Replies

1. 
   JeffHeath | Dec 28, 2009 04:07pm | #1

   Mortise and tenon is the best for doors.

1. 
   italya | Dec 28, 2009 04:13pm | #2

   thnank you very much.... how long does it has to be the tenon?

   what about dowells? do they work on building doors too?

2. 
   DonStephan | Dec 28, 2009 08:15pm | #3

   Seems like the old solid wood doors often had through tenons. Look at some solid wood door edges to see the approx size of the tenons. Off hand, I'd say they need to be big and beefy, as a solid door is very heavy. Don't think tenons would be adequate, or the door manufacturers would have used them instead of mortises and tenons. Just my two cents.

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 28, 2009 09:33pm | #4

   Seems like the old solid wood doors often had through tenons.

   I agree.. A few years back I posted a picture of some old doors I saw in China. Maybe 800 to 1000 years old. HUGE doors with very large through tenons. (I cannot fing my old picture with all this new stuff in here to direct you to the old post).

   I am not sure but I think the Chinese got away with through tenons because these doors were always under cover (A roof) well away from the rain... Through tenons have end grain that wicks up water!

   I use to rebuild very old doors, on very old houses.. High end houses.. None had through tenons that I can remember. Many doors exposed to rain so why they failed. I think...

2. 
   DonStephan | Dec 29, 2009 09:26pm | #8

   Sorry, should have said ". . . don't think dowels would be adequate . . ."

3. 
   boilerbay | Dec 29, 2009 09:31am | #5

   I would go with the others. M and T with Haunch tenons even on through tenons. Sometimes it depends on the look. Pinned in corners/A&C look, total tongue and groove vertical board over heavy M and T interior framing (stout for that castle look) or just floating panels sections balanced or with endless cross& bible variations (classic).

   You will get a lot of futz over this next but I would'nt use any floating tenons on my personal doors. I don't think you can make floating tenons large enough for the raw strength that a fixed tenon will give on exterior doors considering making floaters that size take about as much work as just cutting the Tenon to start with.

   (I do love Domino's but I think even in the best multiples strategies, the largest of em are not large enough to handle the stress resistance needed on a large exterior door.) Think a burglar's size 14 boot slamming into it.

   Just my opinion.

   BB

1. 
   JohnWW | Dec 29, 2009 07:56pm | #7

   Properly made loose tenons are equal in strength to the same size solid tenons. If you have the right equipment, granted a big "if" for very large tenons, they are easy to make.

   Dominos are for furniture work, they have never been promoted for full sized doors.

4. 
   rdesigns | Dec 29, 2009 04:06pm | #6

   M and T is the way to go, but I doubt the need for through tenons. But beware tenons that are too shallow.

   For a 1-3/4"-thick door, I used 5/8" thick tenons that inserted 2-1/2" into the stiles. Tenons were haunched at top and bottom rails, but not mid-rail.

   I cut the tenons with a setup of two identical,but cheap, carbide-toothed ripping blades. I used washers/shims to space them apart so as to yield a tenon 5/8 thick.

   However, I see absolutely NO problem with loose tenons: if a glued joint between the tenon and the stile is OK (crossgrain glue joint), then the tenon-to-rail joint is even stronger (long grains running the same direction). Use weatherproof glue, of course, like Titebond II.