Fine Woodworking 2007 Building Furniture

to head off these problems by using solid

construction techniques and stable mate-

rial to build square cases and doors.

Mind the gap—Every door needs as uni-

form a gap as possible around all four edges

so that the door doesn’t stick as it grows or

shrinks during seasonal changes in humid-

ity. A narrower gap looks better. Knowing

how much of a gap to leave is a matter of

Use marking gauges and

a marking knife to make

fine layout lines. Take all of

your settings directly from

the hinge for accuracy.

Again, use the hinge

itself to set the length

of the mortise. Hold-

ing the hinge in place,

cut tick marks into the

corner of the door stile.

Then carry those lines

across the mortise with

a square.

D e p t h L e n g t h

Set a second

marking gauge

for the depth of

the mortise. If

the hinge leaves

are tapered, set

the gauge at their

thickest point.

Set the first marking

gauge for the width of

the hinge. Set it about

(^1) ⁄ 32 in. short of the center-
line of the hinge knuckle.
The light pencil lines at the
end of the mortise indicate
where to stop the marking-
gauge cut.
W iDt h
S T A R T W I T H T H E D O O R
experience and skill. I’m guided by a wide
board hanging in my shop whose width I
measure from time to time and mark on the
board. In early May I leave a slightly wider
gap to allow for the higher humidity in the
coming months. Somewhere between^1 ⁄ 16 in.
and^1 ⁄ 32 in. is about right.
Hinges vary in one way that usually isn’t
indicated in catalogs. If the two leaves do
106 F I N E w o o d w o rK I Ng Photos, except where noted: Asa Christiana
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