POPULARWOODWORKING.COM ■ 51leaf as a caul), then proceed as above.
If the gap between the door and
the cabinet is too large, you’ll need to
deepen the mortise in one of those
parts. The door is usually the easier
to deal with, as you can remove it
from the cabinet and put it in a vise
(whether in the shop or on a jobsite
workbench). Marking out the cut is
tricky because your gauge may want
to lean into the mortise, which will
give you an inaccurate position. I use
Sources
HORTON BRASSES, INC.
Horton-brasses.com
WHITECHAPEL BRASSES
Whitechapel-ltd.com
BRUSSO
Brusso.com
PAXTON HARDWARE
Paxtonhardware.com
REJUVENATION
Rejuvenation.com16 17
18
a steel straightedge and a marking
knife to make a line on the door face
parallel to the existing one.
While it’s certainly true that tra-
ditional butt hinges take more care
and skill than the non-mortised type,
these tricks should help your doors
hang fl ush, with uniform gaps. PWNancy designs and builds custom
furniture at her shop in Indiana.
See more at nrhillerdesign.com.16 This mortise needed to be
deepened so that the full thickness
of the leaf would fi t.
17 With a marking gauge set to the
correct depth, make a small mark
just above and below the hinge
mortise. Use light pressure to avoid
marring the door face.
18 Holding a straightedge precise-
ly on the gauge marks, score a line
between them. Use light pressure
for the fi rst cut, then repeat until
the line is deep enough to feel with
the tip of your chisel.