front door project - to laminate or not?

fobos8 · 3 Dec 2012

Hi all

I need to make a new front door, frame + sidelight for our extension.

I have a question about the construction of the door. It will be made from Sapele and will be 44mm thick. It will have a painted finish.

I'm wondering if to make the rails and stiles from 2inch flatsawn timber or if I should laminate several strips of sapele to basically give me quatersawn laminated rails and stiles. This technique is shown is this article

http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs.../22/aw-extra-build-your-own-french-doors.aspx

Any ideas will be very welcome.

Kind regards, Andrew

katellwood · 3 Dec 2012

I can see no point in spending time and effort cutting up perfectly good timber just to glue it back together again. If your timber section is big enough just cut suitable through mortice and tenon joints fully wedged on glue up (also remember to include haunches to prevent cupping in wide rails)

I have made numerous doors and never had a problem with any

This is a thread which features details of a door made by myself (page 2) and is as good today as the day it was made.

making-a-door-t19473.html

Also if you are painting why sepele, surely a good quality (unsorted) redwood will be more than adequate and should take paint better

fobos8 · 3 Dec 2012

Hi Katellwood

Very nice door by the way!

I'm going to use Sapele because where I live (Jersey) there is no decent softwood - I'd have to import a load.

The reason for laminating the timber is to turn flatsawn timber into very stable quartersawn. Some manufacturers of high quality doors use this process http://www.dempseydyer.co.uk/doors/timber-doors/timber-residential-doors

I must admit I'm not sure if its neccessary which is why I'm interested to hear from the like of yourself and other who have made doors.

Cheers, Andrew

Chems · 3 Dec 2012

I have a friend who makes a lot of doors and windows from Sapele and he doesn't laminate it. The only reason I can see for laminating is to create mortice and tenon joints and grooves and rebates via the gluing process like Roger did here:

windows-a-first-attempt-wip-pics-t50850.html

I can't find the full thread where he made the actual windows, its about here somewhere or on the Wood Haven.

katellwood · 3 Dec 2012

It would appear that all you wish to protect yourself from is the flat sawn timber cupping and if 44mm thick I cannot see this being an issue.

My advice would be to ensure the rails are haunched and morticed into the stiles which should ensure that everything stays flat i.e. the stiles acting to keep the rails flat similar to cleats on a table top.

I would suggest that certain door manufacturers utilise small section timbers laminated together as a cost saving exercise as larger sections are more costly and small scraps can be utilised in manufacture as opposed to going in the furnace.

Not sure of your capabilities be it knowledge or facilities but I am more than happy to assist with any problems you may encounter

fobos8 · 4 Dec 2012

thanks for the link Chems. I think that is how these people make their doors http://www.dempseydyer.co.uk/doors/timber-doors/timber-residential-doors

I'm pretty sure I read a thread once from Steve Maskery about some doors he made which he laminated - Steve are you there??

If there's no worthwhile benefits from laminating the timber (as it apears) I'll do it the traditional way.

Katellwood - many thanks for your advice and offer of further advice - I'm certain I'll take you up on it. First job will be to draw things up on Sketchup and take it from there.

Best regards, Andrew

richarnold · 4 Dec 2012

Hi . I'm not sure if it's available in jersey, but if you are going for a paint finish have you considered Accoya wood. This stuff is bomb proof. you will get problems with movement, and it comes with a 50 year guarantee. We have been using it for about 3 years now, and so far had no problems at all. It also has a very low carbon footprint.