Doors

[Jim Ledger]

Occasionally I have to put down whatever it is I'm doing and do a few chores around the house and garden. It's the downside of having any sort of ability. I was able to put this one off last year by running out the clock into the cold weather, but now it's spring and the pressure is back on.

Our front and back doors are well past their prime, well past. They were never much to begin with, off the shelf doors of an indifferent design and cheap construction. 'Nuff about them, they're dumpster fodder.

I live, surprisingly, in a stucco house, which means that windows and doors go where the holes are and that's it. I've replaced the windows with custom sizes over a span of years, so now it's time to do the doors.

I'm posting in Misc. Boat Related because I think it might be of interest to some here and it's relatable to boats. Many boats have doors and the construction techniques are usually variations on a theme.

So, feel free to comment and post pictures of your own work, or even drag the internet for the most beautiful, outlandish and spectacular doors you can find. I'll be making two rather simple doors and will go step-by-step with commentary and photos.


To begin I bought three mahogany boards about twenty years ago at an auction of a cabinet shop. I paid five hunnert bucks for them. They might be worth more now, but I have to make something useful out of them soon while I still remember how. They're heavier now than then, I know that. Oh, yeah, there'll be jambs and sills as well.

[TerryLL]

Oh god no. Please reconsider.
Putting that beautiful mahog into door jambs is just so wrong.
Send it to me and I'll put it to proper use.

[Jim Ledger]

Nah, Terry, this stuff is for the two doors themselves, I've always had this in mind for them. Entry doors are a worthy use for these planks, especially if they get finished bright. The jambs are going to be from thinner planks.

Just out of curiosity, what would you do with them?



Jim

[TerryLL]

Nah, Terry, this stuff is for the two doors themselves, I've always had this in mind for them. Entry doors are a worthy use for these planks, especially if they get finished bright. The jambs are going to be from thinner planks.

Just out of curiosity, what would you do with them?



Jim

Oh, I'd probably just look at them for twenty years or so trying to decide where they belong.

[Jim Ledger]

Oh, I'd probably just look at them for twenty years or so trying to decide where they belong.

If it makes any difference, Terry, that wide plank is actually two planks glued together. It was done so well that I only just discovered it. It's something else to work around along with a few checks and some sapwood on one plank.

Jim

[Art Haberland]

Oh, I'd probably just look at them for twenty years or so trying to decide where they belong.

You have that problem too?

[David G]

Looks like some sweet stock to start with. What are you planning? Unrated, with solid 1.75" stiles & rails? Any glazing? Solid panels? Will you need add'l stock for the panels? AWI 'Premium' grade, except for the finish? Finish - grain-filler under spar varnish? Looking forward to watching them develop.

[Jim Ledger]

Looks like some sweet stock to start with. What are you planning? Unrated, with solid 1.75" stiles & rails? Any glazing? Solid panels? Will you need add'l stock for the panels? AWI 'Premium' grade, except for the finish? Finish - grain-filler under spar varnish? Looking forward to watching them develop.

Thanks for your interest, David. I left out a few details so I had some fodder left for future posts. Here's a quick summary; yes to the 1.75 thickness, or thereabouts, the stock will determine the eventual dimensions in a big way. .

One of the doors will be rather short to fit the hole in the wall and will be made in a classic Craftsman pattern, two tall panels below with three small windows above. I might use a gunstock stile to widen the window area a bit.

The other door will be tall and rather narrow with five equal panels, all glass thermopane. This will mimic the five flat panel design of the interior doors.

The finish will be the same varnish I'm doing on the transom and cabin sides of the boat. That way I'll be able to schedule solid days of sanding and varnishing at the best time of the year.

That's kinda the plan anyway. Right now I have some simple line drawings and some luan hot-glued templates. The ideas really have to tighten up considerably before I put saw to wood.

[hawkeye54]

Yes Sir, Jim - I will be following this thread as well - thanks for taking the time to post ! !


Rick

[Jim Ledger]

Yes Sir, Jim - I will be following this thread as well - thanks for taking the time to post ! !


Rick

I know you like the catboat thread, Rick, so I'll try to get in a few days back there. I've got some interesting things lined up besides the planking.

Jim

[amish rob]

Drilling?

I thought you were a mold maker, man?!

The light up red eyes… you’ve been hanging around me TOO much.

