Door Clearance

[tim walker]

Hi all. In building a door for a piece of furniture, what clearance is considered sufficient? ie on a 20" opening should the doors be 19 7/8" etc. Thanks all.

[Steve Cox]

1/16th all around is a good goal to shoot for but various factors come into play. Is the door frame and panel, slab, or plywood? What are the environmental conditions where the furniture is built as opposed to where it is going? Summer/winter, high/low humidity? What is the finish going to be? If you are using oil or other penetrating finish the tolerance of the wood will be tighter than if you are building for a yacht and the piece will be finished with 9 coats of varnish. All of these affect the fit if the door and need to be allowed for.

[brent lenthall]

1/16" is what I do on inset doors unless it's the middle of winter (then closer to 1/8" depending on material). In middle TN we have a big swing in RH between summer and winter. Also, with inset doors I always make sure my stock has acclimated before starting the project.


brent

[Tim Sproul]

Hi all. In building a door for a piece of furniture, what clearance is considered sufficient?
Depends entirely on the door construction and the wood and the cut of wood in the door.

A solid wood panel door will need very different clearances than a frame and panel construction with 1 inch width rails and stiles.

[Mark Singer]

A consistent gap is most important...to look correct it should be the same all arond the door. On fine cabinets I run the doors slightly oversize and plane to just fit. If they bind with time ...plane again. Others I have left at 1/8" and it looks fine.

[Hal Flynt]

Frame and Panel won't grow or shrink much in the direction of the long grain, so this can be cut to fit a tad tight and then block planed to fit. I like scribing the opening on the door itself and trimming to fit. Once the hinges are installed, I attempt to match that space all around. (I Cheat and use my jointer set to take very light cuts to sneak up on the fit I want.)