At the risk of offending the three remaining members of the HCDAOA (Hollow Core Door Aficionados Of America), nothing screams “low budget crap” like a hollow core door. Naturally, when we bought an old farmhouse a short time ago, whoever “updated” it last, three or four decades ago, had outfitted the entire place with them. They’ve been on my hit list, but I’ve been focusing on other, more urgent projects first, like getting rid of the 40-year-old shag carpeting from all the floors and one bedroom wall (don’t ask), pondering the crumbling barn foundation, and fixing the leaky roof and windows, for example. We’re re-doing all the trim in the house in oak, and when I found a good deal on solid oak six panel doors that fit, I grabbed ‘em! They’re slab doors, which means you pretty much get a blank slate – none of the mortising for hinges and locks has been done. Installing hinges is not my forté; I’ll do an odd one once in awhile, usually chiseling it out by hand, with mixed results. This job requires cutting hinges for eight stained oak doors, though (no caulk or shims allowed!), with three hinges on each, so when we received the Hinge Mate HM 1100W from the folks at WoodCraft to review, I called dibs! Read More