[Canoeyawl]

Beautiful planks, going to be some mighty fine doors.
Waiting for more pics...
(Full tenon stiles and rails? Ooh la la!)
.
"Drifting in Honduras"...

34 years ago I went in with another man on a small container of select (1/3 African (Utile) and 3/3 Honduras) Mahogany shipped to my door yard (M.L. Condon, NY
2000 bf 12/4 clear random widths (over 12" width and all 20' lengths) for $5000 American
Many of those "planks" were over 40" wide, why I didn't keep part of one to make a table with is just dumb.
At 45 lbs/cu ft. 2 men could not carry one of the large Utile planks. We could however slide them out the end onto a fork lift.
That woodpile did make a couple of extra fine small craft. (African below the waterline)
I still marvel when I lie in the bunk and just follow my gaze remembering each plank and each challenge presented.

[Rich Jones]

Looking forward to this.
I seem to remember a very nice door being made for a garden shed? Curved top?
I'll be interested in how you do the weather stripping on these new ones.

[StevenBauer]

So, feel free to comment and post pictures of your own work, or even drag the internet for the most beautiful, outlandish and spectacular doors you can find. I'll be making two rather simple doors and will go step-by-step with commentary and photos.

I found this pic online the other day. Doors are very important to a house.

92072ECA-658E-4B5F-B1C9-8CB64C395706.jpg

[Dusty Yevsky]

I found this pic online the other day. Doors are very important to a house.

92072ECA-658E-4B5F-B1C9-8CB64C395706.jpg

Some amazing examples there! Can you post the link to the original site?

[StevenBauer]

Some amazing examples there! Can you post the link to the original site?

It was a Facebook post about doors of Brussels, Belgium.

EF1B9F27-55E3-48FD-ABFD-FB4AC8C93B36.jpeg

[Jim Ledger]

I found this pic online the other day. Doors are very important to a house.

That same picture showed up on my Facebook, Steven. The Art Nouveau style must be one of the most difficult styles to reproduce in wood, the curves, the delicacy, it reminds me of lace. One false note will ruin the whole thing. Luckily, though, I won't be attempting anything like it here, it wouldn't suit the house at all. One door is going to be Craftsman-y, sort of, and the other's going to be more contemporary.

Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful planks, going to be some mighty fine doors.
Waiting for more pics...
(Full tenon stiles and rails? Ooh la la!)
.
"Drifting in Honduras"...

34 years ago I went in with another man on a small container of select (1/3 African (Utile) and 3/3 Honduras) Mahogany shipped to my door yard (M.L. Condon, NY
2000 bf 12/4 clear random widths (over 12" width and all 20' lengths) for $5000 American
Many of those "planks" were over 40" wide, why I didn't keep part of one to make a table with is just dumb.
At 45 lbs/cu ft. 2 men could not carry one of the large Utile planks. We could however slide them out the end onto a fork lift.
That woodpile did make a couple of extra fine small craft. (African below the waterline)
I still marvel when I lie in the bunk and just follow my gaze remembering each plank and each challenge presented.

I remember those planks, Jake, and have cut up a few. I also remember paying $2.50 a board foot for them. Clear cedar cost more back then.

Yes to the full mortice and tenon treatment.

Looking forward to this.
I seem to remember a very nice door being made for a garden shed? Curved top?
I'll be interested in how you do the weather stripping on these new ones.

You've got a good memory, Rich, the door you mention is now in need of a fresh coat of paint. As for the weatherstrip, I was hoping whoever it was here that put me onto that site with the weatherstrip that installs into a groove, will direct me once again. My plan is to rout a slot in the edge of the stop to receive the stop.


This is the door that Rich is talking about. It's going to be difficult to achieve this kind of precision because I'm playing a much cheaper violin now than I was then.


Thanks, all

Jim

[Hugh MacD]

Hooked!

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

https://www.lapedrera.com/en/blog/doors-casa-mila

https://www.1stdibs.com/en-gb/furnit...id-f_23769002/

[Breakaway]

Subscribed!

[John B]

Getting subscribed with gratuitous 1910 door pic.
20220412_071713.jpg

[Jim Ledger]

Getting subscribed with gratuitous 1910 door pic.
20220412_071713.jpg

Lovely door you have there, John, and what's more important, I could probably make one like it. I might need some help with the colors, though.

[chas]

"Subscribed!"

Accolade got new wheelhouse doors last spring, this is the second one coming from the clamps.

