rail and stile doors,,

[jeff oldham]

im trying to get into rail and stile doors,,,but i am having a hard time getting the doors square after assembly,,i checked all the lengths and cuts and they were dead on,,im really new at this,,can anybody give me their way of doing this,,,i trimed the insert panel to give it more wiggle room after the assembly,,,but i honestly think they might be a better way of doing it,,,any info would certainly be appreciated,,,

[Mel Fulks]

I've always put pencil lines on the stile back showing where the mortise would be. Face of all door parts had a face
mark (quick pencil double-dash) on face side . With all rails on the lines squaring would be done with hammer and block
of wood striking stile ends which would be at least 3/4" 'extra wood' "lug" to be trimmed off later. We were using pneumatic clamps. With common bar clamps you can help square up by angling them.

[Patrick Kane]

Typically square workpieces and joinery will lead to square glueups, but its still possible for things to go awry because of clamps. Pretty much everything i glueup is tested for square 2 seconds after the clamps are applied and the glue is still wet. Do you have a square you know to be accurate? If so, check your piece with it and adjust accordingly. If you do not have a good square, then measure the diagonals and compare. If one is longer than the other then you need to run a clamp diagonally and apply a little pressure to skew the door back into square.

[David Sochar]

When I made interior window shutters - about 3 dozen a week - I was taught to measure diagonals. And, instead of pulling a tape for each check, I was given a trammel stick with a clamp that held it so the points - one a nail, one a pencil - would just contact the inside corners of the assembly.

This was extremely fast and accurate.

You mentioned "square after assembly" - that is too late - you have to square them while in the clamps.

[Jim Becker]

If the components are milled accurately, this is mostly a clamping issue. A jig with a "known 90º corner" setup can help with this. It can be easy for things to move ever so slightly when one clamps things "free hand", no matter how they try for a number of reasons including different pressure across clamps, glue slippage, etc.

[Mark Bolton]

Depending on how many you have to do or how often you think you will do them, make yourself a simple door/frame table. Sheet of ply (whatever size you choose), cut square, with a fence applied to two sides. Then you simply assemble your doors in that fixture. Every one will be square, flat, and fast. The fixture can sit on a bench or hang on a wall.

[Mel Fulks]

We used the stick method ,too. But mainly for really large window sash. We would drive a nail in the stick as a stop.

[Mel Fulks]

Mark ,on that door jig ...does it have openings for stile "lugs" ? I can see removing the top lugs ,but I like to leave the
bottom ones just in case it needs more length due to some change in door frame.

[Mark Bolton]

Mark ,on that door jig ...does it have openings for stile "lugs" ? I can see removing the top lugs ,but I like to leave the
bottom ones just in case it needs more length due to some change in door frame.

It can have anything your heart desires. Holes, air cylinders, levers and inclined planes, internal combustion engines.

[mike stenson]

pinch sticks

[lowell holmes]

I would practice making nothing but joints until I got it right. Don't make anything while practicing.

[mike stenson]

Even a well made joint can rack, especially with clamp pressure. This is why pinch sticks have been used for.. well, centuries.

[johnny means]

I make a clamping table. It's just two rails screwed to a table at a right angle to each other. Every door is assembled and clamped against them.

[Warren Lake]

Lowell,

what about dinner?

[Jim Dwight]

I would double check the ends of your rails to be sure they are cut square to the long side of the rail. If so, only a clamp applied incorrectly or warped stiles would make the doors off square.

I routinely make doors and drawer fronts to the size of the opening without allowing any clearance, however. I trim them after glueup to give it clearance and to fit it to the opening. That also lets me eliminate any slight angle issues too. Sometimes the opening is not perfect. It's hard to see 1/16 or even 1/8 difference in the rail or stile width due to trimming. But if I'm taking 1/8 I usually trim 1/16 from both sides.

[Andy D Jones]

Lowell,

what about dinner?

Nope. No bathroom breaks either. That will speed up your training...

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Warren Lake]

Geez its tough around here. Lucky for Depends.