Making Lipped doors tips?

[Brian Penning]

Any tips on making lipped doors where the left and right doors have rabbets overlapping each other where they meet in the center? (the overlap covers the gap between the doors)
Just to make it more complicated for myself both doors are semi overlay around the face frame using 3/8" inset hinges.
TIA for any and all replies.

[Dell Littlefield]

Are you modifying kitchen cabinet doors? If so, this might help. I cut the divider off at top and bottom using a Japanese dozuki saw to get a very thin kerf. Then simply screwed the cutoff divider from the back on to one of the doors. Has worked great for about 15 years.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I made a set of hinged interior shutters that ovelayed in the middle vertically & also horizontal. So there was two on the top & two on the bottom. They were also inset into the window frame like a inset cabinet door that folded back against the wall. I just made a full size drawing to figure out the spacing & overlap. That was after I screwed up.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Just as a comment, lipped doors (to each other) are really annoying in cabinets where you might normally just need to open one of the doors to get at what you want. I never use them unless I either need to lock the doors securely or can't stand any light getting between the doors. They look nice, but I find them frustrating in a kitchen or bathroom.

As far as aesthetics, it looks best if the dividing line is exactly in the center of the door opening. If you are laying this out so the right hand door overlays the left, the left hand door needs to be wider than half of the door opening by the overlay dimension, and the right hand door needs to be exactly half the width, minus the hinge gap.

One way to retrofit existing doors is to make a rabbet on the back of both doors at the center, and attach a spline to the left side of the door that fills the rabbets. Then you get the right spacing on the front, it looks ok from the back, and you have a replaceable stop in case you break it. Kind of like a loose tenon.

[Brian Penning]

One way to retrofit existing doors is to make a rabbet on the back of both doors at the center, and attach a spline to the left side of the door that fills the rabbets. Then you get the right spacing on the front, it looks ok from the back, and you have a replaceable stop in case you break it. Kind of like a loose tenon.

That's a good idea -thanks. Simplifies it.

[Joe Scharle]

I generally leave them full thickness and bevel the edges 3 deg for ease of opening/closing, so they don't hit each other.