The Cabin Door, Part II.
The handmade cabin door is coming along. I've got all the battens tongue-and-grooved and cut to length. I built a little router jig and cut a v-groove between each batten. The edges of everything have a nice 45 degree chamfer. I bolted strips of cedar on the top and bottom with long stainless-steel, counter-sunk lag screws. I plugged the counter sink holes with 3/4" hardwood plugs.
I've got one ledge bolted-in, and I cut a shallow mortice for the diagonal brace. One brace is also cut and bolted and counter-sunk and plugged in a similar way.
The three ledges are all Tamarack, as is one of the battens. Everything else is Douglas Fir.
I'd say the door is about 3/4 finished. I'll get last ledge and brace installed this week, make sure the exterior face has flush edges (so the door can close effectively), and then really soak oil into the whole thing. While I was going to use Spar Urethane on the exterior, Peter convinced me to use oil.
posted by neuwave @ 3:58 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hey Jer --
Thanks for the pointer. Yeah, I like the breadboard idea quite a bit. That should allow the battens to "float" better horizontally in the breadboard in reaction to humidity changes.
One comfort is that the door was build in relatively high-humidity conditions (70%), so the wood was somewhat pre-swollen, although there may be times when the door is in higher humidity conditions.
Ultimately I did consider various techniques, including variations on framed-and-paneled doors that are *somewhat* similar to what you are describing. I found most of my design ideas from this book:
http://redirx.com/?0tk2
Well, if this door buckles, swells, or cups too much, I'll definitely consider that approach for door 2.0. I could frame not only the top and bottom with cedar, but also both sides. Glue and/or bolt the vertical sides and let the top and bottom pieces float relative to the battens.
I'll hang the door this summer, after the floor and siding is in place. It will be fun to see what happens.
Post a Comment
<< Home