Door Slabs

[Ian]

Anyone have a suggestion for taking 2 blank door slabs, a 48" closet opening (formerly bifold doors) and installing hinges?

I've got a butt press but the measurements and alignments aren't the most straight forward. Is there some type of jig I should make/buy to make this more straight forward? Or just do all the measurements and math and mortise until the cows come home?

[nightfighter]

Porter-Cable 59370 Door Hinge Template is short money solution. Use with router

Still have to measure carefully, from header down for both....

48" is tough, but have you considered hanging the slabs on rollers? Downside is you only have half open....

[ecduzitgood]

This is how I would go about it...Take the spacing for the hinges from another same height door within the house. Use those measurements to mount the hinges on the door frame (use a router or chisel to recess the hinge flush with the door frame trim. Then put a temporary stop set in at distance equal to the slab thickness at the top of the opening, then put the door slab in place and shim it to the position you want it when closed and transfer the heights using the hinges you mounted to the frame. Make sure it's right where you want it because once you router the door you won't have much room for error/adjustment. Repeat for the other side. Now you have to decide if it is necessary to have a slide latch pin to secure the bottom of one door or mount a stop to the back/inner edge of one door that will stop the other door so the latch will engage easily. After they are mounted and you are happy you remove the temporary stop and install the perminent inner stop that goes around the whole opening. The reason for a temporary stop is it allows you the ability to adjust if necessary quickly and ensures the perminent stop is flush with the back of the doors incase the measurement isn't exactly the same (the opening may be out of square do to any settling over the years). It's a little tricky but doable with some basic carpentry skills and the tools necessary.
I hope that makes sense it been a long day and my mind is tired.
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[Ian]

Thanks guys... Was trying to avoid using a router but I'm thinking it's the right tool for the job.
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[ecduzitgood]

If necessary a chisel will do the job the same way it was done before routers and if you don't know what your doing with a router you can get into trouble fast, but thank God there is wood filler and paint if the router gets outside of the lines or chips out near the edge.
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[Guppy]

I would suggest you check the opening b 4 you start this...
Are the side jambs plum so the margin will be equal between the two doors when hung?
Header jamb level ?
If these doors are solid core (heavy) you may have a problem with the jambs not supporting them,,, a bi-fold jamb most likely has no shims behind....

Not trying to discourage you mate, just info to look out for...

Ian, Go fishing. :-)

[nightfighter]

Look for a laminate trimmer. It is just a small hand held router

[Rmarsh]

Ian: If you only need to hang a pair of doors and want to avoid using a router, you could use this tool. It comes in different sizes. After marking the hinge locations place the tool on the layout marks and strike with a hammer. The sharp edges will cut into the door precisely, then just use a sharp chisel to remove the waste to the thickness of the hinge.

Attachment 63342

To avoid measuring mistakes, make a measuring stick (3/4"x 3/4")the height or measurement from the floor to the underside of the top jamb, use this to layout the hinge locations and transfer to doors, it is critical to keep the story pole 1/8" above the top of the door to keep the top of the door 1/8" lower than the jamb.

[sburnsey931]

I am pretty sure the finished opening for 48" bifold's and 2 24" hinged doors is different. You will end up with a 1/2" gap between the slabs when closed. I could be wrong....
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[Ian]

Opening is 48.0" and each slab is 24"... So I need to take a c-hair off each side... No issues there
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