cutting laminated chipboard

[Logman]

Hi, Some of my kitchen cupboard doors are hard to open becaue the bottom is rubbing on the ledge. I can remove them without too much trouble, but I'm not sure how to remove strips without damaging the doors.Any help will be remembered every time I open the doors in future.

[BRADFORD]

Is it possible to adjust the hinges to lift the doors a little?

[malb]

Hi Logman.

What type of hinges are used on the doors? Some form of Euro hinge (Door has a 35mm dia hole and the hinge has a protrusion that that fits in the hole) or some form of a regular pin hinge.

If they are Euro hinges, you may be able to adjust the door position without removing it from the cupboard. Most Euro hinge sets have two parts, a mounting bracket that screws to the carcase with two screws, and the the hinge body that mounts on the door. The two parts clip together and unclip. The mounting bracket generally has three adjusting screws operating cams for aligning the hinge part on the bracket. One screw adjusts the height, another adjusts the spacing between the door and the carcase to get a set a doors to sit in a plane and the third adjusts offset between the door and the carcase to align the door and balance the gaps between adjoining doors.

If the doors a have the correct height but are set low or have sagged, you should be able to adjust them easily with these adjustments.

Realisticly, if you need to trim the doors because they are oversize, you need to replace the edging on any modified edge, and need to match the edging with the original. This and the availability of a panel saw to do the trimming accurately, tend to dictate involving a cabinet maker.Attempting to trim the doors with a basic table saw or circular saw will result in chipping the film coating and permanently degrading it.

[Logman]

Thanks Guys.
The hinges are embeded and can't be adjusted, I think, but I'll check to make sure.
Thanks again.

[malb]

Logman, regardless of hinge type, they need to be removed it the doors are to be trimmed.

[BRADFORD]

Hi Logman
If you really need to trim the doors yourself the best way would be to use a router.
Set it up and do some test cuts on some scrap first.
Not sure what type of edging the doors have, but you could get away with a non matching edge on the bottom where it is out of sight.

[Logman]

Thanks guys.
Yes,I can remove the doors and I'll certainly try the router.
Thanks again

[Master Splinter]

If they are the sort of hinge shown in the pic below, the cabinet mounted part typically has 2-3mm adjustment room. If that's not enough, the holes in the carcass can be repositioned slightly (fill the old screw holes with something first!).

You can cut melamine faced board with a 60 tooth blade, with minimal chipping on one face (the underside of the board to your saw) and a length of masking tape on each side.

[Logman]

Thanks Master Splinter.
I'll try that and let you know.

[Logman]

Thanks for the help guys. I used the router on a bit of scrap and it worked perfectly.
And as usual, it didn't work as well on the door !
But I recall some one saying to place the outside of the door DOWN.
I failed to do that. However the damage is very, very minor.
Thanks for all the help