Replies

1. 
   MPHarper | Feb 24, 2003 05:13am | #1

   Woodworking Techniques published by Taunton has a section on building interior doors.  I'm not sure about any other books.

   Matt-

2. 
   booch | Feb 25, 2003 01:27am | #2

   Just look around with a small tape measure in your pocket. The designs are out there. I duplicated 4 interior doors in my current home and I plan to make 4 more for a cottage under construction.

   Interior doors are a snap. If you get even a 1/2 inch shaper you can get a combination of bits made by rockwell (delta) that enable you to make rail and stile fittings to construct doors. Minimum thickness for a bilaterally symetric door is about 1-3/8". That is with a 1/4 inch tongue on the filler panel.

   I never fit the doors with anything other than glue. Some put tenons on the rail pieces and fit them in the uptight members of the door (stiles). Mine have survived 3 boys for 17 years with only tightbond holding together the red oak shaped pieces.

   If you are planning on making exterior doors you might want to go thicker and certainly go for the floating tenon at the intersections. Heat humidity and home protection are concerns that only thicker wood can solve.

   What kind of design did you have in mind?

   Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
3. 
   jgaiennie | Feb 25, 2003 04:49am | #3

   http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/070332.asp

   Modern Practical Joinery, George Ellis, Linden Publishing Co.

   Architectural Graphic Standards, Ramsey & Sleeper

   Graphic Guide to Interior Details for builders and designers, Rob Thallon, Taunton Press

   Most important thing about a door - it's gotta be flat - dead flat.

   I just went through all this and had a "learning curve".  May I share some of my lessons with you?  You may already know this stuff.  I'm not trying to be a know it all, just putting info out for those that may be interested.

   I'm a conventionalist I guess.  I like four panel doors = four vertical panels, two vertical over two vertical.  Also like very much (even more) five panel doors - two vertical over one horizontal over two vertical.  I like the look of doors that have a piece of molding around the panels.  The edges of the stiles and rails are milled flat with a groove, the panel is milled with a real long taper or tennon to go in that groove but wide enough to accomodate the moulding framing the panel.

   There's no way you can compete with the people that are in the business of making doors.  You can buy some mighty fine doors for from about $150 to $350.00.  You can't build them for that if you value your time at minimum wage.  Maybe you can.  I can't.  And I'm pretty adept in my shop.

   Have you looked into using salvaged doors.  Old doors are quite interesting.  There's a bunch of people in the business of dealing in old doors.  I used 12 of them in my house and had five new ones made to match the style of the old ones for openings that I couldn't adjust - like pocket doors.  Old doors and reproductions were the same price.  A suggestion if you decide to go this way - shop carefully with soundness in mind and aquire your doors early in construction.  Even before framing if possible so you can get all your rough openings correct.  If you can't do this, oversize your rough openings - you can fill them in later, but you'll spend more on doors to fit openings and adjusting opening sizes.

   Casing - is tapered for a reason.  It's generally narrow at the edge on the jamb and thick on the edge at the wall.  It's narrow at the jamb of the door because it fits the hardware better.  Both the strike plate for the locks and the hinges do better with a tapered casing but if you're set on a uniform thickness casing, you can figure a way to make it work.  You'll have to buy longer strike plates and it's better if your hinges are a bit larger than normal, making them project out from the door face a bit more.  But with a uniform thickness casing, experiment fitting your hardware and the casing together before you buy yourself into a corner that's expensive to get out of.

   All your casing should be positively backgouged.  It helps it lay down on a wall that's not built to perfect dimensions and that has unfortunate bumps in it.  Make your jambs a bit thicker than the wall.  The standard is an 1/8" thicker than the design thickness of the wall.

   There's a reason that people use rosettes in casings that aren't mitered 45 at the corners.  When casing is laid back not perfectly on plane with the wall, the rosettes help make the corners look good and adjust for misfits.  Laying the casing dead on the plane of the wall is a bit difficult sometimes.  Walls can be contrary.

   With nail in stops, using old doors, you can make some slight adjustments for doors that are a bit out of flat.  But don't think that you can make up for a door that's real out of flat.

   Good luck.

   jdg

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/24/2003 10:02:12 PM ET by jdg

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/24/2003 10:02:30 PM ET by jdg

4. 
   jako17 | Feb 25, 2003 05:20am | #4

   Hi bryan

          Here is one book that I have seen .Not great but it may help "Make your own hand crafted doors and windows" by John Birchard,  Sterling publishing ISBN 0-8069-6544-4

5. 
   sandoval | Feb 26, 2003 12:52am | #5

   When I had my house built 3 years ago I did all the interior woodwork construction and installation including interior and exterior  doors. Keeping doors straight is one of the most  important aspects. Because solid wood tends to move in unpredictable ways, I did the following:

   1. All stiles and rails were laminated core construction with thick face veneers. The cores were essentially 2 x 2's glued for width and planed  to thickness with exposed sides 3/4" x 2 hardwood to match the faces. Then I used waterproof glues to apply 1/8" thick veneers to both faces. I did all the resawing and glue ups myself. I have since done other doors where I bought all the components from Foremost Wood Products in Staten Island N.Y. and saved a huge amount of work.

   2. All construction was  sticking and coping off a shaper setup and heavy loose mortise and tenon construction.

   3. I used catalyzed lacquers for the interior doors and  marine grade spar varnish on exterior doors paying special attention to heavily coat all end grain and door tops and bottoms.

   4. I designed wide overhangs at exterior doors to prevent  wind driven water leakage problems at exterior doors. I used gaskets and seals from conservation technologies (check the web and they have also adverstised wth Taunton in the past). Consider water in all your design and design surfaces that water will run off of.

   Be prepared to do a lot of work. I almost burned out on my house. I did all the kitchen, bath, & closets casework, all the doors, corian countertops,installed wood floors, ran and installed all standing and running trim. I was ready to sell the place by the time I was finished because I was burnt out .  Worked  14 hour days for 5 months doing it all. Of course, fortunately my wife wouldn't let me. Everyone that has walked into the house has said it should be publihed in a magazine.  Now 3 years later, I see a dream of living in my own built environment fufilled. (Also built all the furniture) And I would still like to sell it, just to see how it would be valued in the commercial world. Plus I know the mistakes to avoid. Good luck with your project.