Making a Door

The simple-looking door is actually fairly difficult to construct; it entails the employment of templates for shaping the lock stile as well as the base rail. Furthermore, you need to cut and match a stop that follows the line of the curve in the top area of the stile. This is often quite frustrating, especially if you utilize glass panels at the very top as well as bottom.

First, cut the frame pieces to the dimensions demonstrated in the cutting list. Be aware that the lock stile is a few inches wider in comparison to the hinge stile.

Prior to proceeding, get templates for the two irregularly shaped pieces. Screw these templates to the ends of the rail and stile so the screw holes will not show later. The stile, because of its size, should also have a backing piece that runs the entire length of the outside edge of the piece. Push a few screws through this piece into the exterior edge of the door to strengthen the template on the piece.

Cut the stile template from a thoroughly jointed piece of plyboard that is several inches longer compared to stile and one inch wider. Cut in from both ends using the rip fence over a table saw to obtain the straight parts of the template completely straight and parallel. Stop exactly where the curve begins; cut the curves with a band saw, and then fair them into the straight parts of the template. It is very important that the straight parts be flawlessly straight so the joints are going to be tight.

This template will ride using a guide bearing that you need to attach either above or below the cutters on your stick shaper. The bearing must be the correct diameter for the cutters. If your cutters cut on only one section of the piece at a time, as mine do, you'll need to do one of the following: reverse the rotation of the cutters (with a reversing switch on the shaper) so you could make both sides of the stick cut without shifting the template; or flip the piece over with the template at the base, relocate the bearing to the base, reset the height of the cutters, and make the cut. If you decide to switch the piece over, make certain that there won't be any protruding screws or nails on the surface of the template. A different method that prevents this issue is to cut just one bead like the cross portion of the bead with glass, and then make a moulding to hold the tongue- and-groove panel in.

The writer was born in Italy, and moved to Ontario, Toronto with her family at the age 3. Finishing secondary school with honours, and mastering at UFT, she took somewhat an alternate turn and today works with Garagelife which specializes on garage door repairs.