Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Topic: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door! (Read 970 times) previous topic - next topic

Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

February 26, 2014, 01:54:16 pm

Or to be more specific, a walnut hutch cabinet door.

On Monday morning, while ScubaGuy turned around in the kitchen to put milk back in the fridge, his shoulder *just* bumped the open hutch cabinet door, and it SNAPPED OFF. As in, wood split and it came crashing to the floor.

Other than a minor scrape and minimal bleeding, Douglas came away unscathed, and remarkably, the glass design inlay is not broken. But what we are left with is a hutch without a cabinet door. It looks unsightly.

I can't tell you how many times in the last two days I subconsciously went to close that door because my peripheral vision reminded me that it was open. Boooo.

I called the parts department at FOT on Monday mid-morning and left them a message; they have not returned my phone call. Does anyone have an extra walnut colored hutch door that they are not using? haha...or can someone steer me in the right direction for getting another door?

We have a 1997 U320. I know that other models used the same cabinetry, because the nice Grandvilla parked down the stretch here at Mustang Island State Park seems to have the same hutch doors. Yes, I may or may not peer longingly inside the front window at their complete set of hutch doors as we pass by.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #1 – February 26, 2014, 02:02:59 pm

Amanda,

It doesn't look all that bad in the photos. Can you get some wood glue (like Titebond or Gorilla, at Home Depot) and a couple clamps, use something wood (like pieces of a paint stir stick) between the clamp faces and the wood of the door (to prevent dents from the clamp face) to repair it?

Maybe there's a woodworking Fofum near you who can help?

Michelle

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #2 – February 26, 2014, 02:04:46 pm

Agreed. Good wood glue and some clamps are the way to go.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #3 – February 26, 2014, 02:06:43 pm

You might also just call FT and they can make a new one for you to reinstall.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #4 – February 26, 2014, 02:11:38 pm

When we needed cabinet doors for the two new cabinets that Jim made for us, we went to David Flanagan at FT to have them made. Before going to FT, we tried two of the premier cabinet makers in the area (many of you might be familiar with Davis Cabinets)-- neither could match the edge pattern (they could come close but not exact and we wanted exact).

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #5 – February 26, 2014, 02:18:24 pm

You may not agree or like it but as mentioned, glue it together with a couple ratcheting clamps, since it is such a clean break.

As you compress the clamps use a moist paper towel to wipe off excess glue, if your not wiping any glue off, start over with more glue. After it sits for 5 minutes tighten again an do the wipe off with a wet towel then dry it off with a dry and repeat.

You should not be able to see the joint, and the joint will be stronger than the wood.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #6 – February 26, 2014, 02:39:24 pm

Ouch! Try the repair described above. If it works you are done, and for just the price of some glue (and maybe clamps, if you have to buy those). If it doesn't work you can send the door to Foretravel and they can make you a new one.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #7 – February 26, 2014, 03:29:46 pm

We had the door to the trash can break on our trip last summer. I had wood glue with me and I stopped in a little town near the Little Big Horn and bought a couple of clamps which will come in handy at home later. Six thousand miles later it still looks as good as new.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #8 – February 26, 2014, 03:55:30 pm

Quote from: kb0zke – February 26, 2014, 02:39:24 pm

Ouch! Try the repair described above. If it works you are done, and for just the price of some glue (and maybe clamps, if you have to buy those).

And if it does, take the savings of not having to buy a new door and go out to dinner "fore free"

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #9 – February 26, 2014, 04:05:34 pm

Glue up should work just fine. I had a similar looking situation when my bathroom vanity mirrored door broke in just about the same location. Glue up has held for more than three years. Any little areas that have divots remaining from missing splinters can be filled with a fill stick like Behlen medium walnut. Really an easy job, just be sure that the door pieces are kept in-plane while clamping.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #10 – February 26, 2014, 04:09:36 pm

I would glue it. Best bet is Titebond III wood glue. It is somewhat water resistant and has a little more open time (the time before you should have it together and clamped ... type 1 or 2 will work fine as well). I think you can get it in a darker brown color to match the walnut better. Apply glue to both sides in a thin layer. Brush it out if you can. Clamping time is 30 minutes, don't stress it for 24 hrs. (You might as well leave the clamps on overnight). You do not need very high clamp pressure, just enough to close the joint and get a little squeeze out. Wipe off any excess with a dry-damp paper towel. Whatever is left won't come off later so clean it up now and check back in 10 minutes or so to do a final cleanup.

Gorilla glue is a good produce but not for this. It is messy, takes a long time to cure and is a somewhat flexible glue making the repaired joint not as strong.

The glass puts extra load on this type of door construction (a coped rail and stile). These joints can be reinforced with Kreg pocket screws (2 at the top and bottom on the inside of the door at a later date. If your door had been made with traditional mortice and tenon joints you probably would have broken the hinge off or damaged the cabinet face frame.

Good luck with your woodworking project. Give it your best before buying a new one. Wood ages and color changes (especially the cherry interiors) and a new door may not look the same as the others.

Roger

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #11 – February 26, 2014, 04:28:09 pm

I like the wood glue option. It has worked for me. Another option is something like West system epoxy. That stuff is great. Strongly recommend using some clamps. Try to insure that the fit with the glue (or epoxy) is without a gap. The clamps will need to be tightened down pretty tight to eliminate the gap. If you leave a gap, it will show forever. If you can eliminate the gap, you will have a stronger and nicer looking bond. If you use the wood glue just make sure it is not the white elmers brand of glue. The brownish stuff Elmers works better. I have used the west system epoxy and it works great and is truly as strong as it ever would have been prior to it breaking. It too is very waterproof.

