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8.14.10
The installation of the mesquite and mahogany entry shown below went smoothly. The original entry was completly removed and the new jamb and door fit perfectly into the rough opening.
Here is a photo of the new entry with glass block sidelites and transom, scroll down to see the original doorway.
This is what the original entry looked like, the bubble glass sidelite is a traditional design feature from the 1960's.
7.05.10
Mesquite doors and furniture can use up a lot more material than using standard hardwoods, an example are the raised panels for the door below. I needed 4 book matched boards that were 12" wide. Nice clean, thick, wide planks are rare but I have a nice inventory dry mesquite to choose from.
The stack of 9 - 1" thick boards below were 20" wide and 5' long. Cutting around the defects enabled me to get 1 side of each panel from each board, two sides were then laminated together to make a single panel.
The 4 raised panels compliment the book matched vertical stiles. The door below has been trial fit together without glue, The next step is taking the door apart and finish sand all the parts. The raised panels are then pre-finished before final assembly.
6.18.10
I'm back to work after an early summer vacation visiting family in Chicago and Toledo. My next project is a mesquite and glass block entry.
The mahogany jamb below is completed with the glass block installed into the sidelite and transom openings during the installation. The mesquite door is coming up next.
4.16.10
The completed 10 panel fir door.
3.10.10
The fir door shown below has 10 flat panels, the problem with flat panels is they always end up cracking in the center. Architectural grade fir plywood is available but the veneer is only 1/60" thick, when the door needs to be re-sanded and finished in 10 years there is a real risk of sanding through the thin veneer and ruining the door. My solution is to make up custom plywood panels using 1/8" thick veneer glued onto 9 ply Finnish plywood using West epoxy. The panels can be sanded, stained and finished like real wood but will last for generations.
The fir veneer is glued to the plywood using a vacuum bag veneer press.
The fir and plywood sheet has been cut into 10" square panels.
Below is a close up showing the 1/8" fir veneer on both sides of the 9-ply plywood.
3.03.10
The photo below is an exploded view of a 10 panel door I am working on. The wood is Douglas fir. The door will have flat panels, a carving of a stylized Mimbres Indian sun and a few other surprises, stay tuned.
2.16.10
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Joining two big mesquite planks requires some hidden fasteners, I prefer 1/2" steel all-thread. The 12" rods are glued into pre-drilled holes using West Systems Epoxy that has been thickened with 404 high density filler. The biscuits in the slots are used for alignment. |
After glue-up the door is sanded to 1-3/4" using a wide belt sander, here are a couple of behind the scenes photos featuring Tony.
The photo below shows the door after sanding and ready installation and finishing.
1.19.10
Starting out the new year with a mesquite plank door. The rough planks have been air dried and aged for years so they will make a unique book matched door.
The 2 book matched planks started out 9' long x 22" wide x 2-1/4" thick and weighed 145 lbs. each.
A clean center section was cut out of each plank and one surface was hand planed flat. A wide belt sander then trued up both surfaces. The inside edge will be planed straight and square in preparation for glue-up.
11.24.09
The 4 panel door is one of my most affordable mesquite door designs. This door is a standard 3' x 6'-8" and will be trimmed to fit into an existing doorway. One feature that makes my doors unique is that I use wide boards which enhances the beauty of mesquite.
10.22.09
The interior view of the recently completed mesquite doors with book matched panels shown below.
10.7.09
A couple of snapshots of my latest mesquite doors. More to come.
7.29.09
Part
2 of the mesquite doors in an ebonized jamb project can now be seen.
Click
Here.
6.03.09
I put
together an new page with my current project: a pair of arched top mesquite
doors in an ebonized jamb.
Part
1 is now up, too see it click on the architectural drawing.
5.19.09
The entry gate below was made to match a gate that is about 50 years old. I glued the center boards to 3/4" marine plywood, the frame is constructed using mortise and tenon joinery and waterproof resorcinol glue. The owner plans to paint the gate to match the surrounding woodwork.
3.05.09
The doors for the Casas Barrier Chapel have custom book matched mesquite veneer.
12.15.08
A 9'
tall Moorish style door ready to be shipped. The mahogany door has custom
wrought iron grillwork
and Rocky Mountain Hardware with a white bronze patina.
9.16.08
A hand carved rustic fir door with rosettes.
8.19.08
I shipped a Craftsman style entry in cherry wood to a church in West Nyack, N.Y. The contractor sent me a photo of the doors after they were installed.
7.08.08
A pair of 10' tall rustic doors being lowered into a crate for shipping.
5.02.08
I just finished a pair of mesquite doors, here is one being lowered into a crate.
4.04.08
A rustic door with copper corners and stained glass sidelites.
11.08.07
An elegant pair of 8' tall mesquite doors.
10.04.07
Rustic entry door with speakeasy and large rosettes.
10.04.07
Pre-finishing mesquite raised panels and door parts.
09.25.07
Over
the summer I have been working on a set of 8' high mesquite double doors.
Below is a photo of one of the doors before final finishing.
05.13.07
A small mesquite kitchen table with a thick natural edge book-matched top.
12.27.06
A
pair of arched top mahogany doors with a custom hand made
wrought iron grill. The doors will be 8'-4" tall, 38" wide,
and 2 3/4" thick.
The project
includes removing the existing entry and installing a new arched top mahogany
jamb to
match the doors.
The first set of photos show the existing entry.
Below are illustrations of the new entry.
Sketches
of new mahogany entry with wrought iron grill
Construction Photos
The arched
jamb also needs an arched door stop. After cutting the jamb top with a
band saw, I use the inside cut-off as a
form for the arched door stop. The curved stops are laminated together
with 5 - 1/8" thick mahogany strips glued together
with West brand epoxy. You can see the full size door layout drawing in
the photo below.
The double
doors are trimmed and pre-hung in the jamb before the raised panels, molding
and wrought iron is installed.
The next step is finish sanding, staining and finishing. I stitched together
a couple of photos I took while the doors were
on my bench.
03.06.07
The completed entry.
Visitors Since August 24, 2000