Help - advice fitting an inset cabinet door

[dean0866]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can give me advice/direction in fitting an inset cabinet door into a face-framed cupboard I've built that has a bit of an issue. In my defense it's the first real bit of furniture making I've attempted and apart from this issue, it seemed to be going fairly well. Now, before I make the wrong decision and ruin it all, I'd appreciate some guidance on the best approach to resolving it.

The issue: The opening in the face frame for one reason or another isn't square in that I have a 2.5 mm difference corner to corner which is quite apparent when trying to fit the cabinet door. The resulting gap is clearly not correct to the naked eye in that the top left corner of the door is nearly touching the frame where's the top right corner has a couple of mm gap. The door is fairly square (read, first attempt at door making square)and I'm not in a position to dis-assemble the door, face frame or cabinet.

Notes: The hinges haven't been cut in or fitted to either the door or face frame and I haven't attempted or performed any corrective action so far......I've kept the plane/chisels etc away from it for now. The second door (the cupboard has two) is fine and fits square etc but again this hasn't been fitted yet.

Here's where I could do with some advice; what's the best way to resolve/remedy the issue so the door looks OK when fitted and I don't create further issues for further down the line. Do I:

1. Fit the hinges and plane the door to fit the opening so the gap looks to be similar
2. Plane the frame in order that the door fits square in the opening
3. Cut the hinges in to different depths to take out some of difference
4. A combination of all three above
5. None of the above and use a different approach

Each of my thoughts above I'm sure will result in other issues hence seeking advice and guidance first...

Thanks....

 

[custard]

Have you tried putting a square in each of the corners of the face frame, are they all out of square or is the problem just one stile or rail that's out of square?

Incidentally, a couple of mill gap between the door and the face frame is a bit on the big side. Some people say the limit is 1/16" or 1.5mm, personally I find even that's a bit too gappy. So you're wise to leave the chisel well alone until you've worked out a strategy because there isn't much room here for experimentation or false starts.

For future reference, the usual method of construction with one -off face frame pieces is to make the doors a bit oversize and then plane them down to a perfect fit.

 

[dzj]

You can make beaded face frames by adding thin strips to the inside of the frame.
That way the doors would be a bit larger than the opening and with a plane you could carefully sneak up to the shapes of the openings.
HTH

 

[dean0866]

Thanks for coming back to me Custard... I've just run a square around the whole frame and it would appear that the right side stile isn't square with the bottom and middle rail. The centre stile is square to both rails. That result actually makes sense given that left door fits square with no issue. I'm not sure how the one stile is out or how to remedy it without breaking the joints or ruining the frame?

Appreciate the advice about making inset doors oversize and planing to size... I would never have thought of that and I hadn't read that anywhere either.

 

[dean0866]

Thanks dzj for that suggestion, I'll keep that one in my back pocket.... it might turn out to be my only option

 

[custard]

You can make beaded face frames by adding thin strips to the inside of the frame.
That way the doors would be a bit larger than the opening and with a plane you could carefully sneak up to the shapes of the openings.
HTH

I was thinking about this as an option, it also opens up the possibility of having the bead the same size as the barrel of the hinge and letting the barrel flush into the bead which can look very classy. The problem is you'd then want a similar bead around the drawer opening above, in order to keep the cabinet looking uniform. Cock beaded drawers were originally done this way, with beading around the drawer aperture rather than being let into the drawer itself. But the practise was quickly abandoned as the beading inevitably became damaged, the same thing would almost certainly happen here.

It's a shame that the problem stile is the outside one, presumably this is where you'd planned on fitting the hinges. If the hinges aren't dead in line vertically you get problems with the door swinging open or shut all by itself.

If the grain of that stile is knot free and dead straight you might be able to glue onto it a thin batten without it being too obvious. A lot depends on the timber used and how square and crisp the stile's edges are. Alternatively, and probably a better bet, you could plane and chisel that stile back to vertical and then build up the hinge side of the door with a similar batten.

Without looking at the piece it's hard to say what's the best plan, but having a really big gap around the doors always looks terrible, especially if the other door is better fitting, so I'd be inclined to at least think carefully about this option. Having one stile a couple of mill thicker than the others isn't the best, but it would be less unsightly than a 3mm gap and a door that kept springing it's catch and swinging open.

 

[dzj]

Sometimes these solutions become a bit of a tangled web and it's better to bite the bullet and remake the whole piece or at least the offending member.

 

[dean0866]

Thanks again Custard, appreciate the detailed response. Luckily, the top apature to the piece isn't for draws, it's an opening where a DVD player and Sky box sit so will remain open. I should have taken and posted a picture, it would have explained the cabinet better.

I'm not sure I'm confident at this point in chiseling/planing the stile without screwing it up especially as it's fixed into position between the fireplace and wall.....another lesson learnt, finish the piece before fixing into position.

I think I'll have to sleep on it for a while before choosing an option.

Thanks again to both of you for the advice and potential options.

 

[johnnyb]

Custard is a fine furniture maker and his solutions will reflect that. I would use inset kitchen hinges. Plane so the gaps similar alround ( both doors) adjust to get an even gap. Job done. I'm guessing this is a built in alcove. Fussing with butts and catches etc is a real trial for a beginner.

 

[dean0866]

Just as an update I thought I share the solution I chose. I went for Custards advice and added a piece to the inside of the stile with the issue (sorry dzj, I like the idea of a beading just didn't want to have to bead the whole cabinet). In the true tradition of being a novice, I obviously made the infill piece too big hence I have some serious planing to do whilst standing on my head with my arms bent at strange angles. Anyhow, once it's complete and the doors fitted I'll post a picture although it might be a while as the adjacent walls need to be plastered first. Custard, don't look, the gaps around the doors are likely to make you cringe!