How-To
How to Fine-Tune Door Hinges
Whether the door is new or old, Tucker Windover's technique produces a perfectly aligned door that closes properly and stays shut.
In this gem from the Fine Homebuilding video archives, trim carpenter Tucker Windover shows you how to align a door’s hinges through a series of incremental adjustments. First you remove the hinge and then plug the holes. Redrill the holes in the proper spot and use a self-centering screw bit to reset the hinge. Once set, gently bend two knuckles of the door hinge to close the gap even further. The result is a door that closes perfectly. Windover’s methods apply equally to new work and to existing doors.
To learn more about Windover’s technique, read Hinge Adjustment for a Door’s Final Fit from Fine Homebuilding Issue #192 (Dec 2007/Jan 2008), pp.110-117.
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Instead of making a filler to plug the old screw holes I use oak golf tees. You can a bag of 100 for cheap at Walmart.
@user-4959198. Great idea, those have a pointed tip and readily fill the old screw hole. I also use wood kebab sticks or 1/4" dowel pieces, plus a little glue.
I had a furnace hallway door that had this same issue with it hitting the stop before the door would close. I took the door down, removed the hinges and using my multimaster tool buzzed off the little bit of door edge remaining at the back of the hinge mortise, giving me about an 1/8" to move it away from the stop. This exposed the thin hinge edge but I touched that up with paint and it's nearly invisible. The door closes perfectly now.
What exactly is the problem that he's fixing in the second repair? (Bending the 2 hinge knuckles)
The door was probably skewed in the jamb- out a bit at the top. In the double door situation he was working with, that would give a gap between the doors that would be narrower at the top. When he bent the hinge leaf out, the door had to move in to insert the pin.
I encounter stripped or misplaced screws often enough that I carry a 5/32 bit and some 3/16 dowel, which gives me a press fit in the drilled out hole. As Windover suggests, a self-centering ( "Vix" ) bit helps make sure your new screw hole is drilled correctly. It has a spring-loaded bit inside a conical tip- the cone centers the bit, which moves forward when you press on it. $8.99 for a set of 3 at your favorite cheapo tool store.
@bonsainorm
That technique can be used to get an even reveal between the double doors and can also be used to get clearance between the door jamb and door if the hinge mortises are a tad too deep. When I accidentally cut too deep when mortising hinges I just cut up some cardboard (solid type cardboard,not box type corrugated cardboard) and use that as a shim.
What a hackjob. Bending hinges with an adjustable wrench - nice way to scratch the hinge and also change the diameter of the round bend. Use a hinge bender for crist sake