That old tape measure trick for door reveals blew my mind

I was helping a buddy hang some shaker doors last weekend and he showed me this simple thing with a tape measure to get perfect reveals on all sides without any guesswork. Just hook the tape on the edge and add 1/16th for each reveal you want, then mark it directly on the hinge plate. I've been doing cabinet doors for 12 years and somehow never thought of that, it saved me a ton of time on those adjustments. Has anyone else run into some basic trick that made you feel silly for not knowing it sooner?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessacarter1mo ago

So my buddy runs a small shop and he told me he spent years doing the shim thing too until a old timer came in and showed him this tape measure trick. He felt so stupid he sat there for like five minutes just staring at his tape measure. Now he won't shut up about it and shows everyone that walks through his door.

jakep241mo ago

Wait, are you saying you mark the reveal measurement directly on the hinge plate notch so you don't have to measure each door separately? That sounds way quicker than what I do, which is shimming the door in the opening first then marking around it with a pencil. I always lose my shims and then get the reveal slightly off.