Double cathedral mahogany doors built by students, and they fit like a glove!!!

[jim sauterer]

Great job you should be proud of those doors and students.stunning

[David Utterback]

Stellar work and mission.

[Warren Lake]

Thanks for posting that. Whats inside before assembly?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Thanks for posting that. Whats inside before assembly?

Sorry, I don’t understand the question. They are solid mahogany. Splined joints with mahogany splines.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

By the way, I failed to mention that the white stuff at the top of the doors is chicken poop. I forgot to cover them one night. It sands off! This is an open-air shop and they roost in the rafters at night. Killing them off just means another rooster and his brood will show up a week later. This is island life. Chickens run wild here- they are everywhere.
4FA26033-FFBF-4B7C-BCA7-E51BCDF059EC.jpg

This was the bird of paradise concept that was too complicated to do. We have a metal shop that teaches welding, but we decided this was a bit much.
4131ACD8-68E6-4885-A3DA-DA248CA405E5.jpg

[Joe A Faulkner]

What an inspiring build. Thanks for sharing. Is there a black smith on the Island?. Those doors deserve handles that compliment the hinges nd the iron work.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

What an inspiring build. Thanks for sharing. Is there a black smith on the Island?. Those doors deserve handles that compliment the hinges nd the iron work.

I agree! Sadly, the customer wants the old hardware so they don’t have to change locks.

[Keith Outten]

Outstanding!!!!!!

[Warren Lake]

thats the question how they are machine inside the joints, mortise and tennon etc I think in one photo a spline shows at the bottom, but cant tell what is inside the door into the rail and style to join stuff.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

thats the question how they are machine inside the joints, mortise and tennon etc I think in one photo a spline shows at the bottom, but cant tell what is inside the door into the rail and style to join stuff.

Ah, Ok. The simplest way I could come up with was a spline joint, which is how most of the door was made, but the arched panel was routed at the top in a tongue to fit into the groove in the top rail. It was easier than making an arched spline. I could have done the center panel in tongue and groove, but a spline required less routing, which requires less stress for me with my students. Also these are quite big and I felt the dado blade was better than the router. I did make a jig for the router for the arched rail. The jig had wood guide blocks either side, which is fairly foolproof for students. The splines were cut from mahogany at somewhere around 3/8” thick if I remember correctly. So, the center panel pieces are grooved either side and then a spline is inserted in the groove. Similar to tongue and groove but the spline rep,aces the tongue and everything gets grooved.