IMG_0332.jpg

Adding some blocks for the round corners. Pencil shows the shape and width of rabbet for setting the original? glass. / Jim

IMG_0333.jpg

[Jim Ledger]

"Subscribed!"

Accolade got new wheelhouse doors last spring, this is the second one coming from the clamps.

IMG_0332.jpg

Adding some blocks for the round corners. Pencil shows the shape and width of rabbet for setting the original? glass. / Jim

IMG_0333.jpg

Coupla good-looking doors, there, Jim. Are those bridle joints in the corner? Alaskan cedar? I'd like to see the finished product.

[Larks]

I’m well and truly along for the education on this one Jim, ‘very much looking forward to see how you do them.

[hawkeye54]

Jim, if that weatherstrip is shaped like a ' Capital P' , with the 'stem fitting into the slot on the stop, that is carried in 'big-box' stores in individual lengths ( in white / brown / tan ) . That is what I have in place on my own house doors - one piece on each side, a short piece on top .


Rick

[Jim Ledger]

Jim, if that weatherstrip is shaped like a ' Capital P' , with the 'stem fitting into the slot on the stop, that is carried in 'big-box' stores in individual lengths ( in white / brown / tan ) . That is what I have in place on my own house doors - one piece on each side, a short piece on top .


Rick

Thanks, Rick, I'll check it out.

[amish rob]

Good grief! Flat?! Square?! I suppose you’re going to measure stuff, too? Probably twice?

Boring! Start sawing, Bro!

Signed,
Dr. Putt E. Painter, Esq.

[Jim Ledger]

Good grief! Flat?! Square?! I suppose you’re going to measure stuff, too? Probably twice?

Boring! Start sawing, Bro!

Signed,
Dr. Putt E. Painter, Esq.

Don't I know you?

[Drift Boat Rick]

Just think about all the fine brass accoutremonts you could cast for these doors. I am thinking some like a simple brass lion or elephant door knocker!

Rick Newman

[Jim Ledger]

Just think about all the fine brass accoutremonts you could cast for these doors. I am thinking some like a simple brass lion or elephant door knocker!

Rick Newman

Rick, I have a wolfs head door knocker that might fit the bill. It'll looks good cast in bronze.

[Mike1902]

Hi Jim,
Doors it is...
Made seven and a half of these doors about 30 years ago for my fathers homebuilt 45' ketch. Solid Rimu rails, stiles and louvres.
The louvres are recessed into slots in the stile, mortise and tenon joints, V grooved ply panel and home made stainless steel sliding bolt with Rimu knob.

491.jpg494.jpgP2200530.jpg496.jpg

The half door ( not hung in this photo) separated the galley from the saloon
The painted door to the wheelhouse had a bifolding top half which allowed the air in while the bottom half kept the water out...Dad made that one.

This old Kauri door became a table...just because.
Copper sheeting from an old hotwater cylinder has been inlaid into the lower panels and replaced the glass panes.

41EB0C42-99EF-433E-9D1A-06B590D3102F (1).jpg

Looking forward to your creation Jim.

Cheers,
Mike.

[Jim Ledger]

Mike I love those doors! And the rolltop. Fantastic boat! I've made louvers in that style, i.e. where the louvers are not contained within the frame, but instead slide into thruogh slots. It's easier to glue up the the more usual method of having the slats housed in closed mortices. There's some fiddly fitting of the slats where they overhang the frame, but the overall effect is kinda "thicker" if you know what I mean. Another advantage is that it's easier (possible?) to replace a slat should one break, and you need less of them.

Thanks,

Jim

[Jim Ledger]

I've made a couple of line drawings, but before I begin cutting I'm making some hot-glued patterns to check the fit and look. It's a simple design, which, I think, is what the situation calls for. This door gets the thermopane units in all the spaces. The top will line up with the top of the windows so the trim follows the same line. There's not much to vary other than the width of the intermediate rails. The styles are sized to get two out of one plank, four and a half inches, or so.

[Peerie Maa]

I've made a couple of line drawings, but before I begin cutting I'm making some hot-glued patterns to check the fit and look. It's a simple design, which, I think, is what the situation calls for. This door gets the thermopane units in all the spaces. The top will line up with the top of the windows so the trim follows the same line. There's not much to vary other than the width of the intermediate rails. The styles are sized to get two out of one plank, four and a half inches, or so.

I think that the intermediate rails should respect the position of the joints in the weatherboarding.