Long ago, when doors were MUCH tighter, you needed to angle cut the latchside of a door so that it could swing and not catch the inside edge, but when close the outside edge looked tight.
For a 30" door, what angle should I use?
I want to build a almost hidden closet door using SOSS hinges, and as small a door gap around the frame as I can, but the last time I tried this I couldn't open the door because the latch side couldn't "swing"
I tried looking for help on the web, but could not find the right search terms.
The door will be in the middle of a wall, with no casing, framing, or other things to point out "There's a door here." I am hoping to have a tight a seam as I can get, allowing for seasonal expansion and contraction. It will be drywall faced solid door. I will use a edge protecting trim for both the wall segment and the door, so all that should show will be shadow line. I will put a shelf on the door, and that will become the door-pull.
I already have a door behind a bookcase elsewhere in the house, but that won't fit in this room.
thanks for the 2 deg. answer.
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Bob Sisson Keeper of the Dragon and other things at Redwall mailto: snipped-for-privacy@VERMINSissonFamily.com
The industry standard for gap using 1/8" in 2" is 1/8".
It is possible that a tightened gap will work but the standard is based on seasonal variations that cause swelling of the door and the typical door thickness of 1 3/4".
If memory serves me correctly the Soss has a 1/16" gap. It might be possible to lessen the gap by mortising the hinges deeper but you will be subject to hinge binding.
Something you might want to consider. With the Soss hinges you've pretty well made the gap go away on the hinges edge. On the strike edge you could try rabbeting the edge of the door so that it would fit into a corresponding rabbet in the frame. Configure the gap on the "non-seen" side of the door to be as wide as need be and the gap on the "seen" side to be as little as it need be and maybe even angle the edge so you don't see such a dark line as you'd normally see.
Of course this is all contingent upon the selected latch set. Most "off the shelf" sets will only work with a square edge or 1/8" in 2" bevel.
Oh, and I wish all door problems were as simple as your's.
Be sure of the required placement of the Soss before you finalize the design. A Soss (again from memory) is usually placed very close to the face of the wide side of the door.
Also, a neat little trick that Soss recommends, use two hinges toward the top of the opening and a single hinge down low. The uppers take the cantilevered weight while the lower is really only there as a pivot point.
3 Degree is the standard on passage way doors, You can do more if desired If you want a real tight fit make the door 1/32 or 1/16 large angle the edge at 3 to 5 degree right to a point and then sand or block plane that point to fit
To get the exact angle do a layout at full scale check the pivot point on your hinge and swing an arc with trammel points & measure the angle. If you do not have trammel point use two small holes in a stck for a compass
YUP! 5/32" *max*, for the medium-size ones (2xx series). Exceed that dimension, _at_all_, and the hinge will not open properly. it will bind _well_ before it reaches even 90 degrees open. DAHMHIKT.
SOSS hinges are also *FUNNY* (as in 'odd', and/or 'weird').
They _don't_ have a single pivot point,
Specs say you gotta have 3/64" 'gap' on the hinge side, for a 208 hinge. Between the surface plates of the hinge. (varies by hinge, see the engineering drawings at:
for the specific hinge being used. Rummage through some of the others that are the same 1st digit, too. sometimes there's info on a 'related' drawing, that didn't make it to the drawing for the specific hinge being used. PDF's are available for on-line viewing, or you can download .DWG or .DXF files for use in a CAD program.
2 degrees (mentioned) elsewhere, sounds about right for a 'tight fit' _conventional_ hinged door.
I'd consider a small rabbet in the front side of the non-hinge-side jamb. leaving a 'reasonable' gap between the jamb and the main part of the door.
sort-of like this:
+------+ | hinge| | | | D | | O | | O | | R | +-----++ || +-----+|| | |++ | +-+ | W | | A | | L | | L | | |
only that narrow strip has to be 'near snug' to the wall, and you've ensured that there is _not_ a clear light-path through the 'gap', to give it away.
The _ideal_ way to accomplish this kind of 'concealment' is by visual 'diversion'/'distraction'. find a way to put a _pattern_ of such vertical lines on the wall, and the two edges of the door "just happen" to coincide with two parts of the pattern.
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