| Frame-and-Panel Door: Stock and Joinery |
From "Wood Works"
episode WWK-502 |
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In this episode of DIY Wood Works, host David Marks builds a classic frame-and-panel door.
A staple architectural element, the door forms the first impression of visitors who come to your home. It serves to both frame and conceal your personal space. This classic raised-panel door is made with 1-1/2" solid jarrah -- a dense, brownish-red Australian wood related to eucalyptus. The door is traditionally built in the frame and panel style, while mortise and loose-tenon joinery is used to join the rails and stiles that form the frame. Dados are cut into the frame to hold stunning solid-walnut panels. The book-matched panels are classically shaped to give them a three-dimensional, sculpted look. To raise the panels, a shaper wasn't used. Rather, the table router was employed with a panel-raising bit that cut a gentle bevel. This narrows the edges so that the panels fit snugly into the dados. An antique door-knob and complementary hardware are added as the finishing touches. Anatomy of a Door The frame of this style of door is made from stiles and rails. The two outer vertical supports are the stiles, and the one containing the doorknob and lock hardware (figure A) is known as the lock stile. This doorframe also contains three horizontal rails: the bottom rail (also known as the kick-rail) the lock rail, and the top rail. The vertical supports between the panels (figure B) are called muntins. This door was built to a standard size of 80 inches tall by 32 inches wide by 1-1/2 inches thick. Door sizes may vary depending on the size of the jamb or support-framing that holds the door. Final size may also need to be modified to accommodate special features like thick carpeting. Be sure to take accurate measurements before you begin cutting your stock and constructing your door. Materials: Jarrah-wood stock
Table saw
Multi-router
Band saw
Jointer
Power planer
Drum sander
Plunge router
Straight-edge
Carpenter's pencil
Safety glasses or goggles
Note: Cut sizes may vary. For exact measurements, please contact David Marks through his Web site -- information below under Resources. Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc. Stock and Joinery - Stock selection for a door is critical since the structure of the door can be seen from both sides. Normal defects that can be hidden on the underside of a table, for instance, may be visible on a door since both sides can be in plain view. The stock you choose for a door should be of the highest grade. When purchasing stock, tell your wood supplier that it is for a door so that he can direct you to the premium-quality lumber. The jarrah stock that we chose machines nicely and has a reddish color. We began with 8/4-stock, and milled it to 1-1/2 inches thick.
- We cut our panel stock from a single long board to keep the flowing grain-patterns intact. The stock pieces for the upper and lower panels (figure C) were cut to the same width -- 9-1/2 inches. The lower panels are 25 inches long, while the upper are about 37 inches long.
- Begin by jointing one face and one edge of each piece stock. Apply even pressure as you pass the face of the stock over the knives of the jointer. Next, joint one edge flat by positioning the jointed face against the fence (figure D).
- At the planer, using the flat face as a reference, cut a parallel face on the opposite side of the stock (figure E).
- At the band-saw, re-saw the stock to produce two book-matched panels (figure F) that are each 3/4-inch thick.
- Once the panel stock has been cut, it should be stacked on wood stickers -- thin strips of scrap wood -- to allow the wood to acclimate to the environment and humidity of the shop. Ideally, the wood should be allowed to acclimate for about 2 weeks to stabilize the wood. Allowing for wood-movement is an important issue when making doors. A solid-wood door of this size may "move" as much as 1/4-inch over the width-span of the door as seasons and humidity change. This can cause door-sticking or warping and cracking of the finished door. The frame-and-panel construction of this door allows the structure to be built to accommodate the movement of the wood.
- While the panel stock is acclimating, work can begin on the frame pieces -- the stile and rail stock. Beginning with the frame stock, rip the stock 4-3/4 inches wide at the table saw.
- At the jointer, joint one face of each piece flat, and plane the opposing face parallel.
- Finally, cut the stock to length at the table saw using the cross-cut sled (figure G).
- The two stiles are cut to a length of 79-1/4 inches (figure H). The rails are each cut 22-1/2 inches long. The lower muntin is cut to 24-3/8 inches, while the upper muntin is cut to 36-1/8 inches. For design purposes, the kick-rail is 9-1/2 inches wide.
- With all of the frame pieces cut, lay out the frame of the door, square it and clamp it together. In this dry-fit layout (figure I), the frame can be marked to indicate the placement of the mortises. The mortises are placed 1 inch from each end, and are cut 2-3/4 inches long.
- For added strength, the kick-rail has two mortises on each end (figure J).
- Before making any cuts, mark the frame pieces in relation to each other using chalk (figure K) as a reference. In this way, you can always make cuts with the marks facing you to ensure that you are consistently referencing from the same side.
- Use the multi-router batch-cut the mortises (figure L). If you don't have access to a multi-router, you can mill the mortises using a plunge router. The multi-router simplifies and speeds up the task of making numerous identical mortise cuts. Cut each of the mortises 2-1/4 inches deep, 5/8-inch wide and 2-3/4 inches long.
- Once the mortises are complete, use a plunge router and 1/4-inch bit to cut the dados that will hold the door-panels in place(figure M). Cut dados 1/4-inch wide and 3/8-inch deep in the rails, stiles and muntins.
- Make matching tenons using the same stock, positioning the grain lengthwise to maximize strength. The tenons should be just shy of 4-1/2 inches long to leave room for glue. Use the band saw to cut slots in each tenon to allow the glue to move. These small kerf-cuts (figure N) will allow the glue to escape, reducing the hydraulic pressure that would otherwise prevent the tenons from seating all the way.
- With all of the pieces including the tenons cut, conduct a dry-fit of the door.
In the segment that follows, the panels are shaped to give them a distinctive edge-contour. Sponsored Resource
Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!
RESOURCES :
Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com
Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456
Mastering Woodworking Machines (Fine Woodworking Book)
Author: Mark Duginske
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 0942391985
David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com
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