Resizing a hardwood door

[Oldman]

Advice please, I have a half glazed new hardwood exterior door that I need to take around 20mm off both stiles, the door is pretty heavy at 20+kilo

I have a table saw with a 40T blade & a couple of circular saws.

The ts is I guess what most would rip it down with then use the hand plane to finish to size, but as its my first ts and having cut nothing more than a few trial cuts i'm a little nervous of slinging a full sized heavy door at it. I can get someone to assist with overhang but do we think I would be better off with a clamped straight edged timber on top of the door and use a circular saw down the side of that?

Oh and before anyone asks, no I still have not had the time to get my new workshop any nearer to finished, electrics are started..just, too many other things keep getting priority.
Bathroom extract system was last weeks project, electrical sockets to chase into walls this week as I'm told we are decorating bedrooms, and so it goes on....

 

[Digit]

Is this to replace an existing door?

Roy.

 

[PowerTool]

Had to trim a hardwood door last year by a similar amount - went for the straight-edge and circular saw option ; as you say,there's quite a lot of weight in a good door!

Andrew

 

[Oldman]

Yes Roy, and the clever guy who built the frame must have had an odd size door he wanted to use up.
Its rear garage to garden, so I dont want to get involved with frame changes, easier I think to size the door to existing.

 

[jasonB]

I'd go with teh circular saw

Are you sure its not a metric frame (726)and imperial door(762), 36mm is very close yo your "around 20mm" each side :wink:

Jason

 

[Digit]

Having dealt with more ****** doors than I care to remember I have developed the following procedure.
Assuming that you have the original door, and a decent router, remove all the metalwork from the original door, clamp the old and the new together, use a router cutter with a bearing and route around the new door using the old one as a template.
If the original was a bad fit by moving it around on the new door corrections should be possible.

Roy.

 

[Oldman]

The frame is 1960's vintage and is 805mm max, the old door is 795mm with too big a gap at 5mm each side.
New door is brand new today 838mm or 33"

Circular saw it is then as my router is just a baby and would need a heart transplant to cope with the stiles, good idea though.

Wife is bound to ask why I didnt use the big new bit of kit to cut it down with so I better do it while she's not around

 

[Digit]

Well now's the chance to convince her you need a half inch router! :lol:

Roy.

 

[RogerS]

Hidden nails ?

 

[Digit]

Nail detector? :lol:

Roy.

 

[Oldman]

My Evolution rage saw eats nails no problem :lol:

 

[Setch]

20mm is a good what to take off each side - is this definately a *solid* wooden door, not one of the veneered, engineered construction doors which are often sold as 'solid'? If it isn't really solid wood, you might find that 20mm being removed leaves you with the block board core visible at the edges.

Assuming that isn't a problem, just use a CS and use the edge guide - IMO a straight edge will produce a better cut, but you'll have to plane it anyway, so you save setup time using the edge guide.

 

[RogerS]

Nail detector? :lol:

Roy.

Yes I know..just wanted to alert the OP

 

[jasonB]

The frame is 1960's vintage and is 805mm max, the old door is 795mm with too big a gap at 5mm each side.
New door is brand new today 838mm or 33"

Then you would be better with a 6'8" x 2"8" door which is a standard size.

Jason

 

[JTO]

How is it jointed?
If it is traditional, you are probably going to cut a lot of the wedging out.

 

[Oldman]

JTO its a doweled door with top half glazed and paneled botom

 

[OPJ]

The other concern, regardless of how the components are jointed, is how the door will look aesthetically - with ex.100mm rails (top) and stiles that are closer to 75mm... :?

 

[Oldman]

That will look better than the present one then, its only got 60mm left on the stiles :lol:
Its a back of garage door, it will look fine, not a patch on my new workshop mind you :wink:

 

[johnf]

That will look better than the present one then, its only got 60mm left on the stiles :lol:
Its a back of garage door, it will look fine, not a patch on my new workshop mind you :wink:

Hi oldman
60mm stiles are not wide enough for a good mortice lock