 'em! The diagram is in the Katz book.


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Gordo said:


> :w00t: We have installed many twin by-swings....yeah they are fun....not to hard with two guys.


Yeah, but I am only one guy and can do it by myself!


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## The Remodeler (Feb 5, 2007)

You can shave about a 1/4 ' off all sides of a door evenly and then your kinda in a bind. I have taken doors and cut one side to my finish dimension and then peel the crap and cardboard fill back to accomodate a new fill strip that I cut to dimension on the table saw. Glue it back in place of what you cut out and sand it. Done deal. Unfortunately, who pays the labor. ##### 1 When you do a bid I highly recommend you measure everything before the bid. I learned that the hardway also.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

So I bought them all standard sized and ran them through my table saw. Now I have to router for the hinges. Bought some Porter Cable plastic jig in Lowes for $20, comes with a bit. 

Any tips on doing this. I'm thinking lining up the existing hinges on the frames with where the new cuts for the hinges on the door is going to be a *****.


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## The Remodeler (Feb 5, 2007)

*Line up*

Either use the old Doors to align your hinge cuts (easiest) or the hinge side of the jambs. If the new hinges are not exactly the same size as the old ones (BE SURE ON THIS) use the top line of the existing door hinge cuts and mark down from there for the router guide top line. 
Basically what you do is measure from top of door to top of first hinge, mark and then bottom of first hinge and mark. Do the same for all hinges from top of existing door and transfer marks to new door. Now center the jig on the first hinge set lines and tack down. The jig will be bigger than your lines to allow for the guide bearing. Just center it perfectly as you can. Set your router cut depth being careful not to go deeper than the hinge thickness. If you have a hinge that doesn't line up perfect when you are done, just leave the screws a bit loose on one side and draw it in after the pins are all in. If you can't tap it in the groove as you tighten it, you can chisel the groove a bit to make it fit.


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## K2 (Jul 8, 2005)

No fail for me on a small job is to use the old hinges if they are in good shape. Leave them on the jamb. Hold the door in open position and shim to correct head height. Temp screw,( 1 or 2 screws ), the hinge to the door getting the correct setback. Short fine thread drywall grabbers work best for temp screws. Scribe the hinge on the door with a fine razor blade. Take the door back down, secure it somehow to work on and freehand the router to your scribe marks... I use my chisels once in a while just to say i can... This method is pretty much fool proof and is easy to teach a rookie. Don't let the router slip.


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Mike Finley said:


> So I bought them all standard sized and ran them through my table saw. Now I have to router for the hinges. Bought some Porter Cable plastic jig in Lowes for $20, comes with a bit.
> 
> Any tips on doing this. I'm thinking lining up the existing hinges on the frames with where the new cuts for the hinges on the door is going to be a *****.


Mike, swinging in a slab is not that hard to do. It's all about accurate measuring for the hinges and scribing (fitting) the doors in the opening. In order to do it right, you really need to bevel the edges. You can take most of the meat off with your TS, but a planer does the beveling best.

Seriously. Go buy the Katz book. You need it. You will thank me. Anything related to hanging any kind of door is in there. Even oddball stuff.

That porter cable template is a major league POS. Be careful that it doesn't shatter or snap when taking it on and off the doors. If you have a little time, I highly recommend ordering a jig from www.templaco.com they are much more durable and accurate. Or, better yet, if you buy the Bosch metal set, they are infinitely adjustable to any hinge size and radius combo. That's what I use.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Greg, I have it on the list. Right now between running the biz and trying to rehab this total gut out of a townhome at the same time I'm running in circles with no time to do anything but slap things together with as much effort as possible to make sure they last, reading anything right now is on the back burner, but I will get that book, it sounds like a good one to have.

Okay, I'm not a doorman obviously from the questions I ask, what the hell is with this beveling? Are you guys talking about beveling a little bit off the 90 degree edges of the door or beveling the entire hinge end of the door? What is the purpose and why is it so important?


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## K2 (Jul 8, 2005)

They just fit better less margin. Not important in that rental.

Older exteriors with metal weatherstrip the bevel is pretty important.


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

> beveling the entire hinge end of the door?


Latch/plunger/bolt side , not the hinged side, MIke. Gives little extra clearance on inside edge as door is closing and leaves a small clearance between door and jam when closed. Allows tighter fit in closed postion with no scrubbing door and jam. A good example may be a 4" thick door ( example only ). Think what a gap would be between the door and the jam to get it to close and open without a beveled edge on the latch side.


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