Entry Doors with side lites

[Hotwheels]

These are exquisite looking doors ... glad you are offering the construction details since on my list of projects is doing something very similar: entry door with sidelights. There seem to be several suggestions for dealing with the potential for warping with door such as this, things such as "sandwiching" a plywood core between hardwood exterior. Do you have any concerns about the potential for warping or is this just not an issue with your construction technique?

Thanks,
JR

 

[Warrior]

These are exquisite looking doors ... glad you are offering the construction details since on my list of projects is doing something very similar: entry door with sidelights. There seem to be several suggestions for dealing with the potential for warping with door such as this, things such as "sandwiching" a plywood core between hardwood exterior. Do you have any concerns about the potential for warping or is this just not an issue with your construction technique?

Thanks,
JR

John,

I use solid wood for the panels, stile and rail. The stile and rail are either solid 8/4 stock milled to 45mm or 2- 4/4 pieces milled and glued together. On 2 1/4" thick or 58mm doors I like to glue up 3 - 4/4 or 2 - 6/4 then plane to final thickness. With careful selection of quarter sawn stock and proper milling technique the doors will not warp. Make sure they are finished properly and they will last 100 years. Also when glueing multiple pieces for a stile and rail make sure to oppose the grain. the glued up stiles tend to be a bit stiffer and stay straighter than one solid piece.

Eiji

Cut off of glued up rail showing opposing grain.

 

[Warrior]

Well I didnt get to put in a full day today but got a little done. I decided to have the door stile and rail completely prepped before getting on with the panels.

I've cut all my door pieces. I lay them out and label them. In the next operation it is important to keep the faces oriented properly.

The door panels are 25mm thick and I plan to plow the grooves to a depth of 6.5mm which leaves me with 12mm thickness of panel at the edges and in the grooves.

I am setting up the OF-FH guide and put a 12mm festool bit into the 1400. I set the depth to 10mm for the rail grooves. I could probably do it in one pass but set it up for two 5mm passes.

Notice I've attached vac hoses to both ports. I feel that using just one or the other port is insufficient. Using both vacs leaves behind nothing and just one vac and the dado is packed with shavings.

 

[Warrior]

Notice the bits of blue tape on the pieces and also on one leg of the OF-FH. If I match the blue taped leg of the OF-FH with the blue taped label on the workpiece everything will line up later. (knock on wood ;D).

I've set up some stop blocks to center a shallow mortise in the rail groove for centering the panel.

On to the stiles. I've set all the stiles up so I can rout all the left side stiles then route all the right side stiles. With all this order it helps to keep me less confused. I set  the rail  atop the stiles to mark out the groove ends. I made some gauges for starting and stopping for the left side stiles then realized they didnt work for the right side stiles and just marked out the start and end points with a sharpie.

A little paste wax on the OF-FH keeps it gliding along smoothly.

Stiles are routed to a depth of 15mm to accomodate panel expansion/contraction.

 

[Warrior]

With all the rails and stiles grooved out I can move on to the mortising operation.

Some simple layout sticks keep every thing simple.

I've switched to a longer 12.7mm bit and mortise to a depth of 50mm.

 

[nickao]

Eiji,

Super work and a beautiful eye for design and detail. I'm jealous. ;D

Les I usually do not usually correct people, but this is one word many use and at times the wrong meaning can be taken, one I do no think you want to convey.

I think you mean envious, which means: desirous of another's advantages

Jealous denotes a much more negative and mean spirited idea: feeling resentment against someone

I see this mistake a lot on forums and have made it myself, until of course my mother corrected me and I have not forgotten. That's what mom's are for.

Nickao

 

[Warrior]

Nickao,

Thanks for the english lesson. I know I could use some help with my writing skills, but right now I'm consentrating on woodworking.

I know my descriptions are rather breif; if anyone would like me to explain anything in greater detail I will give it a shot.

More mortising to come on Monday.

