A Question of ARCHED, INSET Doors

[Russell Hudson]

About 8 years ago, this homeowner wished to have a VERY finished basement. After they sealed their walls against all moisture, sheet-rocked and installed wall-to-wall rug throughout, they asked us to create a number of built-ins along the walls. We have pictures of this work on the website, but there was a wet bar of which I never got a good photograph. I came across this picture (whose focus is less than great) taken with a cell phone of the bar's wall cabinets. (Notice: the doors are hung with hidden hinges, euro-hinges, just like the rest of the project /You can see the bar at the left edge of the wide shot.)

Arched doors sitting fully inset within a surrounding face frame would always look sensational, as far as I'm concerned..., but I never see it!
I tried this (once) and had a 'time of it' figuring which (Grass) euro hinge would give me the right 'crank' and where the back of the door had to be beveled and the arched rail on the cabinet's face frame had to be filed to ease the front edge of the arch a bit where the door would rub, (if memory serves me). It was as if I would never be able to get a consistent (1/8") width space around the doors perimeter. (I think the picture shows spaces of 1/4" at a few spots).
It was a harder thing to do than I realized when I initially drew it. I thought I could do it just like any inset door. I haven't done it for a client since.
When I saw the picture I thought it would make a good post AND... if any of you know well how to do this, I would like to be able to offer this to clients and I'd end up smarter for it. So...
-I know the thicker the door, the more likely to rub.
-I know the more severe the arch (all the way to a full half round), the more likely to rub.
-I know the tighter the surrounding clearance, the more likely to rub.
-'Thick door' hinges will be a necessity. Perhaps 165 degree and/or 40 mm hinges.
Anyway...
My question is... to you guys who have done this, though everyone's input is welcomed. .
I want to be able to do a full half round arch.
I want to use an adjustable, hidden hinge.
I want to keep the space to a reasonable minimum (3/16"?)
I still want to know how to do it if you feel I HAVE to give up any of these prerequisites. It will just be a detail I'd offer and charge for accordingly.

How DO you do this and do it well???? I'd really appreciate the insight if anybody knows.

Russell Hudson / Hudson Cabinetmaking, Inc.

[Alan Bienlein]

Here is a picture of a set of inset glass doors I did using euro hinges for thick doors. The black trim at the topof the doors is a piece of 3/4" that has a full bull nose that sticks past the doors by 3/8" and I was able to keep a 1/8" gap between the doors and the trim.6-3-09 004 (450 x 600).jpg

[Ryan Baker]

Kudos to you for doing those. Inset doors are hard enough to get right. Arching the tops makes it that much harder. A hinge that allows the door to move out while rotating (instead of just rotating) would help a lot, though I don't know where to get such a thing. You might be able to get enough of that effect by controlling the position of the "pin" or pivot point (or its equivalent in the case of euro hinges). I assume that is the point of the "hinges for thick doors" you mentioned. Keeping the door thin should allow you to make it work without too much gap or bevel on the door edges. It's not a job I would want to do very often.

[johnny means]

When doing arched inset doors, I bevel the top of the door on the inside. This allows me closer reveals. I also prefer to build a square door, then trim it to fit the opening. Another option I have used is to build the arched door then fit the opening around it. I stay away from adjustable hinges with these types of doors because IMO you really cant move these around and have them still look good. The arched portion is very unforgiving of adjustments and will show the slightest tweek. I try and get them right first time around.

[Neal Clayton]

Kudos to you for doing those. Inset doors are hard enough to get right. Arching the tops makes it that much harder. A hinge that allows the door to move out while rotating (instead of just rotating) would help a lot, though I don't know where to get such a thing. You might be able to get enough of that effect by controlling the position of the "pin" or pivot point (or its equivalent in the case of euro hinges). I assume that is the point of the "hinges for thick doors" you mentioned. Keeping the door thin should allow you to make it work without too much gap or bevel on the door edges. It's not a job I would want to do very often.

take a look at soss hinges, they're kinda like the hinges on an airplane door (the pivot moves out as the door opens).

they work great for the inset doors i've done.

[Ryan Baker]

take a look at soss hinges, they're kinda like the hinges on an airplane door (the pivot moves out as the door opens).

they work great for the inset doors i've done.

Thanks for the tip. I just looked those up. I've seen those before -- didn't know them by name though.