Step By Step Instructions Of Cutting Hinges Into A Door Slab
Slab doors are basic, multidimensional & adaptable doors that you can easily install yourself. These types of doors can allow you to match existing jambs by trimming the mortise-and-tenon slots into the side of the door by yourself. This type of slot is essential when it comes to securing as well as stabilizing the hinge. It also will help the hinge to fit flat as soon as the door is shut. Production door shops usually use a jig and router in order to cut perfect mortise slots, however, you can do it yourself with the help of a hammer and chisel.
- Measure The Hinge Placements
First of all, place the door on its side having the doorknob side on the floor. Fasten & secure the door to a sawhorse, using clamps, on both ends. Calculate & compute the hinge placements either on an existing door or the door that you are going to replace. You can also take the hinge placement measurements off the jamb before marking them on the side of the door. - Place One Of The Hinges On The Door
Position one of the hinges on the door as if it was previously installed on the door. Slab doors generally do not have a left or right side, however, if your door has an exterior side, then the hinge cylinder should stand out on the interior side of the door. There should be a 1/4-inch gap betwixt the hinge cylinder and the side of the door. Use an existing door as well as a hinge for reference, if necessary. - Trace Around The Hinge
Trace around the hinge with the help of a pencil. Using a utility knife, you need to cut vertically down into the door, following the tracing as well as cutting to a depth of 3/16 inches. Position the tip of a chisel vertically in the tracing before tapping it with the help of a hammer, moving it around the tracing in order to establish a cut around the perimeter of the tracing. - Hold The Chisel At A 15-degree Angle
Now, take hold of the chisel at a 15-degree angle, vertical to the grain, with the bevel side up. Begin carving as well as peeling the wood from the center of the tracing. Rock the chisel diagonally or sideways if the wood is stubborn. Tap the end of the chisel if needed as long as the chisel begins to cut and curl the wood up to the point of the tracing. Buldge or protrude the wood even with the side of the tracing. Keep overlapping each fresh cut with the chisel as long as the bottom of the tracing is flat. Use an existing door or jamb for reference, if necessary. - Fit The Hinge Into The Slot
Adjust the hinge into the slot before checking for fit. Surgically trim the perimeter of the tracing by taking hold of the chisel vertically if the hinge won't adjust into the slot. Check for fit before scraping the bottom of the slot flat if the hinge doesn't adjust flush with the side of the door. Keep shaping as well as cutting the slot with the chisel a bit at a time as long as the hinge adjusts flat and flush into the slot. It is fine if the corners are not perfectly round.