Inset Door Help...

[Derek Arita]

Does the opening for a pair of inset doors have to be dead square? Opening is not dead square, so I'm debating whether or not to go inset or overlay. As careful as I was with rails and style of the book case I'm making, the door opening is just not dead square. I planned on using Blum type hinges, so I hoped for enough adjustability to compensate. What do you folks think?

[lowell holmes]

Are the stiles vertical? I think the hinges need to be vertical or close to it.

[Mark Wooden]

Unless the opening is so far out that it would show a taper on your door stiles and rails, build your doors square with slightly wider-say a 1/32"- stiles and rails, make them a tight gap fit to the openings and then plane the doors to fit the openings with the required 3/32" gap.
Depending on which series you use, the Blum hinges will adjust most of the irregularities out, but can't make a square door fit an out of square opening evenly. If your openings are too far out, you'll just have to make the doors to fit the opening.
Don't loose sleep over it either- more people have made out of square stuff than they'll ever admit, if they say they never do, theys lyin' ;-). It's the overall beauty of the piece that counts

[Derek Arita]

Thanks Mark. Good advice all around. Looked up an article that says just what you're saying. I'll give it a go. Thanks again!

[Warren Lake]

have you made sure the case is sitting level and true so there is no distortion? how did you measure its out of square? diagonal with rods or? how much is it out of square, my opinion 3/32 door gaps are gross, likely you need them for those hinges, maybe more if your doors are inset a bit.

[Derek Arita]

Cases are plumb and level, shimmed up. When I glued up the cases, I ran a tape from corner to corner and squared up that way. But of course, once I installed the cases in place, I took my best, large square and found the door openings to be not as square as I'd like. Hey...maybe I'll accidentally make the doors the same amount out of square! Wouldn't that be cool...

[Martin Wasner]

Hey...maybe I'll accidentally make the doors the same amount out of square! Wouldn't that be cool...

And buy a lottery ticket....

We scribe all of our inset doors to the openings. I can make a door pretty square. I can make an opening pretty square. I can't make them flawless. Scribing the doors in though, I can make the margins pretty close to perfect.

[glenn bradley]

Cases are plumb and level, shimmed up. When I glued up the cases, I ran a tape from corner to corner and squared up that way. But of course, once I installed the cases in place, I took my best, large square and found the door openings to be not as square as I'd like. Hey...maybe I'll accidentally make the doors the same amount out of square! Wouldn't that be cool...

Did the mounting method possibly pull it out of square? If it is mounted to anything the home builder put in I would expect to have to shim for a square fit; no offense intended to our home builders out there. that being said, even when confidence is high on the squareness of my carcass I make the doors a no-gap fit or even a bit over-size and fit them just like I do a flush drawer.

[Derek Arita]

I was heartened to watch the Scott Gibson video on how he fits his inset doors. Much to my surprise, his opening was not totally square, however his method is to fit the doors to the opening, much like what has been discussed here. He made it look so simple. That said, I'm no Master Carpenter, so we'll see what happens.

[Martin Wasner]

Openings are never perfect. Doors are never perfect.

Have a link to the video?

[Mike Tagge]

I did about 50 inset doors in the past year. I started out making some big mistakes by making doors separately in a production step to the size and then finding out that the face frames were not square. Learned very quickly the hard way. Now my method is to make the face frames first and get exact measurements for the opening from them. With that info, I make the doors exactly to that size and get the cabinets mounted in place. After they are mounted, any added twists are finalized. I can then set the door into the opening tilted out on top. I mark the gap from each edge to the door aka scribe it. After the first two scribes, the door should fit into the opening and then scribe the other sides. I mark the middle of the opening for double doors and then transfer that to the door and trim that side last. Works like a charm every time. I charge extra for inset doors because I have to go and finish them after fitting and then bring them back for the final install.

[Derek Arita]

Exactly what Mike T. said...https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2012/03/09/master-carpenter-video-how-to-fit-inset-cabinet-doors-2

[Kevin Jenness]

No need to fit doors after install if the boxes are set correctly. Set up the case on a flat surface free of racking, fit and finish the doors in the shop. Install the cabinet with the doors in place and scribe/shim it so they fit properly.

To make the openings in a multi-piece face frame as square as possible, use spacers to locate the interior rails and stiles precisely while gluing up and adjust the clamps to get the diagonals equal. There will always be some scribing with small reveals, but careful layout and assembly of the cases will minimize it.

Two tools that help a lot with fitting are a taper gauge like this one http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=32520&cat=1,240,41064&ap=1 and an edge sander.

[Mike Wilkins]

If I had a case come out dead square I would probably go into shock. Even with the most careful set up and assembly, you sometimes have to make some slight tweaks to get an even reveal around the door. Inset doors are probably the most difficult to get right because of that.
Mount the hinges and check the fit, which may require more than one install.
Good luck and be patient.

[Warren Lake]

I use shims and have them marked easy to slide in and out and see where you are space wise. Old guys dont make doors flush with face frames they were taught doors are set back in from the face frame or carcass if no face frame.

[Martin Wasner]

I need to make a video of how I do it. Most of the examples and explanations seem way too complicated.

[Derek Arita]

I need to make a video of how I do it. Most of the examples and explanations seem way too complicated.
Please...and thank you.

[Derek Arita]

Thanks all for the help. I ended up adjusting the doors to the face frame, which was not dead square, but closer than I thought. I used 1/8" shims to help the process. Anyways, got the doors in and adjusted as close as patience allowed. I could have tweaked all day with those Euro hinges. Thanks again...
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[Dave Zellers]

Looks great. If it is going to have a natural finish, don't leave that tape on the doors too long- the untaped wood is darkening as we speak... :)