Gaps for Doors and Drawer Fronts for Doors Inset in Face Frame

[Bob Deroeck]

I'm making a bathroom vanity with face frame and inset doors and drawer fronts. I'm trying to determine how much of a gap to leave between the face frame and the edge of the doors and drawer fronts so that the drawers will open without binding and the doors will open without interfering with each other or binding on the face frame. There are two doors in the FF opening with the hinges located on either side of the FF opening and the doors coming together in the middle of the FF opening with no vertical center post in the FF. I was planning on using two box hinges on each door, but may use Euro-style cabinet hinges for adjustability. Each door is about 26 inches high and 12" wide. The drawers will all have glides. The doors, drawer fronts and FF are all 3/4" thick.

I was thinking of using the following gaps:

- 1/32" or 1/16" gap on all 4 sides of the drawer fronts

- 1/32" or 1/16" gap for the top and bottom of the doors.

- 1/32" gap between the hinge-side of the door and the FF

- 1/16" gap between the two closed doors


Any advice or recommendations is appreciated.


Bob

[Jeff Monson]

I keep it simple, I use pennies as my spacers. I start with the bottom and top, finish with the sides. I use a low angle block plane, goes pretty quick with nice results.

[Paul Murphy]

Inset door and drawer gap will depend on the quality of your hardware. The best drawer slides can get away with a gap the thickness of countertop laminate (~.048") if you are accurate in fitting and installing. The doors will also depend on the quality of hinges, and what Jeff suggests will work with the better quality hinges, but I like to use a nickel for the bottom gap simply because hinges wear over time and gravity works forever.

[Thomas love]

3/32" works for me

[Jamie Buxton]

If you use cup hinges, the manufacturer specs what the minimum gap can be. For instance, if you use Blum 120 degree hinges and the inset door is 3/4" thick, the minimum hinge-side gap is .075". A nickel is about .075" thick.

I use the same gap around everything. Using different gaps around different parts of the cabinet would look funny.

[Joe Cowan]

My new way, that I have tied once now and it was perfect, is to make the drawer the same width as the drawer opening, then take a smoothing plane and work the sides until you have a perfect fit.

[Chris Padilla]

My new way, that I have tied once now and it was perfect, is to make the drawer the same width as the drawer opening, then take a smoothing plane and work the sides until you have a perfect fit.

I'm finding that making the fit tight and sneaking up on the gap you want is the best way to go. Otherwise, I used 2 old credit cards to achieve a 1/16" gap all around. Put your calipers on a credit card...it'll come out dead nuts on at 1/32". I now collect old CCs to use for shims and measure gaps.

[Peter Quinn]

I like all the gaps the same regardless of what you choose. Some prefer fairly slight gaps, as low as 1/32", and while this does look sleek under the best of circumstances, wood can easily move enough to close up such a small gap, and rubbed off finish never looks elegant. Some like big ole wide gaps, like almost 1/8", and while this probably insures you never get any rubbing, it's a bit more "factory" looking, convienence over style. My happy spot is between .050" and .075" depending on the season. If I hang doors made in winter I like the gaps a little bigger. They almost surely will expand. If I make doors in summer I like the gaps a bit tighter, they almost always shrink a bit next winter. I've used nickels (around .055"), Formica samples (stuff I have measures .050"), a few wraps of painters tape brings either up to a thicker tolerance as required. I use the same gauges for everything. Washers could work too if they are the right gap. I've cheated the gaps on euro hinges by creating a small relief on the back side of the doors where they meet the arm, you don't see this when its opened, you can't see it when it's closed being on the back of the door. You can also back bevel the pull side a bit like a passage door. I like euro hinges but the "suggested" gaps are getting a bit large for my tastes.

[John TenEyck]

Get a copy of Bruce Hoadley's book "Understanding Wood" and read how to fit an inset drawer front based on the current MC and expected MC over the seasons. Guessing, going on what looks good, rules of thumb, etc. may work some of the time, may even work all the time if you leave really big gaps, but why not apply just a little bit of science and KNOW that it will fit.

John

[Kevin Jenness]

I generally go for 1/16" reveals on general cabinetwork with butt hinges and 3/32" with Euro hinges as they wear faster. I leave a greater gap in the winter than summer, and backbevel the pull side. Gauge blocks of p-lam or wood are good, and I get a lot of mileage out of my Veritas taper gauge. When fitting doors with butt hinges, I usually cut them slightly smaller than the opening, cut the hinge mortises, then adjust the margins once the doors are swinging. In face frame cabinetwork, accurately framed openings, parallel and square, save a lot of fuss in fitting the doors/drawers. A well tuned jointer is very useful for taper cuts when the opening is not perfect.