Replies

1. 
   SgianDubh | Feb 19, 2004 01:02am | #1

   jz, you are unlikely to have success with the strategy you describe. No guarantees with this trick either, but you might be able to straighten it all up a bit by taking a tenon saw to the inside shoulder line of the joint diagonally opposite the raised one and forcing the raised corner down, perhaps a bit beyond flat. It might open the sawn corner a bit on the outside and you could slip in a bit of  veneer-- you might need to saw the outside a bit too. Release it all and see what happens. If it helps, you could glue the piece of veneer in, which might rather spoil the look, but you'll have to see. Slainte.  

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   Edited 2/18/2004 5:59:26 PM ET by Sgian Dubh

2. 
   JohnWW | Feb 19, 2004 02:55am | #2

   You didn't describe how the panels are made, but if they're solid wood and they are the source of the warping you probably won't be able to use the frame to twist them back into line, the joints can't supply that kind of torque.  If the frame is warped, you can replace the warped element, if you can get the frame apart. 

   To minimize the risk of warpage, the frame elements should always be the straightest grained, best behaved, quarter sawn stock available.

   John W.

1. 
   johnzeitoun | Feb 19, 2004 05:18am | #3

   I haven't even inserted the panels yet, but they will be veneered bendable plywood. The wood is basswood, not, perhaps, quarter sawn, but a wood known for it's stability.

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 19, 2004 07:03pm | #5

   I'm suspicious of your use of the term "warp".

   Did the frames start out flat and then develop a twist over the course of a few days as they gained or lost some moisture from the air?  If they did, then you are using the term properly and one or more of the frame elements have warped and developed a twist or a bow.  The best fix for that is to discard the piece that twisted and replace it with a new quartersawn piece. 

   If the frame never sat flat from the moment you first assembled it, then you have a problem with misaligned joints.

   Bass is one of the more stable woods, but it still isn't worth trusting that any piece picked at random will do for frame making.  Ten minutes spent choosing the best wood for the frame will save hours of repair work later.  Unless someone picked over the wood before you got it, there is almost always some quarter sawn in the stack, so there's no good reason to not use it for framing. 

   Even if you are using quarter sawn wood it can still twist or bow because of reaction wood or internal stress from uneven moisture distribution, so it pays to let the roughed out rails and stiles sit around for a few days to give them a chance to prove that they're stable before they are joined up.

   John W.

   Edited 2/19/2004 12:56:03 PM ET by JohnW

3. 
   Telemike | Feb 19, 2004 07:14am | #4

   This may not help you flatten your doors, but I hope that it helps others that use mortising machines avoid warped doors.

   I expounded on symmetrically warped doors and mortising technique in this post; I'm too tired tonight to repeat it coherently.

   Go to post 11798.31 if you use a mortising machine, especially a benchtop model.

4. 
   djcolorado | Feb 22, 2004 06:43am | #6

   No new suggestions on a fix, but a suggestion on prevention from experience.  Up until recently I had either made solid doors, or paneled doors.  In the case of paneled doors even long ones, there had always been enough shear resistance in the panels to keep the door true enough so that the twist was well within the capabilities of magnetic latches to close.   I recently did some rail and stile doors for a gun cabinet which were 44" long and 16" wide with only 1/8" glass serving as the panel.  Even though I milled and joint the peices perfectly, both had unacceptable twist for use with glass this thin.  

   A book I have recommended that you rough pieces within 1/8",  stack it with stringers for a couple weeks to let the moisture content equalize on all sides, and then do the finished milling and joining.  This is because when you rip a board, the moisture contend on new exposed edge is usually higher that the opposite edge, and it will warp in the process of drying.  I followed this for the next set of door frames and they came out perfectly.  If you can't find an acceptable fix and have to redo them, you may want to consider this.  By the way, this was a real test of patience because I really like to blow and go when I'm making something.