Our neighbor and friend is the general contractor on a building renovation in town that includes four apartments. He asked me to design and build custom face frames and double doors to finish off hot water heater closets in each apartment. The face frames and doors will be painted, and this project gave me a great opportunity to work down the inventory of hard maple I have on hand. The simple Shaker style door panels will be 1/2 birch plywood, and due to the size of the doors, each will be hung with three Blum soft-close cup hinges. This project is a nice way of having a product of my workshop be a part of our town!
This project is currently in the shop, so please check back for progress updates!

Blum 38N355BE08 Compact Soft-Close 1/2” Overlay Blumotion Hinges
Blum 38N355BE08 Compact Soft-Close 1/2” Overlay Blumotion Hinges

Assembling Face Frames with Glue and Pocket Screws
Assembling Face Frames with Glue and Pocket Screws

Each joint must be tightly clamped before installing pocket screws.
Each joint must be tightly clamped before installing pocket screws.

Setting up 35mm Forstner bit for drilling cup hinge mounting holes
Setting up 35mm Forstner bit for drilling cup hinge mounting holes

Drilling cup hinge mounting holes in one stile per door prior to assembly
Drilling cup hinge mounting holes in one stile per door prior to assembly

Four custom sets of frames and doors required lots of notes
Four custom sets of frames and doors required lots of notes

Breaking down half-inch plywood for door panels with the track saw
Breaking down half-inch plywood for door panels with the track saw

Cutting rabbets on the half-inch door panels to fit in quarter-inch grooves
Cutting rabbets on the half-inch door panels to fit in quarter-inch grooves

Assembled door sets ready for sanding and fitting to face frames
Assembled door sets ready for sanding and fitting to face frames

Shop made jig for drilling pilot holes in face frames for cup hinges
Shop made jig for drilling pilot holes in face frames for cup hinges

Four sets of custom face frames and doors ready for delivery
Four sets of custom face frames and doors ready for delivery

Painted and installed by Jess’s crew at the Mack Building
Painted and installed by Jess’s crew at the Mack Building

Painted and installed by Jess’s crew at the Mack Building
Painted and installed by Jess’s crew at the Mack Building
























