Interior Door Help

[Andrew Kertesz]

Can anybody recommend a book about making interior doors? Whose router bits are better; Sommerfeld, Freud or Whiteside?

[Mel Fulks]

I doubt there are any books better than several old detailed threads here ,including the subject of solid or stave core stiles.

[mreza Salav]

I've made a few interior and exterior doors (both solid and stave core). I have documented them here; you should be able to find the threads.
Stave core is a lot of extra work vs. solid but yields a more stable door, especially if it is an exterior door.
As for router bits I found Amana to be very good and long lasting. Whiteside is another good one. Freud is lower than those two IMO.

[Tony Joyce]

This is a very good primer on door making.

http://lostartpress.com/collections/books/products/doormaking-and-window-making

Tony

[Peter Quinn]

I used to make them for a living...still make them occasionally though doing more casework and such at present job. For books there aren't many offerings, and none are complete hold your hand method books from A-Z. All the ones I have assume you are already a wood worker of some skill, so bare that in mind. If you go to Amazon and search "Door making John Birchard" there are a number of options, and they usually suggest several other texts on the subject. One that is decent is by Bridgewater.

You can search old threads here, lots of good door makers have spent time here and many still do. Mreza recently built a whole house full of beautiful doors, his process is very well documented with pictures.

An interior door is basically a big frame and panel system. Its a lot like a cabinet door except in scale, and due to the weight it must cantilever off those two or three hinges, you need more than cope and stick for joinery. Some additional reenforcement is essential. Dowels work well for interior, the domino XL is my present favorite thing for door joinery, good old tenons still work well, lots of ways to make doors. You can pick a style then seek out more advice here.

I use shaper cutters and have never made a door with router bit sets, but I'm partial towards amana and white side for router bits generally, the freud door sets look pretty versatile.

[John Lankers]

I'm not aware of any books, but you could check Amazon and Lee Valley - who knows, there are a few YouTube videos though.
If you can build frame and panel cabinet doors you can build interior doors, the joinery must be more solid and the lumber should be selected more careful and milled in stages.
I don't own any Whiteside router bits but I can vouch for Amana and Marc Sommerfeld used to work for Amana if I'm not mistaken. I don't think Freud and Lee Valley are far behind, they never gave me any grief.

[Jim Dwight]

I would use a MLCS bit for something like a door. I like the "better" brands for things like dovetail bits where there is a neck down area. I've had inexpensive bits fail at the neck down. I would also put CMT in the "better bits" group. But big bits from MLCS have always worked well for me. But I am a bit leary of the bits sold for door making on a router table. They just seem awfully large to me. And the cope and stick will not be enough of a joint - as has been stated (at least on the hinge side of the door).

I made one whole house full of interior doors out of construction lumber. I used dowels and mortise and tenon joints. The mortise and tenon held better but the doweled doors worked. Those doors were just raised panels on a frame of 1 3/8 thick softwood. Later I made a few flat panel doors with mortise and tenon joints and an applied molding around the flat panel. I liked those doors better. They were shop doors but I thought they looked better than the hollow cores in the house. I mention this to say that doors don't have to have router table work in them. Good old mortise and tenon joints and applied molding (which I made on the router table) will make a nice door.

[Dmitry Ivanovs]

How would priced custom doors like that ? and how can be difference between menards or home depo doors ?

[Jim Andrew]

The panel doors sold at big box stores are solid particleboard with veneer applied over the top. They look good, but are not exactly high quality. They do look good, and if they don't get wet, will last for a reasonable time.

[Dmitry Ivanovs]

The panel doors sold at big box stores are solid particleboard with veneer applied over the top. They look good, but are not exactly high quality. They do look good, and if they don't get wet, will last for a reasonable time.

Curious,
How would priced those doors .Let s say Poplar solid 1 1/4 thick flat panel or raise panel.