Doors and Windows - Making my own interior Doors
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blacksheep
08-24-03, 02:30 AM
I want to make my own raised panel doors for the interior of my house. I just put down 3/4 Ash flooring and am now making all the kitchen cabinets with raised panel doors. I know they would be 6/4 and I will have to plane the wood down no problem have dewalt planner and table saw. Am using Freud 95-200 bits for the cabinets and found a computer program that helps with the measurements and sizes of the stiles, rails and panels, depending on the number of panels and layout design.
Questions:
1. Advise on using shaper bits on dewalts portable table saw?
2. Any Bits sets ( Router ) for 6/4 interior doors (1 3/8)?
3. Any known computer programs for door designing?
4. Any books or known paper plans?
5. My local supplior will sell me select kiln dried ash wood for $2.40 a board foot so even the largest door 36x80x1.5 will run about $75 each. Good price???
Thanks in advance. I like to be well prepaired before I jump into a project.
Questions:
1. Advise on using shaper bits on dewalts portable table saw?
2. Any Bits sets ( Router ) for 6/4 interior doors (1 3/8)?
3. Any known computer programs for door designing?
4. Any books or known paper plans?
5. My local supplior will sell me select kiln dried ash wood for $2.40 a board foot so even the largest door 36x80x1.5 will run about $75 each. Good price???
Thanks in advance. I like to be well prepaired before I jump into a project.
Tn...Andy
08-24-03, 08:38 AM
1. Advise on using shaper bits on dewalts portable table saw?
Doubt you can....smallest bore I've seen on a shaper cutter set is 3/4".....and even if you could bush, it, to run a shaper cutter on a small table saw would sure be a scary thing....you'd be slinging a LOT of mass around on an arbor that wasn't designed to handle it.....Don't do it.
2. Any Bits sets ( Router ) for 6/4 interior doors (1 3/8)?
About the only way I know of to make an interior door using a router is to assemble the rails and stiles, then do an ogee cut ( or whatever) on the inside edges of one side and set your panel in on the other using a moulding to hold it. To get a true cope and stick cut on the individual pcs before assembly takes a BIG cutter that you wouldn't wanna run on a router, even one mounted in a table.
3. Any known computer programs for door designing?
I'm sure there are out there, but I've never used any.
4. Any books or known paper plans?
Fine woodworking has had several good articles on doorbuilding over the years. Search their issues and website. Tauton Press
5. My local supplior will sell me select kiln dried ash wood for $2.40 a board foot so even the largest door 36x80x1.5 will run about $75 each. Good price???
Well, you'd be getting a $200-300 door for $75......you decide :)
Thing about it too, you can make whatever pattern in your door you want, whereas to buy them, you'd be getting a standard 6 panel most of the time......of course, you're gonna have to subtract the cost of tooling up for this project.......IF this is the only set you ever plan to make, you would probably be better off buying door slabs and do your own jambs and hanging. Also, don't forget you'll want to make matching jamb material....no use making a real nice ash door and mounting it in a pine jamb :)
Couple other things I'll throw in having build some......
You're better off taking 4/4 lumber, planing one side of two pcs and laminating them together with the grain pattern reversed if using plain sawn lumber, at least on the stiles. Then run it back down to the thickess you want the door to finish. It will have FAR more resistance to warping. I made a set of clamps to do this on mine. Take a couple short pcs of steel channel ( U ) about 10-12" long....drill 1/2" holes near the end and use 1/2" all thread between the channel pcs. Put your lumber inbetween with the flat part of the channel facing the lumber and tighten the nuts on the all thread.....I use an air gun.....and it will clamp the whiz out of your 4/4 to 4/4 stile. Depending on the length all thread, you can get about any numbe of stiles in the clamps you want. Make up about 5-6 sets and place them about a foot apart.
The shaper cutters I use are Grizzly.....they work fine and are 1/2 the price of Freeborn......might not last as long if you were doing production work, but a small run, they work great.
I use an RBI door machine......it's mainly designed for cabinet doors, but by moving the fences, it will do interior doors as well.
It takes 1 1/4" bore cutters and has a 5hp motor. I'd recommend you go looling for a shaper ( you can find pretty good used ones for 1k range ) before taking this on.
Doubt you can....smallest bore I've seen on a shaper cutter set is 3/4".....and even if you could bush, it, to run a shaper cutter on a small table saw would sure be a scary thing....you'd be slinging a LOT of mass around on an arbor that wasn't designed to handle it.....Don't do it.
2. Any Bits sets ( Router ) for 6/4 interior doors (1 3/8)?
About the only way I know of to make an interior door using a router is to assemble the rails and stiles, then do an ogee cut ( or whatever) on the inside edges of one side and set your panel in on the other using a moulding to hold it. To get a true cope and stick cut on the individual pcs before assembly takes a BIG cutter that you wouldn't wanna run on a router, even one mounted in a table.
3. Any known computer programs for door designing?
I'm sure there are out there, but I've never used any.
4. Any books or known paper plans?
Fine woodworking has had several good articles on doorbuilding over the years. Search their issues and website. Tauton Press
5. My local supplior will sell me select kiln dried ash wood for $2.40 a board foot so even the largest door 36x80x1.5 will run about $75 each. Good price???
Well, you'd be getting a $200-300 door for $75......you decide :)
Thing about it too, you can make whatever pattern in your door you want, whereas to buy them, you'd be getting a standard 6 panel most of the time......of course, you're gonna have to subtract the cost of tooling up for this project.......IF this is the only set you ever plan to make, you would probably be better off buying door slabs and do your own jambs and hanging. Also, don't forget you'll want to make matching jamb material....no use making a real nice ash door and mounting it in a pine jamb :)
Couple other things I'll throw in having build some......
You're better off taking 4/4 lumber, planing one side of two pcs and laminating them together with the grain pattern reversed if using plain sawn lumber, at least on the stiles. Then run it back down to the thickess you want the door to finish. It will have FAR more resistance to warping. I made a set of clamps to do this on mine. Take a couple short pcs of steel channel ( U ) about 10-12" long....drill 1/2" holes near the end and use 1/2" all thread between the channel pcs. Put your lumber inbetween with the flat part of the channel facing the lumber and tighten the nuts on the all thread.....I use an air gun.....and it will clamp the whiz out of your 4/4 to 4/4 stile. Depending on the length all thread, you can get about any numbe of stiles in the clamps you want. Make up about 5-6 sets and place them about a foot apart.
The shaper cutters I use are Grizzly.....they work fine and are 1/2 the price of Freeborn......might not last as long if you were doing production work, but a small run, they work great.
I use an RBI door machine......it's mainly designed for cabinet doors, but by moving the fences, it will do interior doors as well.
It takes 1 1/4" bore cutters and has a 5hp motor. I'd recommend you go looling for a shaper ( you can find pretty good used ones for 1k range ) before taking this on.