Woodworker's Journal fall-2009, страница 39
Making the Tenons Complete this joinery work by making the loose tenons. I made mine from scrap poplar stock. Plane stock to fit a typical mortise. Rip strips to match the two different mortise widths. On the router table, round the tenon edges to match the mortises, then crosscut the tenons to length. As you dry-assemble the door, pare individual tenons with a block plane as necessary to refine their fit in the mortises. Assembling the Door Assembling the entire door without glue is an essential prelude to the final glue-up. Take time now to resolve fit, alignment and clamping issues. You should have labeled the joints as you laid them out. Now label the individual loose tenons so you don't mix them up or misorient any during final assembly. Midway through the assembly, I applied two long clamps — one along the underside, the other along the topside — to pull all the rail-and-mullion joints tight. Position the "underside" clamp first and flank it with long boards to support the door parts (see photos, this page). As you assemble a joint, use your penciled mortise layout marks to align the parts. Make sure they really do line up. If the marks don't align, disassemble the joint and whittle the edges of the loose tenon with a block plane to create a little extra play. The lock and bottom rails have multiple tenons joining them to each stile. Only one tenon is actually glued to both the rail and stile. The theory is that gluing all the tenons hampers expansion and contraction of the wide rails, and this could cause them to split when humidity is low for a pro tracted period. Gluing one tenon holds the joint closed, while the unglued tenon(s) maintain alignment, preventing the rail from cupping or twisting. During final assembly, I glued all the loose tenons to the rails, but I glued only the center lock-rail tenon and the upper bottom-rail tenon to the stiles. In preparing for final assembly, I pared the edges of the tenons that wouldn't be glued to the stiles to provide a modicum of clearance for wood movement. I applied a clamp temporarily to individual joints to seat them. I worked out which clamp I'd use at each juncture during the dry assembly. Other Final Assembly Notes Assemble the mullions and rails in top-down (or bottom-up) sequence. Insert the panels — don't glue them, of course — as you progress: It helps keep the parts in alignment. Install the first stile. As before, apply clamps briefly to pull the joints tight and seat the stile against the ends of the rails. Install the second stile. At this point remove the two top-to-bottom clamps so you can apply clamps across the door. Install one so it's lined up with the lower portion of the bottom rail, a second with the lower portion of the lock rail and a third with the frieze rail. Turn the door over and apply clamps aligned with the top rail and the upper portions of the lock and bottom rails. After the glue has set use a straightedge and a circular saw to trim the top and bottom ends of the door to remove the stile extensions, establish the final height and square up the door overall. Voila! Great doors with- Start your dry or final assembly of the mullions and rails by working from the top of the door down or the bottom up. Insert the loose tenons and install clamps above and below the assembly to close the joints. Continue the assembly process, slipping panels into their grooves to help hold the rails and mullions in position. Make sure the mortise layout marks are aligned. Then finish up by installing the stiles. I Fall 2009 39 |
