New front door

[T Welsh]

My front door was starting to get loose in the joints and was getting rotten on bottom corners. so, off the the wood shed to see what I had in my stash. came up with a log that I had cut last year that a fellow gave me while cutting board and batten for him. White pine! #2.I like knots. I am not a big fan of pine ,but its light,I had enough of it to make the door and I did,nt have to move any lumber to get to it. I think that,s the biggest reason I chose it. I fully mortised the corners  and then put a wedge in the tenons and pinned them. 4 coats of poly. I know you guy,s like photo,s enjoy!

[red oaks lumber]

very nice looking door

[Patty]

Very nice! Are the panels floating or did you glue them in?

[T Welsh]

Patty, Yes full floating. it was my first attempt at making a door. so I just looked at the way the old one was constructed and added my touch to it. I first started woodworking 30+ years ago and watched the PBS series with Roy Underhill on traditional wood working was hooked. I love mortise and tenon joints, nothing more simple and stronger. now I have my own shop fully stocked with all the tools to make life easier!! this is how I relax after work!!

[Patty]

The interior door I made had the floating panels also; where I ran into trouble was when I put the finish on, it kind of stuck the panels in place.  :   So, do you pre-finish the panels to prevent this?

[T Welsh]

Patty, thats a hard thing to do, I finished the door with panels in place. its made of wood and with the season,s wood will move! one of mother nature,s little quirks! I have seen quarter sawn white oak panels 100 years old move a quarter of an inch through the winter/summer change. I am sure you could finish the panels and then construct and finish the frame. I dont have that kind of patients. Tim

[Larry]

I like your door. 8) 8) 8)

How did you make such a deep mortice?

[T Welsh]

I like your door. 8) 8) 8)

How did you make such a deep mortice?

Larry, Thank you. If I remember correctly, which is hard sometimes, I used a bench top mortiser and ran it in on both side,s of the stile and cleaned them up with a long chisel. I thought about not making them all the way through, but it kind of defeated the whole purpose of building a better door!! Tim

[WDH]

That is very well done!  I tip my hat to you, Sir.

[Woodwalker]

Very nice. Very strong.

[Texas Ranger]

Very nice, I pass the baton to you, I have given up making doors, hard to find decent wood any where near.

[ljmathias]

Very pretty and I love the mortise and tenon joints- are the doors 2" thick, more, less?  Seems you have to pretty much make doors the same size as modern pre-fabs so things fit together right.  I'm going to try my hand at some this winter, but I don't have a bench top mortiser... what brand do you use and do you have pictures?  Anyone out ther have a work-around for a mortiser?  Maybe a long drill bit and lots of patience?   

Lj

[T Welsh]

Lj, Yes, it is 1 3/4". I had to work with the opening that was there! the bench top mortiser is a Delta brand. there depth is about 3" max. the work around is a forstner bit, a speed bore bit with an extension and a lot of hand work, but it can be done, I like when people say (you can,t do that) get,s me motivated! here,s a couple of pic,s to give you an idea of how to get deep mortise,s







I put a tape measure in to give you an idea of how deep you can go, hope this gives you help! thanks for the compliments guy!! Tim

[Texas Ranger]

When I was making doors I had a machine shop make up some extensions on the main supports, opened it up just enough.  However, for one or two doors, forget it.

[SwampDonkey]

Very nice door Mr. Welsh. I know now why pine, it's a lot softer than white oak. ;D ;) Now fess up. ;D

You did a fine job, and I don't know a thing about door making. ;)

[T Welsh]

SwampDonkey, thank you! I didnt either!! but I just started to examine the existing door and why it failed(cheap to begin with) not through mortises. so I said to myself I can build a better mouse trap. I could have used any wood that I would have would have liked. but the weight issue came up with hard woods. I would have had to redo all of my hinges and added another one. the choice of pine was simple! I didnt have to move any lumber to get the working stock I needed A carpenter buddy of mine said he would pick one up for me at the supply co and give me a hand. said nah,I,ll build one. he said your crazy. after it was done. He that,s out of this world. he now wants me to make him a walnut door and asked how much would it take( lots of cases of beer) may be a pallet load. told him its not that hard! the right tools make life easy!! and I finally have them 8) Tim

[GF]

That is a great looking door with a great finish, way to go.

GF

[Woodchuck53]

Thanks Tim, now she wants one. Or two or three. She was admiring your handy work and thinks we should replace the interior Luan doors. I told her I didn't have a Mortising set up.

Well x-mas is coming.

They do look great.

[T Welsh]

Woodchuck53, Your welcome :D The wife got me going on this project as well. and it was her choice on the finish,I said gloss, semi gloss,or satin. you see what she picked. had 3 coats on and was going to call it quits and she came in the woodshop to call me in for diner and said thats going to look like glass when your done She knows just what to say to get her way 8) It was a fun project and the wood was easy to work with. Tim

[Woodchuck53]

Well x-mas is coming early. She is pricing WoodTek table top mortiser's this week. I think we ought to talk about tractors next. Have a good one guys, stay safe.

[T Welsh]

Woodchuck53, Sounds like she has you right where she wants,she,s bribing you with tools. ;D Tim

[Lud]

The best thing you can do for extending door life is  have it out of the sun, out of the rain, out of the wind, etc.   A good storm door will protect it too!

I agree with finishing the panels before assembly.  Those little rubber balls work great for floating the panels. When you decide that it needs "another coat" or are refinishing down the road,  you cando it all but go around the panels with a knife and break the finish to free the panels again.

