Ray Tschoepe

1 week ago | finehomebuilding.com | Ray Tschoepe |Abby Cote

You’ve found the perfect five-panel door to replace the hollow-core one left from a 1960s remodeling. But it’s not exactly the right size. If it’s a half inch or so too wide, it might appear easy to saw a small amount of wood from the hinge side, so that you don’t have to re-mortise the lockset or deal with the bevel on that edge. That would require you to remake two or three hinge mortises. You’ll find DIY texts touting the use of a router to make the mortise.