Thought I'd share how I decided to machine my doors since its not very common for a woodworker.
I had planned on using the drill press (because that's how I usually do it) but had problems getting the table to stay level and support a surface big enough to support the doors. The old Craftsman has had a rough life. After fighting it for an hour I gave up and went over to the knee mill. I chucked up the cutters in ER16 collets. Right to left- 1/4-inch up cutting end mill, 8mm brad point boring bit, and 35mm cylinder boring bit.
I had a 6-foot long counter top I messed up a few months ago and cut a section off and, as luck would have it, it fit perfectly in the vises on the mill and easily locates itself.
Since the table is so big it would be impossible to switch tools during the process so I decided to machine a hole in the middle. In the pic you can see the shop vac dust collector originally used for aluminum but works perfectly for wood and collects nearly all of the chips.
Then I realized that when I cut the hinges in an assembled door, I could possibly use the tool change hole so I cut notches on either end. Here's the finished top.
Made a few test cuts to get the offset right.
Mocked up a frame to make sure it's located where it should be allowing adjustment in all directions. Actually needed to move the cup toward the edge a little to accomplish this...and that's why I always make a test piece even when having CNC.
And rolled into the doors.
Cutting the cup, switching tools, and then cutting the holes for the screws feels like a slow process but it works very well so I can live with it.
I had planned on using the drill press (because that's how I usually do it) but had problems getting the table to stay level and support a surface big enough to support the doors. The old Craftsman has had a rough life. After fighting it for an hour I gave up and went over to the knee mill. I chucked up the cutters in ER16 collets. Right to left- 1/4-inch up cutting end mill, 8mm brad point boring bit, and 35mm cylinder boring bit.
I had a 6-foot long counter top I messed up a few months ago and cut a section off and, as luck would have it, it fit perfectly in the vises on the mill and easily locates itself.
Since the table is so big it would be impossible to switch tools during the process so I decided to machine a hole in the middle. In the pic you can see the shop vac dust collector originally used for aluminum but works perfectly for wood and collects nearly all of the chips.
Then I realized that when I cut the hinges in an assembled door, I could possibly use the tool change hole so I cut notches on either end. Here's the finished top.
Made a few test cuts to get the offset right.
Mocked up a frame to make sure it's located where it should be allowing adjustment in all directions. Actually needed to move the cup toward the edge a little to accomplish this...and that's why I always make a test piece even when having CNC.
And rolled into the doors.
Cutting the cup, switching tools, and then cutting the holes for the screws feels like a slow process but it works very well so I can live with it.
