Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Feb 22, 2008 04:44am | #1

   You will run into less problems at 3/32", that's the thickness of a nickel +-.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   ChicagoMike | Feb 22, 2008 05:44am | #2

   Agreed. I use that exactly. 

   "It is what it is."

2. 
   JMadson | Feb 22, 2008 07:41am | #3

   Just finished building a cab with inset doors and euro hinges. The nickel trick (which I learned here a couple of weeks ago) worked perfect.

   A nickel is a little closer to 1/16" than 3/32" though. 1/8" on all sides wouldn't look good.

    

3. 
   Piffin | Feb 22, 2008 07:56am | #4

   depends on the material and the climate they live in.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Sphere | Feb 23, 2008 05:50am | #6

   Frame and panel or plywood doors don't swell that much with climate.

   I still use a nickle, and they are the same in every climate too.(G)Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

1. 
   Piffin | Feb 23, 2008 06:02am | #7

   don't bet that nickle 'til you've made a stile in my climate. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Sphere | Feb 23, 2008 06:05am | #8

   I'll give ya the nickle so your doors don't rub..LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

1. 
   Novy | Feb 23, 2008 06:56am | #9

   He will need 5 nickels

     

   On a hill by the harbour

2. 
   BillHartmann | Feb 23, 2008 10:35pm | #11

   But piffin's has buffalo nickles and they are so worn that they are the thickness of a dime..
   .
   A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

3. 
   Sphere | Feb 24, 2008 02:57am | #19

   At least he has two to rub together..them big time contractors get all the nickles.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

4. 
   Gene_Davis | Feb 24, 2008 06:02am | #21

   It's metric for me, and plastic playing cards for shims.  A-Plus, Del Negro, and Copag cards have consistent deck thickness in the range of 16.2 to 16.8 mm.

   For flush doors and drawerfronts, I like the look of a 2mm margin, and with three card thicknesses to the millimeter, that is a 6-card gap.

     

   View Image

   "A stripe is just as real as a goddamn flower."

   Gene Davis        1920-1985

4. 
   DougU | Feb 23, 2008 05:45am | #5

   1/8" is to much. go for the 3/32", finer look.

    

   Doug 

    

5. 
   mike_maines | Feb 23, 2008 09:02pm | #10

   Nickel is about 5/64".  3/32, or a light 1/8", is close enough.  1/16" is on the tight side.

6. 
   IdahoDon | Feb 24, 2008 12:31am | #12

   1/8" looks sloppy to me, 1/16" is too tight.  A nickel is just right and you can buy 20 spacers for a buck.

    

    

   Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

1. 
   JMadson | Feb 24, 2008 01:10am | #13

   This thread has been bugging me on the math end of it.

   I just stacked up 14 nickels to get a hair over one inch. Therefore, a nickel is about 1/14" thick, much closer to a 1/16" than 3/32" or even 1/8". I just finished a small bookcase with inset doors and used the nickel trick to determine my spacing. It looks great and it's not too tight.

   1/16" = 0.0625"

   1/14" = 0.0714" <------nickel

   3/32" = 0.0938"

   1/8"   = 0.125"

   If you build the piece in a stable environment and you plan on using it in a similar environment, you could use 1/16". A nickel would give you a little more play. Use 3/32" if you're worried about wood movement. An 1/8" would be way too much in my opinion.  

1. 
   JMadson | Feb 24, 2008 01:13am | #14

   photos attached 

2. 
   Henley | Feb 24, 2008 01:14am | #15

   What about the old Half Nickels?

1. 
   PeteDraganic | Feb 24, 2008 01:20am | #16

   You are thinking of half dimes.... not half nickles.

   <!----><!----><!----> 

   I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish.        Pete Draganic

1. 
   Henley | Feb 24, 2008 05:33am | #20

   Dang, I always mess that up.

2. 
   JMadson | Feb 24, 2008 01:38am | #17

   20 dimes per inch.  (0.050")

   You'll have to ask Piffin about the half nickels, I'm just a young'n around these parts.  

3. 
   Sphere | Feb 24, 2008 02:56am | #18

   2mm is .078 that works for general arguement..LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

1. 
   JMadson | Feb 24, 2008 09:23am | #22

   If everyone else could jump on the metric boat, I would be the first to grap an oar. 

1. 
   Sphere | Feb 24, 2008 03:50pm | #23

   I pretty much had to in Lutherie, most of my Blueprints from Hoshino in Japan were in metric. So I got used to it..I memorized .03937  and x that in MM to get to imperial setting on saws and such. I still switch back and forth in my shop.which ever is easier at the time.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

2. 
   badarse | Feb 24, 2008 08:42pm | #24

   I'm ordering doors, not making them.  I think, therefore,  I'm going to  need to order them  a @ 1/16 and adjust them to fit each hole.  Sounds like a pain in the arse but if I wanted an easy life I should have become an architect and stayed single.  Luckily I'm not trying to do this job for profit, just to make my wife happy. 

1. 
   JMadson | Feb 25, 2008 01:11am | #25

   Will there be any outside profile on the doors? 

1. 
   badarse | Feb 25, 2008 03:49am | #26

   No, Shaker doors. 

1. 
   JMadson | Feb 25, 2008 04:13am | #27

   That helps. Buy them a little big, with a basic straight edge and then trim them to fit as needed. 

2. 
   DougU | Feb 25, 2008 02:56pm | #28

   bad

   When I make my doors for full inset, or if I buy them out, I always make them 1/16" big just for the reason that you mentioned - If you dont you'll be sorry.

   I dont care how much I try to make the opening perfectly square it may not happen, thats why the extra 1/16" on the doors. Easier to take it off  then to put it on.

   Doug

    

3. 
   IdahoDon | Mar 01, 2008 09:34am | #29

   Just make sure you check the openings for squareness and order apropriately.  It's amazing how out of whack things can get with 1/64th here and 1/32nd there, a little less over there,  another 1/64th on the door itself, and pretty soon it's a mess.

   Best of luck 

   Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.