I have to install new slabs in a basement remodel, where the current doors range from 76″ to 80 ” due to overhead beams, etc. The doors to be cut down are spec’d as 6 panel molded solid core.
I’ve cut down plenty of HC doors, gluing a 5/4 pine rail in the bottom for support. But cutting down a solid core door is different and I can’t recall ever cutting one down.
Can you remove some of the core from the bottom and insert a new rail? Or is it even required? I would think, if left untouched, the flex on the bottom of the door would eventually cause the core filler to come loose and sprinkle out, but that’s just speculation.
What do you do when cutting down a solid core door?
“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” Invictus, by Henley.
Replies
I usually cut mine up, not down.
Seriously, though, you will find that many so-called "solid core" doors may not have a skin-to-skin solid core, glued in place, where you will be cutting your top or bottom rails. As such, you will want to hog out enough of whatever #### is in there so as to be able to get a good re-rail job done.
Edit: I typed see-are-aye-pee in the original part of this post, and look at what the Taunton auto-editor did to it! Wow!
Edited 9/15/2007 5:35 pm ET by Gene_Davis
Ouggta try ess-ashch-aye-tee instead.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Pretty much the same as a HC door.
Cut door; chisel, route, scrape out "core material" (what is that stuff anyway? Some looks like grass clippings with glue); new or reclaimed rail from the bottom cut off; I prefer to glue the bottom rail in place rather than nailing.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Lately the rails on the hardboard doors we've been getting are more fiberboard. I always cut up a 5/4 or 2x for the bottom rail, and like you, glue it in place. Seen some doors where the only wood in them is the chipboard square at the lockset. Cheesy stuff meant to last a few years at best, imo.
Thanks
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
just curious...where will you get your doors? details and specs on a 6-panel solid slab will range quite a bit, and thus the amount you will be able to cut away will vary. I learned this early on when I started using a specialty door vendor. Doors made for sale in the big boxes are a far cry from those purchased in door and window places. How much you can take off will vary a great deal. I think that's what you were asking, right?
"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a governmental program" -Ronald Reagan
Not really. The amount needed to be trimmed is 3-4 inches. As the bottom rail is not much more than an inch tall, made of either fiberboard or pine, I will be cutting it away. It should probably be replaced, I'm just trying to determine the best way. Even trimming some from the top and some from the bottom, either one or both rails would be gone.
The doors will come from the lumber yard, which lately, is not much better than the orange box.
There is a specialty door supplier I use when I need to custom order a door, but the price far exceeds the cost of cutting a stock door down, and there is no waiting period/scheduling requirements."I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
I've cut down a bunch, and never even considered filling the bottoms...I've never heard of any problems, but then I am just an old hack with bad ears<G> Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out but when they will I can only guess.
They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy,
She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me.
I can't help it if I'm lucky.
Nick,
I rout out the ## from the core before replacing the wood rail with a new one. Use a straight bit with a guidebushing whose diameter is two skin thicknesses over the bit diameter. Just clamp sticks to the faces of the door and have at it. Wear a mask. The ## dust is awful.
Bill
be prempting the censors
Thanks, I was gonna try free-handing it, but the guide bushing sounds a whole lot better.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
refill or no ... up to U.
but I will repost the method of cutting doors I stole from someone here long ago.
measure and mark yer cut line.
set yer straight edge ...
now set yer circular saw at 1/8th inch deep.
run it against the straight edge backwards ... towards U.
don't be a baby ... just do it.
then ... full depth blade ... and run it against said same straight edge.
U just scored the top and made the full nonsplintered cut.
leave the blue tape in the van.
for really expensive veneered doors ... make yerself feel better and run a utility knife once down the cutline on top.
never a splinter once since I learnt that trick.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Thanks, I've read that here before. I use a Festool saw and guide to cut them down (and to width as well) and have had no splintering problems. Mark the door, set the guide on the marks, run the saw thru. Makes an almost toolmark-free 3 degree bevel on the edges.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
They just set up a new Festool display at the local Rockler. I'm getting that tool-buying itch pretty bad for the saw, guide, and dust extractor. I've got three table saws and an EZ Smart guide, but the EZ comes up short on a few things...not that I want to start that debate...so the question is, any regrets on the Festool?
Only regret is that I didn't wait another year for the new model saw, although the older large model that I have does just great. (I happen to like newer up-to-date tools, unfortunately, which tends to blow the tool budget somewhere around April every year.)
I have three size guides, the 53", the 100", and a smaller guide, which I have never used. The 100" gets the most use.
I'm constructing some cherry bookcases for a client, so the cherry plywood for the carcase was cut to size using the saw and guide, and I bought 100 bdft of qtrsawn cherry over the internet, all of which had some kind of crook in it, so I used the saw and guide to give a straight edge on each of the 27 boards. It produced an absolute straight edge that was ready to be finished following a pass over the jointer and a touch of sanding.
You will not regret getting it. It makes cutting doors (length and width) very easy. I use it to cut a 3 degree edge on the door slabs prior to installing.
The saw/guide paid for itself on the first porch I used it on ($7k worth of sheet Azek) and has been a reliable part of my repitoire since.
About 6 months after I bought it, using it on a different porch, the trigger would stick, so the saw wouldn't shut off. Festool paid to have it shipped, repaired for free, and shipped back. All in just a week, IIRC.
Really, I used it for so much, I can't imagine not having it available. It expands your capabilities.
No funds were paid for the previous advertisement.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
That's about what I thought. I've used the EZ guide a LOT, but the biggest problem with it is that I need to be able to undercut 90°, 45°, and 3°.
With the EZ you can only have two angles, because when you cut you trim the rubber anti-chip thing to make it zero clearance. What I like best looking at the Festool is that you can undercut at any angle.
Thanks for the info.