tod evans
09-07-2006, 3:48 PM
`cause some folks expressed an interest in another thread i`ve undertaken the chore of documenting how i build doors.
i do both interior and exterior doors the same way construction wise only exterior doors get weatherstriping, permanent thresholds and instead of pinned panels i use polyurethane airline to surround the panels to allow for expansion but still seal out weather.
first off i`ve built doors for various clients per their specs using solid wood, usually 10/4.....every one of these doors has warped with seasonal movement.....for those of you who are "purests" these doors where done correctly, through wedged tennons, mouldings cut into the rails-n-styles and mitered, ect......they still moved enough with seasonal humidity changes to cause sealing problems....
now when i`m commissioned to build "solid" doors i take another approach, one i`ve gleaned from the industry. most of the higher quality "builder" doors that are stocked locally are of a wheatboard core that`s been banded and veneered. higher quality "custom" doors are generally made of fingerjointed fir and banded and veneered with a slightly thicker skin. the "builder" doors are assembled using 6" screws in lieu of dowells, whereas the custom units depending on manufacturer will use stubb tennons and dowells or in the rare instance loose tennons. i`ve not seen custom doors available that use through wedged tennons........
the method i use now is i glue together a core lamination of the same species as the face. these cores are glued in blocks 3-1/2" x 10" x length of the rail + 2-4" for error. after the glue sets i`ll resaw 1-1/2" x 10" blanks from the block, surface them and laminate a 5/16-3/8 face veneer to the blank. the next step is to dado the rails for allthread, the reason for dados is that it`s a real bugger to drill accurate holes through the rails...i`ll stop here `cause that`s how far i am on the doors i`m building....tod
46378
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46380
i do both interior and exterior doors the same way construction wise only exterior doors get weatherstriping, permanent thresholds and instead of pinned panels i use polyurethane airline to surround the panels to allow for expansion but still seal out weather.
first off i`ve built doors for various clients per their specs using solid wood, usually 10/4.....every one of these doors has warped with seasonal movement.....for those of you who are "purests" these doors where done correctly, through wedged tennons, mouldings cut into the rails-n-styles and mitered, ect......they still moved enough with seasonal humidity changes to cause sealing problems....
now when i`m commissioned to build "solid" doors i take another approach, one i`ve gleaned from the industry. most of the higher quality "builder" doors that are stocked locally are of a wheatboard core that`s been banded and veneered. higher quality "custom" doors are generally made of fingerjointed fir and banded and veneered with a slightly thicker skin. the "builder" doors are assembled using 6" screws in lieu of dowells, whereas the custom units depending on manufacturer will use stubb tennons and dowells or in the rare instance loose tennons. i`ve not seen custom doors available that use through wedged tennons........
the method i use now is i glue together a core lamination of the same species as the face. these cores are glued in blocks 3-1/2" x 10" x length of the rail + 2-4" for error. after the glue sets i`ll resaw 1-1/2" x 10" blanks from the block, surface them and laminate a 5/16-3/8 face veneer to the blank. the next step is to dado the rails for allthread, the reason for dados is that it`s a real bugger to drill accurate holes through the rails...i`ll stop here `cause that`s how far i am on the doors i`m building....tod
46378
46379
46380