Plane a sticking door with a plane from this set
Updated: 23 October 2026
A sticking door, painted and internal, is rubbing, and you want a shaving off the high spot. You can do that with a plane from this amazon.co.uk set when the door is an ordinary domestic door and the frame still sits square. Stop for a fire door, a smoke seal, or a lining that has dropped. Widths and prices are on the [Dictum plane comparison](/hub/hand-tools/dictum-plane). A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. wrote this from those notes and public UK guidance. We did not plane a door for this page.
A sticking door, painted and internal, is rubbing, and you want a shaving off the high spot.
A sticking door, painted and internal, is rubbing, and you want a shaving off the high spot. You can do that with a plane from this amazon.co.uk set when the door is an ordinary domestic door and the frame still sits square. Stop for a fire door, a smoke seal, or a lining that has dropped. Widths and prices are on the Dictum plane comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. wrote this from those notes and public UK guidance. We did not plane a door for this page.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Plane type | Blade width | Hands | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Amazon Basics Amazon Basics No. 4 | No. 4 bench plane | 51 mm (2 inch) | Two, front knob and rear grip | 9.0 | about £16.20 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Jorgensen Jorgensen mini plane | Mini block plane | 1.25 inches | One hand | 8.4 | about £14.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 3 inch trimmer | 3 inch trimming plane | 25 mm (1 inch) | One hand, from the size in reviews | 7.9 | about £10.99 | View offer |
Stop before you cut
Look at the door before you look at the iron. A fire door is a certified assembly: leaf, seals, closer and frame. GOV.UK’s guidance cites an industry gap of not more than 4 mm, except at the bottom. That 4 mm figure is a check, not a depth of cut. Trimming a fire door belongs within the manufacturer’s limit, and only by a competent person.
If the door has intumescent strips, a smoke seal, a closer, or a fire-door label, leave it. Paint built up on one edge, with the door still latching and even daylight around the rest of the leaf, is the household case.
A narrow edge
A hinge stile or a lock stile that rubs along a painted arris is a narrow target. The Jorgensen 70700 is the listing whose reviews talk about that job. It is about 90 mm, 250 g, with a 1.25 inch width field, at about £14.99. One review describes easing the hinge side with the door still hung. Another says the iron does not sit square.
The Spear & Jackson CTP3 is a 25 mm cutter at 220 g. On an arris it can take the rub in more than one fine pass. On a door bottom, 25 mm means overlapping passes. A dull iron will skate on the paint. That is set-up, on how to set up a hand plane. The type order is the hand plane buying guide. The 4 mm fire-door figure is not a cutting depth.
A door bottom
A bottom edge is wider than a stile, and a mini plane crosses it in strips. A 1.25 inch iron, or the CTP3 at 25 mm, crosses the leaf in overlapping strips. You leave a ridge if the depth changes between passes.
Stanley 220 reviews include door bottoms after new carpet, once the iron is sharp. That plane is 862 g, with a 21 degree cutter in the bullets, at about £29.43, and the same reviews repeat sole lapping. A door job is not evidence the sole arrived flat. The Amazon Basics No. 4 and the Spear & Jackson CSP4, 51 mm and 50 mm, cover more of a bottom in one pass, and they usually want the door off. Take only the rub.
After the shaving
Bare wood on a freshly planed edge takes up moisture faster than the paint around it, and the door can swell back. Paint or seal that edge, including end grain on a bottom rail, and let it dry before the door closes on a wet film. A heavy coat puts the rub back.
If the plane will not take a shaving, look at the iron first. On these listings a new iron is often blunt. Wax can quiet a light rub. It will not fix a dropped frame. Retract the iron before the plane goes in a bag. Call a joiner for a fire door, a frame that has moved, or a rub that returns after a sealed shaving when the lining is out of square.
Common questions
Can you plane a door that is still on its hinges?
You can ease a narrow stile that way. One Jorgensen review describes a hinge-side job with the door still hung, with a sharp iron and the sole kept on the edge. A No. 4 on a door bottom is heavier, and the door usually comes off so you can support it. The hung-door method is one review of a mini plane, not the method for every plane in the folder.
Which plane in this set is small enough for a cramped edge?
The Jorgensen at 250 g and the CTP3 at 220 g are the ones reviewers treat as small enough for a cramped edge. The Jorgensen width field is 1.25 inches. The CTP3 cutter is 25 mm. Both are too narrow to cross a door bottom in one pass. A Stanley 220 or a No. 4 covers more width and needs more room.
Why does a mini plane take several passes on a door bottom?
The iron is narrower than the thickness of the leaf. A 25 mm cutter, or a 1.25 inch cutter, crosses a typical internal door in overlapping strips. Each strip has to be the same depth or you leave a ridge. That is geometry. It is not a reason to set a heavier cut and tear the paint.
How do you know it is paint, and how do you know the frame has dropped?
Paint is the likely cause when one edge rubs after decorating, the door still latches, and the daylight around the rest of the leaf looks even. A dropped frame shows up as a twist: tight in one corner, open at the opposite corner. Plane the paint case. Stop on the twist and call a joiner.
What gap matters on a fire door?
GOV.UK’s fire-door guidance cites an industry check of not more than 4 mm, except at the bottom, where the gap should be as small as practicable. Use that as a reason to stop and get the door inspected. It is not a depth of cut, and this page sets no planing allowance.
Do you seal the fresh edge?
Seal or paint the bare edge after the fit is right, including end grain on a bottom rail, and let it dry before the door closes on the film. Unsealed wood swells and the rub can return. A thick coat puts the rub back. Wax can quiet a light rub. It does not replace a seal on a freshly planed edge.
Related pages
Sources
Sources for this comparison. Listing prices and stars are the amazon.co.uk figures captured on 19 October 2026.
- Dictum plane range (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Dictum low-angle jack plane No. 62 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Cherry Tree Tools, block plane or bench plane (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- RALI 105 Evolution N (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Stanley 220 adjustable block plane (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Find My Tool, Stanley 220 mouth note (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005: Great Britain (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 19 October 2026)