Using LN #7 to add 3" of Mahogany to door after cutting 3" off

[Don Morris]

The bottom of a beautiful 20 yr old solid Mahogany door developed rot. I re-finished it several years ago and put Epifanes varnish on it and the rest of the door looks new. Yes, I put varnish on the bottom too. The rot on the bottom extends up so much, I'm going to cut 3" off and use a piece of solid Mahogany to replace that, stain it as best as possible to match, re-cover with Epifanes, then place a Baldwin Brass Kick Plate over it to hide the joint. My question is: I have a LN #7 Jointer plane that I have used only on a couple rare occasions. My son, who also enjoys hand planes too, and I went together on it so it wouldn't be so costly, but this seems the perfect time. I plan to clamp the piece alongside the cut bottom and plane the two together. Any suggestions on how best to set this up? Actually wish I had a #9 now. Thanks for any suggestions. I know you guys use these much more than we do, and probably there are some nuances that should be addressed on #7s that the average woodworker who only uses one once every other year or so doesn't have a clue about. Thanks!

[Matthew Hills]

Photo of the door would help. I assume it is a frame and panel construction, with the stiles mortised for the lower rail?


Matt

[Frank Drew]

Don,

I'd plane them separately; I assume that their combined width will be more than your plane's iron so I don't see any advantage to planing them together. Also, the door has stiles at each side meaning you'll be planing end grain at the beginning and end of each cut and that will add its own difficulty (clamping a block to the stile at the end of your planing cut will help prevent chip out.)

[Frank Drew]

Photo of the door would help. I assume it is a frame and panel construction, with the stiles mortised for the lower rail?


Matt

Matt,

Don started another thread with photos:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?192152-Mahogany-Door-bottom-rotten-Fix-or-Replace

[Mel Fulks]

From the photo you sent the other day it looks like the stiles (side pieces) are still good, or at least repairable with some epoxy etc. Cutting them off would be a mistake. Use a chisel and a small plane to cut a straight line on the bottom making the best joint you can ,glue in the new piece, then run a dowel through both stiles into the new piece. Leave the new pc wider ,for now, as you might remove more of the rail than your current idea. Replacing the stile ends is usually more difficult and shows more,I wouldn't do it ,unless they are too far gone. You might surprise yourself with the quality of the fit ,and there's always the brass plate. You can fix the door.

[Don Morris]

When I got to the point where I had dug out the section shown in the first photo, I thought I could be at this forever, as it went all the way to the veneer, front and back, far up and varying softness almost the entire width. That's when I decided the best approach was to cut a portion off and replace it. I cut 2 1/2" off and this is where I am on the second photo. It feels pretty solid. I can see that putting them together and planing wouldn't be the way to go. Planing separately for sure. Also, since there is a visible blemish on the outside (but amazingly, not the inside) the brass kick plate will hide most of that. So overall, I'm sort of stuck (reasonably happy) with the plan to replace rather than try to repair. The repair would have taken forever, and I would cover up the blemish with the kick plate anyway. Thus, the repair wouldn't have given me any better looking or functional result, I think.

I do have another question though. It seems the remaining wood is dry, but to be on the safe side, should I put a fan in front of it for a day, a light bulb for a little heat, or is there some other test/treatment for this kind of situation? Thanks for taking the time to comment. It's really appreciated.


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[Mel Fulks]

Ok it's clearer now. Didn't know the door had already been cut off in the first photo. Your wife says forget the fan,fix it ,and put it back up! Don't forget you can put a kick plate on both sides if you need it. You are saving hundreds of dollars.

[Jack Curtis]

... I plan to clamp the piece alongside the cut bottom and plane the two together. Any suggestions on how best to set this up? ...

This approach would allow you to match plane the joint, which is good, I'm not sure why a couple or three here have said don't do it.

I'd place the new piece on the top of the door, clamp both ends hard, with cauls, so there's no movement, and use a jointer plane on both pieces at once. I often match plane clamped pieces on my bench. Works great, the pieces fit together perfectly, no problems.

[Tony Shea]

This approach would allow you to match plane the joint, which is good, I'm not sure why a couple or three here have said don't do it.

I'd place the new piece on the top of the door, clamp both ends hard, with cauls, so there's no movement, and use a jointer plane on both pieces at once. I often match plane clamped pieces on my bench. Works great, the pieces fit together perfectly, no problems.

I believe you are suggesting this a bit late. And others are suggesting against it because the combined thickness of the two pieces side by side would be well over the #7's iron width. You would not gain anything by doing this. You would need to take a couple passes either way and shooting for a perfect square edge individually would make the most sense to me as well. But he odviously is beyond this step.

[Jack Curtis]

I believe you are suggesting this a bit late. And others are suggesting against it because the combined thickness of the two pieces side by side would be well over the #7's iron width. You would not gain anything by doing this. You would need to take a couple passes either way and shooting for a perfect square edge individually would make the most sense to me as well. But he odviously is beyond this step.

Thanks, Tony, clearly I don't use a #7. But how about if he planed on an angle?

[Frank Drew]

Thanks, Tony, clearly I don't use a #7. But how about if he planed on an angle?
That would get you even less width of cut.

It's not that this method in this situation is a bad thing to do, it's just that there's no advantage to it (as there would be with thinner material, where you'd be cutting the full thicknesses of both pieces with each pass, which is the point of the exercise.)


...I got to the point where I had dug out the section shown in the first photo, I thought I could be at this forever, as it went all the way to the veneer.

Don, if I understand you correctly, this is a veneered (skinned) door, right? That would make sense since genuine mahogany is in general highly rot resistant.

[Jack Curtis]

That would get you even less width of cut.

It's not that this method in this situation is a bad thing to do, it's just that there's no advantage to it (as there would be with thinner material, where you'd be cutting the full thicknesses of both pieces with each pass, which is the point of the exercise.)....

Understood, but if I've got one tool and a problem that's wider than the tool, I process the largest section I can at a time. Therefore, I'd plane a course that would run partly from top to bottom and partly along the length, say at 45°, evening things up as I go. In this case I'd make sure to clamp sacrificial pieces to the top and bottom.

However, given that this is a skinned (hollow core?) door, I'd replace the entire bottom rail and part of the stile. Precisely how would depend on how neatly I could remove those pieces.