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I wish I had known about door blanks last weekend. I'm 90% of the way through making a hollow door covered in thin ply, it's worked relatively well so far but is very slightly bowed.
I think you should spend £60 extra on the door, I don't think it would be particularly time efficient to build it back up to a high standard. I'd have a go with a drill and chisel because most of the roughness will be hidden with the lock or hinges.
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It's actually easier to build up the edges as the cut edge is pretty rough. I have edged a lot of fire door blanks by gluing and pinning. Fit them a bit oversize and trim them to the faces with a palm router or plane. Clamps are very helpful, you can forgo pins if your clamping works well enough and that saves time on finishing and also saves you ruining plane blades or chisels if you need to work the edge.
Bevelling the edges is kind of personal taste. It helps to paint them. I might not understand what you're asking though. I run a plane down the edge or knock it off with a sander.
Making a jig is pretty straightforward. I bought some helpful bits and pieces because I do quite a few of them. Practice makes perfect with a chisel, I find it easier in hardwood (which I would use for the edges) because there's a more even grain.
Hopefully this advice is has the requisite amount of charm for the judges.
p.s. they are heavy. You might not be able to man handle an 8x4 one. I made 2 pairs of double bifold for a flat once and lost a few kilos from the effort.
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Forgot to add that the surface of the doors is also quite rough. If you don't want the industrial look even when painted it takes a bit of extra prep.
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rj
Airhead
@NotThamesWater
Door teim.
I need to fit a door for my garden room - as it's going to be clad to match the rest of the building, I'm going to be buying a solid core blank and trimming to size.
The frame is awkwardly wide at 975mm, giving me the choice of buying a 1220x2440 blank, and trimming, or a 915x2100 blank and building up the ~50mm with hardwood (glueing & nailing).
-- My gut says that I should spend the extra £60 on the bigger door, as it's far easier to cut it down than to build it up.
Should I cut a bevel into one / both edges? The University of Youtube has both and none of these being done.
Cutting mortices and hinges - should I be investing in (really quite expensive for single use) jigs, or shall I make a jig myself. Or just eyeball it with a chisel.