Great looking door!

[jamesamd]

Verrry nice door Tim!
I have always wondered if a paneled were sealed well enough to stop moisture from entering or leaving,would it remain stable and uneffected by the seasons.The experiment begins!
I do hope it works!!
Jim

[Piston]

You did a great job and that is a fine looking front door! 

I know many people aren't crazy about pine, but I personally love pine for many different reasons.  Maybe you should make a 'nicer' one out of a more expensive wood and ship that door off to me  :D

[T Welsh]

You did a great job and that is a fine looking front door! 

I know many people aren't crazy about pine, but I personally love pine for many different reasons.  Maybe you should make a 'nicer' one out of a more expensive wood and ship that door off to me  :D

Thank you Piston, I like all wood and as you said pine has its place,I picked it for its lightness,ease of working,and it was what I needed right in front of the storage shed and I didnt have to dig through lumber to get what I needed for the project :D Tim

[Clam77]

BEAUTIFUL door - you could definately make yourself some extra spending cash if you were so inclined. 

I'm wondering the same as James - will the panels withstand the weathering and not dry and crack around the edges.... just gonna take a few years to find out though.   :D

I know all the old wood doors my grandparents had on their house had the same type of panel on them..... seems to me they all had a THICK layer of shellac on them though if I remember right, but the technology involved with poly is so much better now than it was then.

[SwampDonkey]

There is also exterior water based Varathane as well. Two brands that I see, one is Varathane itself and there is another I just saw the other day. Slips my mind. Same stuff. Non yellowing and UV resistant. It has a milky consistency in the can.

[T Welsh]

time will tell about the panels! Its sure going to get the test. No storm door against the outside elements by itself and is 10' from the wood stove on the inside. Talk about getting slammed on both side,s :D Its been OK for the summer and now we are going into winter.6 coat,s of Minwax poly to get it to look like glass. Tim

[Clam77]

Hahaa yes it is getting slammed - I know how wet a Pennsylvania winter is... and a wood stove is THE worst thing on woodwork.  Can't wait to see how it does...

[T Welsh]

Hahaa yes it is getting slammed - I know how wet a Pennsylvania winter is... and a wood stove is THE worst thing on woodwork.  Can't wait to see how it does...

The stove is the worst enemy of anything wood Tim

[SwampDonkey]

Ah yeah, but byes it keeps you warm. :D

[T Welsh]

SwampDonkey,One time I brought a band sawed box that I made from a burl,brought it in from the outside shop and two days latter it popped and cracked apart on the coffee table right next to the stove. I looked at it and grinned and bared it.Taught myself a lesson and opened the stove and fed the beast(I like stoves) Tim

[SwampDonkey]

I can do that with boxed heart black cherry, just air drying. I had 6 - 6"x"6x8' and they split in every dimension laying up off the barn floor. Out on the faces, the cracks were 1/2" wide or little more and they went to the core. :D I tried to use pieces or sections, as I worked them they still moved. It's alive I tell ya! :D

[WDH]

I have had poor luck drying anything that is 6" x 6" without cracking.  Cherry is especially bad.

[Don_Papenburg]

On my exterior doors I make the panels in two pieces .  An outside panel then a filler( sheet metal ,ply wood or foam insulation), then the inner panel .
I finish the outer doors with several coats of varnish . That way I just need to clean up the door ,maybe sand some , and refinish with varnish as it will melt into the old varnish that is left.

[Phorester]

Impressive. 
When I bough my Delta drill press I bought a mortiser attachment with it.  Realized pretty quick that it was much more accurate and faster than a regular drill bit with a lot of chiseling.  I like the wedge and pins to hold those big pieces stable.

[SwampDonkey]

That's the path I'm headed to. Only I will still reach for my chisels to clean up mortise shoulders.  ;D

I have some nice hard maple here, and some time I intent to make a nice maple door.

That reminds me, I'm going to get a shaper to while I'm in the tool acquiring mode. No more mess'n around with crap router tables. I have some nice routers that I've owned for years, but use the things as routers. ;D

I'm always looking to make mouldings, so it will be used a lot. To buy mouldings is costly plus they never have what you want in these small towns and villages.

[T Welsh]

Phorester,Thanks, I love mortise and tenon jointery, and then add what I call blind wedges very thin long taper wedges and glue them in and peg them.SwampDonkey, Shapers are the ticket when doing panels,its one machine that I do not have room for in my little shop its only 24x24 and every machine is on wheels. my best friend has a barn full of machines and has two shapers a grizz and a older delta, the grizz is for sale $300. they are great machine,s 8) when it comes to panels,or mouldings,tongue and groove ect. but they are nasty if used wrong Tim

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, you have to use them shapers with respect and realize that even a 1/2" shank bit can shear off when trying to go full bore at a piece of hardwood. You take a little bit at a time in several passes. Much safer and the heart doesn't race so much like when the bit bends or breaks. ;)

Your shop is bigger than mine, but I can go out into the main barn from the heated inside shop and have a huge room to play in. ;D

[Texas Ranger]

Swamper, I just got set up that way.  Built a smaller room inside the warehouse, to heat and cool.  Mainly to cool, those 100+ days in a metal building do not lead to production of any nature.  Have all the bigger stuff and dust producers in the big area, I guess I have a clean room, now as well.

[WDH]

I need a "finishing" room like that.