Door trimming TS55 & rail

[Trickster]

Hi

I’m just after a bit of advice please.
I need to trim about 6mm (1/4”) off of the bottom of 2 solid interior doors ready for new thicker flooring and was wondering if it’s possible to do this without removing the doors (an old house with heavily over painted hinges) using the TS55, a short rail and a clamp at the non hinge end?
If I have to then I’ll take the doors off but can see lots of problems doing that so would like to avoid it if at all possible.

Many thanks

 

[Frank-Jan]

I have cut the bottoms of very big barndoors in place by drilling countersunk holes into the rail and screwing the rail to the door.
I also read a thread on this forum where someone said he had used the FS rapid clamps to cut down interior doors in place. (I have those clamps, but I only used them to alter already assembled cabinets, and I am not sure I would trust them for that task.

 

[Bohdan]

You could also just run the saw on its side on the floor and if that doesn't remove enough use a shim to lift the saw.

 

[Bob D.]

You will have to finish the cut by hand won't you?

I don't see how it can be done with the door still hung and in either the open or closed position.

The hinge pins can not be removed to allow for removing the door.

 

[ear3]

The FS Rapid Clamp is the perfect accessory for this operation.

 

[Bohdan]

I don't see how it can be done with the door still hung and in either the open or closed position.

In the open position it is not a problem.

 

[bellchippy]

Here’s a video of insider carpentry doing it. If the link shows.

 

[bellchippy]

Sorry can’t seem to put in the link. If you search YouTube for insider carpentry door cutting. He uses rail and clamp to cut doors.

 

[GoingMyWay]

You need to use the full YouTube URL (youtube.com) in order to get the video to properly embed.

 

[sancho57]

easier to just pull the pins , trim the door and put the pins and door back.

youll be fooling around for a hour to do something that should only take a couple of minutes

 

[Bob D.]

DOH !

I was fixated on cutting from the other side of the door for some reason. I couldn't see how you could mount the track with enough extension beyond the hinge side of the door or be able to complete the cut at the hinge side.

Stupid brain.  [embarassed]

"easier to just pull the pins , trim the door and put the pins and door back."

Well that was my thought too when I first read this but then I was thinking maybe the hinge is of a type without removable pins.

 

[Trickster]

Thank you so much for the replies, the video was exactly what I wanted to see.
I’ve got the rapid clamps on order so will give it a go tomorrow once they arrive. I know it won’t be simple but the doors are old and have that aged look so I’m not looking for perfection for a change.
Thanks for the split hinge suggestion, unfortunately the doors have probably been up for 40-50 years and most definitely don’t have hinges that can be split otherwise I’d have done them that way.
Flooring is going down on Saturday so have to do or die tomorrow, will let you know how it went.

Thanks again.

 

[Trickster]

Just a quick note to complete this thread.
Rapid clamp arrived today and due to its size (the clamp pad is much larger than I imagined) and the way the doors couldn’t open beyond 90 degrees the clamp didn’t have enough room to hold the rail flat to the door. I tried spacing the rail off with some scrap mdf but tbh it was beginning to look like a mini disaster in the making.
Sucked it up, paint stripped and unscrewed the hinges and had them both trimmed and put back up in under an hour with minimal paint damage.
The cut itself is great, the TS55 never fails to impress.
Lesson learnt, don’t keep overthinking things. 

 

[semenza]

I just trimmed the bottom off a door a few hours ago. I too removed the door. Though I have done them in place as well as other "on the wall" cuts. In this case it was just easier to take the door off set up wise.

Seth