 

[nickao]

I am not an English major, but the more I post the more potential I see for offending someone by mistake. I hope I did not offend you.

A lot of times I do not post just because of that. I feel like I am walking on egg shells.

I am sure you do not want people thinking you are jealous of anyone. You seem much nicer than that in your posts and that was my point.

Nickao

 

[Warrior]

I am not an English major, but the more I post the more potential I see for offending someone by mistake. I hope I did not offend you.

Nickao

Nickao,

I'm not offended at all. I enjoy your posts and I also enjoyed the english lesson. Even if it was directed at someone else and off topic. You cant live life in fear of the possibility of offense. That is stupid (political correctness comes to mind). Say what you say, if someone is offended, so be it. That sentence is most likely not gramatically correct, but who cares? I probably offended some english professor somewhere. ;D Now don't get me wrong, I am not a mean person. I don't have a maliscious bone in my body. But you wouldn't call me the most delicate or diplomatic communicator on the block either.

Eiji

 

[poto]

Well you sure have a cute daughter, Eiji. When are you going to replace that chop saw in the background of your avatar with a Kapex?

P.S. Thanks for the excellent step-by-step on the door construction. Might even persuade me to try it myself!

 

[rwdawson]

Nickao wrote:

I see this mistake a lot on forums and have made it myself, until of course my mother corrected me and I have not forgotten. That's what mom's are for.

Does your mother read this forum too?  ;D

Richard

 

[Warrior]

Well you sure have a cute daughter, Eiji. When are you going to replace that chop saw in the background of your avatar with a Kapex?

P.S. Thanks for the excellent step-by-step on the door construction. Might even persuade me to try it myself!

We just had her fourth birthday party today. Replacing the chopsaw depends on the outcome of the tool contest. If I don't win then I need to purchase the MFK700 and the Kapex will have to wait. I have the older model Makita 1212 so waiting's not so bad. The 1212 is far superior to todays 1214.IMO

Eiji

 

[Warrior]

Back at it.

Mortising of the stiles. I like to use a plunge bit so I can plunge straight down to the full depth at each end of the mortise then connect the dots about 7-8mm per pass. As you get close to the full depth of the mortise visibility is poor and that is where the first holes plunged to full depth help out. when you cant see what's going on. Look and Listen. When the router reaches the hole it changes pitch, slow down a bit and stop when you hear the bit engage the end of the mortise.

I've made some 1/2" thick loose tenons. and check the fit.

 

[Warrior]

Sizing the panels. The door stiles are 652mm which is 20 x 32 plus 12mm.  I arrived at that dimension because I am routing 12 mm grooves 32mm on center. The panels will be ripped to 652mm plus 24mm = 676mm.

I've made a couple of bench hooks so all the panels will be the same width and length without measuring.

 

[Warrior]

On to routing.

Using the LR32 for making the routing jig.

 

[Warrior]

Im too tire to add the text. I'll fill in the blanks later.

 

[MichaelIvey]

I see this mistake a lot on forums and have made it myself, until of course my mother corrected me and I have not forgotten. That's what mom's are for.

Nickao

Your Mother missed the punctuation mistake  ;D

 

[nickao]

That's what I have you guys for! 

 

[nickao]

This is another project in contention for the monthly contest, to me anyway. Actually, I see this as the front runner.

Fantastic progress pictures! Excellent picture progression on the steps in making the doors. Festools are all over the place. And the sharing of his techniques and comments are great too.

The final outcome of  these types of  doors in the beginning of the thread speak for themselves.

Comments?

Nickao

 

[joraft]

This is another project in contention for the monthly contest, to me anyway. Actually, I see this as the front runner.

... Comments?

I agree, Nick. I think this entry epitomizes what the contest is all about, both the project itself and the presentation. This one will be hard to beat.

To hell with just being envious, I'm downright JEALOUS.  Eiji is very likely to get a free MFK 700, and it's an absolute certainty I have to pay for mine. 

John