Woodworking Trim Corners

I know as a good woodworker you don’t assume anything, correct? You check that your table saw blade is at 90 degrees from the table surface, and you also check your cuts to ensure that they are really square. And if you are building a cabinet, you also recheck that the face frame is square, and that all the corners are at a 90 degree angle. So then why is that when you go to install inset doors on those cabinets that the hinges end up binding?

Well, as silly as it might sound, your finish work may be undoing all of the exact work you have already done. Before you think I have smelled too much paint thinner, let me explain. You have gone to a lot of trouble to make things flat, straight and square, and you’re ready for the finish. But before you apply the finish what do we all do? We grab our handy sander, and clean up the entire project. We work real hard to make sure that all of the surfaces are smooth; we also work real hard to get rid of any burn marks that may be left over from the saw. And this is where I think we get into trouble.

Inset hinges are installed on the inside face of the stiles. For the hinge to work properly, the inside face of the stile must be 90 degrees from the face. If it is not then the hinge will stop before the door totally closes. How much of a problem this is really depends on the size of the door. If you remember your high school trigonometry classes then you will remember the Pythagorean Theorem, which defines a right triangle, which is what we created by too much sanding. Or if your more like me, and have trouble remembering high school, what good the good old Pythagorean theory says about our problems is, for any given angle, as the length of the Hypotenuse ( the Door width) increases, the length of the side( Offset) will also increase. Or the wider the door, the more acute the problem will be.

So how do we fix this problem? Well, I guess the first suggestion I have is to be very careful when you sand the edges of your stiles. And deviation from a 90 degree angle can wreak havoc on your doors closing correctly. But not sanding really isn’t a practical answer.

The method I learned from my father-in-law, takes a page from the machinists world, shims. Machinists use metal shims to correct misalignment, these are normally very thin strips of metal, only a couple of 1000th of an inch thick. Metal shims may work well, but there may be some chemical interaction between the metal and your chosen finish choice that would end up discoloring your finished product. So instead of metal, I would suggest the use of either paper or very thin cardboard.

How thick of a shim do you need would really depend on the angle and the width of the door. I normally will loosen up the hinge, insert a small shim, re-secure the hinge, and try it. If you need more correction, then simply add another thickness of the shim. You may find that you will need a different thickness of shims on the other hinges on this door; it’s really a trail and error process. Just be sure that you trim off the excess shim that protrudes beyond the face of the hinge. You really don’t want that to show in your finished product.

On important note, only install the shim on the front side of the hinge. A shim that covers the entire hinge would only move the door further away from the stile, and would not correct the problem.

The moral of this is, be careful of what you sand, and if you create a problem with the sanding, a little high school math and cardboard can correct your problem.

The Jersey Woodworker has been a successful woodworker for over 30 years. To read more of his tips, tricks, projects and reviews please visit his blog at Sawdust on the Floor.

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