Door Leading Edge 3-degree Undercut Bit

[Jetset]

Has anyone used a 3-degree undercut bit for a door's leading edge and would you recommend them?

This is the kind of thing:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192458704000 ... rmvSB=true

Jim

 

[MikeG.]

.......I'm getting too curmudgeonly. £50 for a cutter to do something that 3 or 4 passes with a plane will do quicker? (......... walks away shaking head.........)

 

[ColeyS1]

Hello Jim. It's always something I looked at getting. These were part of a job that made me research it a little more- note the pile of casements stacked up on my bench

I had around 70 windows and doors to hang and thought one of those cutters would speed things up.
In the end I thought I'd have a go at making something with standard cheapo worktop cutters which I've got plenty.
These picture should explain it.

It's basically just an adjustable base for the router. By adjusting how far the bolt heads stick out (in the first pic) alters the angle of the bevel. It took a bit of time to make, but it saved loads of time meaning one pass with the router and it was done. Being able to vary the angle was the thing that really appealed to me- I should never need to make another in my life time.

Something like this would be my recommendation. Hope that helps, welcome to the forum as well ;@)
Coley

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[ColeyS1]

.......I'm getting too curmudgeonly. £50 for a cutter to do something that 3 or 4 passes with a plane will do quicker? (......... walks away shaking head.........)

I'm shaking my head Mike at your attitude to relative newcomers. There's no need for it. I'm sure you can word things differently so you don't come across as an arrogant bafoon !

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[MikeG.]

I have no idea how many posts people have, so haven't a clue who is a newcomer. I do try to be polite (I'd never call anyone an arrogant buffoon, for a start), and am quite happy to adopt a self-deprecating old-buffer persona, which was my intention here. If I didn't write that well enough to make it obvious, then that is my fault, and I apologise. However, jumping automatically to the conclusion that I am arrogant or that I'm taking an attitude to newcomers is rather unnecessary, and if I can disabuse you of this now, with a single post, maybe you'll react more circumspectly next time I don't make myself quite as clear as I'd hoped.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you are working from a flat surface with a bottom bearing guided cutter you could temporarily attach something like a lollipop stick to the base of the router (to tilt it) so long as you were working from the relieved side.

 

[ColeyS1]

Mike you were exactly the same way with me when I first joined here. You made such an impact I almost ended up leaving cause you spoke to me in such a horrible manner.

First impressions mean a lot !

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[MikeG.]

Hit the "Ignore" button Coley and save yourself the angst.

 

[ColeyS1]

There isn't one on tapatalk Mike (that I know of) and I wouldn't want to miss out on all the decent stuff you share and post about anyway.
I know how they must feel when they get an abrupt response from you. The dressing down you gave me made any of my comments feel completely worthless. It took a long time to recover from that one.

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[Jacob]

Why not fit it with a plane in the normal fashion? Much easier than all that fiddling with a router.
For 3º to work it'd have to be incredibly precise in the first place.
If it was that precise then it'd be so much quicker to gauge a mark and do it with a plane.

nb spelling; "buffoon" :lol:

 

[AndyT]

I read Mike's post as a comment on the attitude of a manufacturer who would suggest that people needed such a cutter, or be willing to exploit people who think every job needs a specific special tool. I didn't take the comment as meaning any slight on the OP for asking about it.
Tone of voice is very hard to put across on a forum. Posts can often be read in different ways.

 

[mr edd]

Hi Jim

For site fitting i generally start with a power plane if the door warrants it then finish with a hand plane to remove planer marks, but the amount of leading edge a door requires i think can vary especially if you are fitting to an old frame/lining which can be all over the place.
I feel that sometimes the 3 degrees can be a bit mighty.
Hence i prefer to use a hand plane or a power plane followed by a handplane.

Pre hung small doors and windows- i just angle over the fence of one of the over hand planers/jointers to the desired amount.

Tiny doors, cabinet doors- not so sure a router bit would be a good idea?

Side note, when you see butt hinges installed on an old cabinet with the hinge mortice installed on the carcass on the skew in depth i have also seen a leading edge applied to the hinge side of the door, i am sure someone will be along and have much more helpful comments than me.

In fact it taken me so long to write this i am sure i am 50 comments down in the list now, hurrahh for 2 finger typing

 

[Adam9453]

If you have a lot to do the same in the workshop then a spindle moulder fitted with an adjustable angle block is brilliantly efficient. If you have a spindle moulder with a tilting spindle then you can use a standard block and just tilt it the required amount.
If you’re working on site then power plane is the way I’d go.
Note though if you’re fitting fire doors then you need to ensure the door gaps are within the max allowable gap (typically 4mm max) and the angle of the bevel is no more than 2.5 degrees. Standard gap around a door is 3mm so your lead edge can be maximum 1mm to stay within these limits.
Also doors over 800mm wide with 3mm gaps shouldn’t require a leading edge as they shouldn’t bind.

 

[Jetset]

Guys, thanks for the splendid answers and thanks for the warm welcome back. I've been a member over ten years but dip in and out of woodwork as required and don't always need forum advice.

Coley, that jig looks great. A great idea!

I think Adam answered the specifics (which I didn't give). It's an 826mm wide fire door so I don't think I'll need to do a bevel at all, thankfully. I noticed the previous one was slightly bevelled. It through me when I was measuring the size from that side at first!

I needed to moved the frame so I've got a shop-bought lining which I can cut to the precise width as required.

Thanks for the help.

PS No offence taken from first answer. I think the dig was at Trend, not me.

 

[Adam9453]

Glad it helped. Just so you know the frame needs to be made from the correct material and section size for the fire rating. You also need to fit the required intumescent strips to either the door leaf edges or frame Jambs and head. Also need to make sure the undercut (gap at the bottom of the door) is within the allowable limits for a fire door. I’m afraid fire rated doorsets manufacture and installation requires a lot of rules are complied with. I’d recommend you start by checking what fire rating your doorset requires (fd30, fd60 etc) then lookup the rules online for manufacture and installation.