Cutting off masonite door

[Don Farr]

I have a door in my house that opens into the bathroom. It catches the corner of the bath mat and wads it up. I think they call these doors Masonite. What would be the best way to cut about an inch off the bottom? If a skillsaw, then what blade? I don't know what to expect when I start cutting and I don't want to mess up the door.

[Jim Becker]

I have a door in my house that opens into the bathroom. It catches the corner of the bath mat and wads it up. I think they call these doors Masonite. What would be the best way to cut about an inch off the bottom? If a skillsaw, then what blade? I don't know what to expect when I start cutting and I don't want to mess up the door.

Well, you could get your friendly local Festool rep to come over and demonstrate the circular saw/guide system... :D

While that might seem to just be a piece of minor humor, it points to the solution. You can use a circular saw with a good 40+/- tooth blade and a guide to make this cut. You'll want to put a layer of masking tape over the cut area, mark your line, front and back, score it with a sharp utility knife, position your guide and make your cut. The most important side of the door should be "down" as there is still a chance of a little tearout on the "up" side due to the way the teeth come out of the workpiece. After the cut, carefully remove the tape and use a little sandpaper to deal with any rough edges. Touch up your paint and you are ready to re-hang the door.

Unless the door has been already shortened considerably, there should be a nice solid filler at the bottom of the door, making it "solid" where you will be cutting.

[Todd Burch]

Hi Don. I hate it when that happens!

Couple suggestions. If it was rubbing just a bit, I would suggest hand planing it, but an inch would take too long.

A carbide combination blade would work just fine.

Those doors are usually hollow core, and are made with pine frames with cardboard honeycombs inside. The frames on the hinge and catch side are usuallly wider than the top and bottom frame pieces.

Set the door on sawhorses and cut it where you need it cut. Don't give it a second thought. If you want, you can run a score cut first (a cut about 1/16" to 1/8" deep) so that any tearout on the topside of the cut is lessened. After you cut it, and if you can still see pine frame on the bottom, you are done (after your touch sand the corners). If you don't have any pine frame left, and you see honeycomb, then cut a piece of pine similar in size to the opening you just created and glue and clamp that puppy in - moving/cutting the carboard out of the way first that is in your way. Ought to take about 20 minutes.

[Don Farr]

Thanks for the help Jim and Todd. I think I can handle it now. Maybe this weekend I will give it a try before the SWMBO gives me anymore grief about it.

[Christian Aufreiter]

Well, you could get your friendly local Festool rep to come over and demonstrate the circular saw/guide system... :D



While buying the Festool system for cutting only one door is certainly too expensive, the Festool saw and rail are indeed designed for this application. So if the Festool saw is already on your list and you see some future use (apart from cutting this door) your situation is the perfect excuse to buy it.

One inch is definitely too much to plane by hand and adding washers to the hinges (this is what I did when I had this problem) won't work either.
So I also recommend to use a circular saw with a high quality blade (about 40 teeth) and a fence or shop made guide rail http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00035.asp

Hope this helps,

Christian

[Don Farr]

Thanks for the link Christian. Never thought about tuning my circular saw.
Don't know why not.