Hi, I am going to be fitting some internal doors and have a few of questions: 1. Do doors come with a bevel already on the side? 2. If i needed to trim the sides of a door with a plane then what sort of plane do I need? Any guides I have read just state 'plane'. 3. Will using a plane maintain the bevel? I havn't had chance to get the measurments yet but I am thinking that the door openings will be of a standard size (newbuild) so 'hopefully' I won't be needing to trim the sides of the doors. BTW as you have probably gathered I am just doing a bit of DIY and am not a tradesperson
1. No 2. Electric is easiest but if not a smoothing or jack plane. 3. No You are also going to have to rebate the hinges and fit the locks and handles. The job I get called in to sort out most after bodged diy efforts is door hanging, there is a lot more to it than it seems and you don't even seem to have the basics. I would advise you to save yourself a lot of grief and expense and get a pro in. If you do decide to go for it do please come back for further advice over the coming weekends.
Thanks for the reply chippie. I was not able to easily find those answers on the internet. I am definately going to do it myself. I get what you are saying about getting the pro in but the way I see it is that if you don't ever try something then how will you learn?
You dont always need to back bevel a door to fit it. I would only do it if the door was 40mm plus thick. Use an electric plane if possible but make sure to have the door properly clamped.
Hi joiner1959, The door might be only be 35mm but i have been looking at some 40mm also. If I do back bevel it will probably be with just a hand plane (I can't extend the budget to getting an electric one) which I will buy especially but will be a nice tool to have for the future. I understand how a back bevel on a solid door is achievable but how does it work out on a veneered door?
...I just read that if you are careful (and competent) it is possible to achieve a bevel with a belt sander...any thoughts on that?...
I wouldn't worry too much about the bevel at the moment, concentrate on getting the first door swinging with an even gap all around to start with.
No need to bevel a 35mm door. Remember if you fit a 40mm thick door to an opening that had a 35mm door then you will need to move the checks back. Screwfix are currently selling an electric plane for 25 quid that would probably do the trick, a decent hand plane will cost double that. On a veneered, hollow core door there will be a solid finished edge usually about 9mm thick up each side for fitting. I would not advise using a belt sander, with the best will in the world you wont get a good straight edge. Remember to check the top of the door before you hang a hollow core to find the hinge / latch side.
thanks again for the inputs, I will be fitting the lining/casing (still getting to grips with the correct terms here) also so if i go with a 40mm then I can plan from that from the start. Is this the Plane you mean: http://www.screwfix.com/p/energer-enb466pln-2mm-planer-230-240v/67527 ...it gets some good reviews...do you think it will be OK for such a low priced tool?.......I would not mind spending double on a hand plane if you think that would be a bit more useful/hardwearing in the long term...
Although I'm not a chippie, one of the first tools I bought to do a job on our first house was a Stanley No4 plane. I still have it 40 years later, although I don't use it much. A few years ago, I needed to plane a door. A workmate offered me the loan of his electric planer. Bl**dy 'ell it scared me to death. Soon went back to my hand plane.
If you are also putting in new linings, its a bit more to your advantage; in that you can fix the hinged side, hang the door, then adjust the lock side to meet the door edge. But that's going back to the old site bashing techniques. Ordinarily I don't prepare the door with bevels unless its an oversized door, which will need a leading edge (bevel) on the lock side. But that I would make as part of the door stile and allow for it. I did an oversizer a few years ago. it was about 60mm thick. I hung it on these huge 6x2 hinges, they were lovely to work with. The hinges you fit allow for 2 mm space, and that is usually enough, especially in a new fitting. You do get issues with over painted old doors, then its best to burn off to the raw timber. I am assuming you might have had a loft conversion and been hit with the refitting of doors for compliance? If so is there an additional fire compliance needed? Good chisels will be important. Also, ironmongery can be sold with some cheap soft screws, which will fail along the way of fitting. So get yourself some decent screws from a good supplier.
Thanks for the reply malkie129, i think that if/when I do get a plane it will be a hand plane. Is this similar to the one you have : http://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-b...- Hand Tools&gclid=CMXtmLua4sQCFSoEwwodhEMAaA ...looks about right for me..... dwlondon, thanks for the advice....the doors are in a new house in Ireland (moving there at some point) and although I didn't build it I want to do lots of the remaining jobs myself to keep the costs down and also 'just because' The doors prob wont be so thick so I prob won't bevel them. 'Fire Compliance' - not thought about that. I had better check the regulations.... Good screws and chisels... will take that on board .. thanks again
If you're going for a plane get a good one. http://www.axminster.co.uk/lie-nielsen-no-4-1-2-smoothing-plane If you're fitting your own liners you shouldn't need a plane hopefully. Do you have a router?
I got my smoother from a car boot for 50p but I hardly use it, I've an electric plane which also lives in the garage most of the time, My block plane and a hand made arrising place live in my regular tool box with a small shoulder plane and then I have a few home made specialist planes that are saved for special jobs.
I am sure that is a wonderful plane Chippie244...but I think it would be a little rash spending so much on my first one I have got a router yes. I needed one when fitting some wooden worktops. I went with a Hitachi 12VE...worked like a dream