buiding an enry door

[Dr. Roger L. Woehl]

We are building a new house and I have elected to do some of the interior wood working and to build the front entry door. I think I know the mechanics of the joinery however I think it is wise to learn as much joinery, finishing insulation and sealing as I can before I launch this project. Has anybody out there built their own entry door? What were the surprises and learnings? Are there any good web sites on entry door joinery and sealing? What about finishing? I will probably use either quarter sawn oak or mahogany. It will have an oval beveled leaded glass insert --probably 16" x 42". Anybody know of a good source for oak or mahogany mill work for the oval?

Roger

[bridger]

I've built a few entry doors and hung quite a few.

be fussy with your jointery. spend a little time with each machine before you start, getting things tuned up. do enough dry runs on assembly to be sure that everything fits just right, that you have enough clamps of the right size right at hand and that the door is going to clamp up straight.

spar varnish is a good finish for entry doors. it has the flexibility to deal with the moving parts and the UV and moisture resistance to hold up to exterior exposure.

I like the insert weatherstrip that has a foam bulb on a fin that seats in a kerf. I made up a dedicated cutter for the slot for the router.

[Steve Peterson]