Mahogany entry door cutters

[Terry Patrick]

A customer wants me to make them a mahogany entry door. I've made plenty of interior doors in the past including his solid cherry doors. What does anyone use for shaper cutters for running exterior doors with a 1/2" groove for a 1/2" tongue for the panel? When looking at Amana cutters or even grizzly, there entry door cutters are for a 1/4" tongue. You can get a cutter to make it a 1/2", but you loose the profile. What has anyone else done? I was going to look for a Roman Ogee. but its in the air what is used.

[Jamie Buxton]

Shaper or router?

[lowell holmes]

Try a scrap of wood before cutting for real, then you will know.

[Terry Patrick]

going to be running on my shaper

[Ken Ketcham]

Rangate has an excellent interior/exterior door shaper set. They are available for either 1 3/4", 2", or 2 1/4" doors. I've used them to build my interior panel doors. Greg Godbout is great to work with. The cutters are available on a monthly rental through Cuttershare if you don't want to purchase them.

Ken

[Mark Wooden]

Freeborn Tool-https://freeborntool.com/catalog/, Amana Tool-https://www.amanatool.com/products/shaper-cutters/carbide-tipped-shaper-cutters/door-making-shaper-cutters.html- both have stock sets for interior/exterior doors

You can also make square edge T&G stiles and rails and apply mouldings. It should be less for the cutters and you would have them for other projects
Another option is to use corrugated head and knives, or a Euro head and insert knives

[Jared Sankovich]

I have a couple cmt insert door heads.

https://www.cmtorangetools.com/na-en/cutter-heads-knives/profile-and-counter-profile-cutter-head-sets

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[brent stanley]

When I do doors I often cope the rails and use full length tenons and just get knives for a 55mm euroblock. Buy the block once and you have hundreds of stock profiles available to you and an infinite variety of custom ones. If you buy the carbide insert ones you are stuck with the profiles they offer and I don't want someone else determining what I am making. Some companies will offer custom profiles in carbide insert but it's quite expensive and you'd need a large order to justify it IMO. 6mm knives in a Euroblock will give you a 15 to 18mm groove depth, corrugated deeper again.

This is a link to an IG post where I am tenoning with a flush mounted block though of course full profile coping knives for stub tenons are available.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCbfALKjBkv/?igshid=19egzknrlelj8

You can cope both sides if you want: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCbocI2jV4H/?igshid=ymjizslq7s8d

Test fit with scraps. I think the tenon/groove is 5/8"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAdJm_8DVZd/?igshid=kn2ty2nsrydr

B

[lowell holmes]

I would route the shape and rip the slot on my table saw.

[William Hodge]

A customer wants me to make them a mahogany entry door. I've made plenty of interior doors in the past including his solid cherry doors. What does anyone use for shaper cutters for running exterior doors with a 1/2" groove for a 1/2" tongue for the panel? When looking at Amana cutters or even grizzly, there entry door cutters are for a 1/4" tongue. You can get a cutter to make it a 1/2", but you loose the profile. What has anyone else done? I was going to look for a Roman Ogee. but its in the air what is used.


If using solid wood, it's a good idea to leave expansion room or a panel in an exterior door. 1/2" grooves get a 3/8" panel tongue. With modern paint holding everything like glue, I have stopped making exterior frame and panel doors out of solid wood. The paint will not allow wood movement at the stile/panel joint. Something cracks, or the panel shrinks all to one side. With plastic paint, we're better off with plywood panels. Wooden doors were designed for lead paint, and it's wrong to use lead paint given the health impacts.

I had the opportunity to see a door made with no clearance. The drafstman drew it wrong, and the guy in the shop built it wrong on purpose for fun. The door came back in a few months with the stiles being pushed off the rails. The panels had to be cut out of the rabbets with a circular saw.

[Jared Sankovich]

If using solid wood, it's a good idea to leave expansion room or a panel in an exterior door. 1/2" grooves get a 3/8" panel tongue. With modern paint holding everything like glue, I have stopped making exterior frame and panel doors out of solid wood. The paint will not allow wood movement at the stile/panel joint. Something cracks, or the panel shrinks all to one side. With plastic paint, we're better off with plywood panels. Wooden doors were designed for lead paint, and it's wrong to use lead paint given the health impacts.

I had the opportunity to see a door made with no clearance. The drafstman drew it wrong, and the guy in the shop built it wrong on purpose for fun. The door came back in a few months with the stiles being pushed off the rails. The panels had to be cut out of the rabbets with a circular saw.

I think the op was talking about groove width, not depth with the 1/2" reference.

[Terry Patrick]

Thanks for all the input , gave me a lot to think about

[ED Budzinski]

I recently purchased a Freud Ogee Bit #99-006 . It was recommended by a professional woodworker who has used one for years making exterior doors . I will use this in my Powermatic Model 29 Shaper .