Tape measure, How to read and understand it.
Tape measures are only one of many devices used for taking measurements but it is the most widely used in one form or another.
In any woodworking project there is the requirement of making and understanding measurements. Once you have decided the project you are going to build, it will be necessary to measure and mark the stock to get the require length and width.
To avoid any waste of time and material, accuracy is needed in making measurements. Always remember the golden rule of - "measure twice cut once" - and this will help you avoid costly mistakes.
The example above shows the markings in 1/16 increments on just about any rule or tape measure. This is very basic and easy to understand for many of us but it can be confusing and complicated for those who do not know how to read measurements. I hope the picture above will help.
Be sure to double check you measurements.
If you are not using your old doors to order sizes, just add 1" to the height and width of your cabinet openings for both doors and drawer fronts. This gives you a 1/2" overlay all the way around the door or drawer front. List each door separately.
If you have a door opening that uses two doors butted together, measure the width of the opening, divide that in half and only add 3/8" (not 1/2") for each door. For example: A 20 inch opening with two butting doors would need two 10 3/8" wide doors. This will give you room to adjust the center gap between the two doors after they are hung. You still add 1" to the height of the doors.
Very Important!
Always list the width first. (Example 16x28 door / 16x4 drawer front ) What can happen when you don't? A good example of what can happen concerns the sets of doors over most refrigerators and sometimes over stoves. The openings in these two places in the kitchen are often wider than they are tall. That means, if you make the mistake of listing the height first, the wood grain will be running the wrong way and you will have to re-order. This is the number one mistake people make when ordering. So always double check.
What About A Lazy Susan?
If you have the kind of Lazy Susan door that mounts to a shelving unit and spins around inside the opening, Lazy Susan doors are simple to measure. Simply turn the door around inside the opening to measure the back side. Measure from the outside edge of the door to the point where the doors meet in the back ( left diagram A) and from the top to bottom (left diagram B) and mark your measurement with LS (Example: 11 x 27LS ) List Lazy Susans as 2 doors. You will need to miter the back edges of the 2 doors to create the 90 degree angle you will need when installing them.
If you have the kind of Lazy Susan Door that mounts to the outside of the cabinet and both doors swing open with a piano hinge attaching them, it's a little different. Measure one side of the Lazy Susan opening (both sides should be the same, but not always) and add your overlay (usually 1/2") Then subtract 3/4" for the piano hinge to function in the corner (right diagram AA) List your doors separately with hinge boring requested for only one of the doors. You will need to make a note, requesting a square edge profile on one long side of the doors where the piano hinge will attach.
Other Things to Consider
Revealed hinges are designed to fit 1 1/2" minimum styles. (Styles run vertically and rails run horizontally) If you have 2 doors that hang hinge-to-hinge, you should have a 3" style. If yours is narrower, you can simply screw a length of oak or pine stained or refaced to match your frames to each side of the opening before you measure for the doors. Adding about 3/4" to each side usually does the trick and keeps the door centered. You need a minimum or 2" where doors meet hinge-to-hinge.
Our Blum Hidden hinges require a 1/4" gap between doors butted back to back and 1/8" on the ends. In a corner, you need 3/4"
(thickness of the door) plus 1/8".