The clamps I have used are the ones with the handle that screws down and you probably should use a scrap piece of wood between the clamp and the door frame. The clamp can leave a dent in the frame without the scrap piece to distribute the force over a wider area.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #12 – February 26, 2014, 04:45:30 pm

We have used a local cabinet shop to make a cabinet door. I am sure you can find a find small local wood cabinet shop that can make a new door with your parts. Nac has its place, but does not have to be the center of the world for us.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #13 – February 26, 2014, 04:54:27 pm

HF makes some inexpensive but good clamps. Aluminum and very adjustable. Don't buy clamps with any plastic parts. Don't tighten too much. Make sure you have enough clamps before you start or some areas may show a gap or not line up right. Get your ducks in a row by trial clamping before you add the glue or epoxy. Elmer's Wood Glue or epoxy are both good choices. Less chance of anything showing with glue. I would probably glue it, examine it for alignment/gaps/etc. and then with a damp towel, wipe off the excess. After it dries for 24 hours, use Old English on the whole door and it should be as good as new.

Epoxy is great stuff but requires a mixing step and is a bit harder to clean off the wood if you get too much in the joint. No problem if you work with it all the time but for a first timer, wood glue is strong and you just squeeze it out of the container and a damp cloth cleans it up. Dries clear and if you clamp correctly, it should be invisible.

Looks like a pretty easy repair. Walnut is very forgiving for repairing with an oil stain making the fix not easily visible.

Pierce

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #14 – February 26, 2014, 04:58:21 pm

Tightbond glue and 2 Bessey (Brand Name), clamps. They are available at the Depot or Lowes. Glue, clamp together, wipe joints with paper damp towels and let dry overnight. Use fill stick - I used to use eye liner from walgreens or other drug store. The Bessey clamps are somewhat expensive but are what you should use as the jaws are always parallel and square. A local wood shop should be able to do it cheep for you. When I had my shop I repaired a number of doors like yours at no cost. The router/shaper bit should be available at a cost of $45/$55. They only said that they couldn't match it because they didn't want to. Good luck.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #15 – February 26, 2014, 06:00:02 pm

If you are not inclined, any good local cabinet shop can do the fix for you

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #16 – February 26, 2014, 07:33:54 pm

WOWIE!! Your overwhelming response really makes me feel so welcome and confident about fixing this. We are absolutely going to try to wood glue this back together! (of course we left the wood glue and clamps at our friend's ranch north of Austin - D'OH!). But this brings up a question....

Quote from: fouroureye – February 26, 2014, 02:18:24 pm

You should not be able to see the joint, and the joint will be stronger than the wood.

I am really going to rely on this wood glue, hoping that it will suffice a good strong hold. I find that with the latches used to hold the cabinet doors closed, sometimes I really have to put some oomph into it when opening them. Is this anything that I have to worry about after a wood glue fix?

Also, I loved the earlier comment from Pierce Stewert:

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – February 26, 2014, 04:54:27 pm

Get your ducks in a row by trial clamping before you add the glue or epoxy.

That is just my style - measure twice, cut once. Thanks for that extra tip.

I am not sure we are going to get around to fixing this tonight. ScubaGuy is feeling under the weather. He will be so happy to see all of your responses. You really provided a good pick-me-up for us. To us relatively new owners on this cold, windy, wet South Texas day, the ole 'things seem to be breaking faster than we can repair them' mentality got the best of us. Thank you for putting it in perspective and lifting our spirits with your generous responses.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #17 – February 26, 2014, 07:41:30 pm

The breaking slows down after a bit.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #18 – February 26, 2014, 08:26:18 pm

I agree with the above glue and clamps option....had to do it with our sticks and bricks a couple times. At 6'05 270 I tend to "bump" into those things myself lol

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #19 – February 26, 2014, 09:59:18 pm

Try to NOT let the repair list overwhelm y'all. When we first got our coach everytime something didn't work or seemed to not work my DW felt as if the world was coming to an end - me too some times. We try to remember that this is a complicated piece of equipment with a lot of systems - most of them work most of the time. We have not run into a catastrophic event yet. Every problem that we have had and have is/are working out and none have been deal breakers. We keep our fingers crossed and with the support of the great folks on this forum we continue to move down the road meeting more wonderful people in a very nice moving home.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #20 – February 27, 2014, 05:47:58 am

We damaged a door under the refrigerator (walked into it while open) a couple of years ago, glued and clamped it up, and added a couple of flat corner reinforcements (available at Lowes or the Depot) to the back side of the repaired area. Just pre drill the screw holes, looks good as new.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #21 – February 27, 2014, 08:49:27 am

Amanda,

If you're having to slam the door, it isn't adjusted properly. Make sure there is a small gap between the doors just before latching. if not, adjust the hinges until there is. Then adjust the position of the balls in the latch until the door portion of the latch is centered between the balls. Once you have the adjustment right you can use blue Locktite to keep them there.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #22 – February 27, 2014, 09:33:18 am

And now our moderator is making puns. I like it Michelle.

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #23 – February 27, 2014, 11:34:51 am

Would these fit?

Lead glass doors

Keith

Re: Oops...um...we need a new cabinet door!

Reply #24 – February 27, 2014, 01:05:40 pm

Quote from: Keith and Joyce – February 27, 2014, 11:34:51 am

Would these fit?

Lead glass doors

Keith

You are so nice, Keith, to link these cabinets to me. I'm pretty sure this is a different cabinet size; perhaps the drop down cabinet next to the kitchen sink. But thank you very much.

Affiliate Notice