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Help! I have bought several foam filled hollow doors and 5 need to have a couple of inches cut off to fit around duct work, etc.
How do I do this without damaging the veneer and after I make the cut, what goes on the end of the door?
Please respond ASAP.
Replies
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Hi Karen,
Based on the assumbtion that they are wood veneer:
Take a sharp utility knife and score the desired cut line through the top veneer layer. A metal straight edge is desirable for guiding the knife while scoring. With a sharp crosscutting blade having an absolute minimum of 24 teeth for a 7-1/4" Diameter. cut the door a hair below the score line.
Apply masking tape on the door where the saw base will slide across the finished door to prevent marring. If you can't make a straight cut with a skil saw you'll need a guide of some sort.
If you have cut off more than an 1-1/2" or so you may need to remove some foam and the remant of the old rail so you can "rerail" the door. In other words you need to replace the solid wood at the end of the door if you cut it off.
Carefully cut a new rail from suitable clear lumber stock and excavate the core to allow insertion of the new rail. Glue and clamp if necessary the new rail in place. After the glue dries the cut edge, the new rail, and the score mark can now be blended together with sandpaper, a file, or a block plane if desired.
Hope this helps, joe d
*All good info. I just wanted to add that I've had good luck re-using the bottom filler piece. Either buy loosening with a putty knife before the cut, or prying off the veneer after the cut. Not a bad plan to have some clear stock on hand incase you can't get the veneer off it though! If there's one side that gets noticed more, place that side down on the horses. A score cut, a guide, a shape blade, and some tape( I use the blue painters easy release) and you'll do a nice job. Jeff/Buck Const./Pgh. Pa.
*Ditto joe d. and Jeff.A good saw guide can be made of 1/4" plywood. Take a piece about 12" wide and 38" long. Flat across one long side, lay a piece of 1/4" ply about 2" wide (also 38" long) and glue and nail it flat to the 12" piece down one side. Then, using your circular saw, cut the 12" piece by using the 2" piece as a guide. From now on, just clamp the saw guide to the door (or whatever) aligning the cut edge of the guide to the line you want to cut. A couple of #3 finish nails at each end or some clamps will hold it in place. You will get a straight accurate cut just where you want it everytime. Most all carpenters have made these, and you home owners should have one too. If you have more than one saw, you will need one saw guide for each saw. Good luck,Ed. Williams
*All good info.I've been able to remove the veneer from the end piece with a plane and reused it.
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Karen:
These guys have given you some good advice & you may have already cut the doors. In case you haven't, this may be useful. For the do it your selfer or if your eyesight is failing like mine, a scribe line cut with a utility knife is hard to follow. Clamp a straight edge above your cut line by whatever the distance your saw blade is from the edge of the saw base. Set your saw so that only 1/16" of blade is exposed. Make your first cut. (The teeth go across the grain instead of up into it which is what causes it to splinter.) Then Lower your blade to the depth required to cut through the door & make your second cut. It will make a perfect cut every time. You should slow down as you exit each cut & don't let your cut piece break off too soon.
GACC Dallas's straight edge is a good one if you have multiple doors to cut & you can still use this method.
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Help! I have bought several foam filled hollow doors and 5 need to have a couple of inches cut off to fit around duct work, etc.
How do I do this without damaging the veneer and after I make the cut, what goes on the end of the door?
Please respond ASAP.