Replies

1. 
   301 | Oct 05, 2004 07:09am | #1

   I did it several times to reclaim old-growth pine to replace stair-rail spindles.  Sit the door on saw horses and use a large mallet and some soft wooden blocks (pine) to tap against.  Bang a little on one rail then move to the next, it might take an hour to finally work it apart.  If it appears to be glued use a hot iron to soften the glue.  Be patient, work carefully.  Sometimes you will find an occasional nail look out for that.  If you get one side out more then the others it will bind and stick, hammer it back together and start over.

2. 
   jackplane | Oct 05, 2004 04:10pm | #2

   Assuming the doors are not built with pinned mortise and tenons, I'd use hot vinegar to loosen the joints. Then tap apart.   If the panels are shot cut through and remove them as much as possible first.

1. 
   PeteM56 | Oct 07, 2004 04:12am | #7

   JACKPLANE, does the use of vinegar presume that a particular kind of glue was used with the doors?  Or will this work generally for any type of glue?

1. 
   jackplane | Oct 07, 2004 03:26pm | #9

   Vinegar works on any yellow glue as an acid v. alkaline reaction. If it's a very old door, chances are hide glue was used, in which case hot water alone will separate the joints.

3. 
   robkelly | Oct 06, 2004 04:42am | #3

   Saw out the panels and discard. Clean all the panel wood out of the grooves in the rails and stiles. Put a piece of wood or plywood in the groove, and pound on it, so any damage to the frame is hidden in the grooves.

4. 
   SawdustSteve | Oct 06, 2004 05:41am | #4

   When you say 'old', what do you mean?? M/T construction for doos goes back well over 100 years. I've been restoring several doors from the year 1911. They are built COMPLETELY differently from modern doors but they still have M/T construction. I'm not sure on how to describe this process, so bear with me...

   I am assuming you have a standard (modern) construction door with floating panels. Carefully cut out and remove the panels without breaking the 'molding' that holds it in place. Lay the door down with the 'inside' surface facing up. Use a straight edge and a veneir saw to carefully cut along the edge of the 'molding' that held the panel into the door. Do this to the four pieces that hold the panel into the door. When you're finished, you will have something that looks like a picture frame and four pieces of moldings that will hold the replacement panel in place. (Similar to the four pieces of molding that hold a piece of glass into a door.) Drop in the new panel and use brads to re-fasten the four cut out pieces of molding. If the door is a main entrance door, you may wish to add some glue to the MOLDING to hold it in place. Let the panel float. It may be a bit of work doing it this way but it sure beats disassembling and reassembling a bunch of doors. SawdustSteve

5. 
   wrick2003 | Oct 06, 2004 04:21pm | #5

        Ditto on Sawduststeve but with a variation.

        I clamp a straight edge to the stile or rail, and rout the stops out from on side of the door. Ensure that the 1/4" or whatever size you use bit does not nick the stile. I suppose a guy could use an edge guide for his router if he had one.

        After replacing the panel, which should just pop right out, add a new stop of similar shape to hold everything in.

        I've done this in my heated shop, and on the tailgate of my truck, and it always works.

        Good Luck.     rg

1. 
   PeteM56 | Oct 07, 2004 04:10am | #6

   Many Thanks ricky, and the same to everyone else kind enough to respond to my post. 

1. 
   Patto | Oct 07, 2004 05:52am | #8

   Really top-end panel doors were sometimes made with a sort of through dovetail for the mortice. The maximum width of the tail (tennon) was the same as the minimum width of a tapered mortice. When these were assembled two square blocks were pushed in (one each side of the tennon/tail), creating a through dovetail.

   This is easily detected by looking at the end grainof the mortices on the side of the door. It was still being taught to at least some apprentice joiners here as late as 1990.

   Good luck getting such a beast apart - I like sawdust steve's approach

   Dave

6. 
   cft353 | Oct 08, 2004 06:27am | #10

   I "deconstructed" an old door with my bare fists once. It was a bedroom door that had been locked against me in the midst of a spirited marital discussion. Nothing was salvageable after, though.

   Fortunately that less-than-idyllic marriage has ended and the medication is really helping....

1. 
   robkelly | Oct 09, 2004 06:03am | #11

   Chad, if you'd post a picture of the  ex  and some hints of what lies she'd believe, and a location/address for the lady, you could help solve the terminal horniness problem exhibited by some members of this forum.