Ledge door

[AJBaker]

We've been living in an old house since the summer and it's still a bit of a wreck. Our room was still missing a door, and there was a nasty cold draught coming in from under that door (which leads to the cellar). The original plan was to make a four panel door similar to the ones that are already in the house. I haven't got any electrical tools beyond an electric drill, but my planes and chisels are sharp and I'm getting better at using them.

However, time has been limited with our newborn daughter and work/studies. I decided to make a ledge door using the information in the Lost Art Press book on the subject. The door needed to be quick and easy to build, but I still wanted it to be solid and aesthetically pleasing.

The door frame I made from reclaimed pine boards that must be many decades old. With hand planes and winding sticks I got one side flat with two perpendicular and parallel edges. I was going to use a slot mortice or a dovetail, but I ended up just screwing the frame together.

For the boards I bought pine tongue and groove boards from the local DIY shop. I planed all the surfaces and added a bead with my Record 050 (great tool).

I used other pine boards for ledges and fastened them with clenched nails. I used 70mm nails from Rivierre in France. Luckily, I live close enough to the border with France to have free shipping.

Hardware is from Amazon and works fine.

 

[Chris Jones]

Good job! It`s great that the clenched nail heads are sequenced as that would be a major 'trigger' if they weren't, don`t you think? Lol. I see you have one of those modern apprentices who are keen to work hard these days!!! Congrats...

 

[Cabinetman]

Impressive piece of work for a newbie? using only hand tools.
“Put wood int ole” as they say in Yorkshire.
Ian

 

[AJBaker]

Good job! It`s great that the clenched nail heads are sequenced as that would be a major 'trigger' if they weren't, don`t you think? Lol. I see you have one of those modern apprentices who are keen to work hard these days!!! Congrats...

Thanks!
I really wasn't sure how to sequence the nails. The books usually show three nails per board into each ledge, but the boards are usually wider than what I had, the ones I used are thinner than I would have liked (9 boards for a 2'6" door).
Three nails would obviously have been too much, but even two per board seemed excessive (72 nails in total, and they aren't cheap). Just one nail, however, wouldn't have been enough to resist racking. I came up with this solution and I'm pleased with the look!

Originally, I had the outside boards held on with two screws into each ledge, as recommended by the book (c.f. the photo with the dog). It looked a bit weird from the outside, however, so I replaced them with nails and added a single screw between them.

 

[Fitzroy]

Wonderful, great job!

 

[AJBaker]

Last evening I readjusted the frame, I have a more consistent and square fit now, and I started the door stops. I kept it fairly simple: I took some of the leftover tongue and groove boards, planed off said tongue and grooves, and added some moulding to one side. I have an old moulding plane that I got to cut quite well and it seems to do a good job.

The only trouble is a slight twist (and/or cupping) in the door, it won't quite close on the bottom right hand corner. Is there any way of fixing this?

 

[AJBaker]

The bottom of the door is cupped. Could I maybe try bending the strap of the hinge to force the door straight?

 

[Fitzroy]

The bottom of the door is cupped. Could I maybe try bending the strap of the hinge to force the door straight?

Unlikely, metal is not very stiff in a 3mm thickness compared to your 20mm thick ledges. I doubt anyone else will notice, but if it bothers you plane the stop to match the door and give you a closer fit.

 

[AJBaker]

Unlikely, metal is not very stiff in a 3mm thickness compared to your 20mm thick ledges. I doubt anyone else will notice, but if it bothers you plane the stop to match the door and give you a closer fit.

Hmm... My strap is a bit thicker at 4-5mm, but you might still be right.

I wonder how the cupping happened... In theory I planed all the ledges beforehand, and there was even one that was a proper banana before I planed it. Maybe I missed the bow in one of the ledges.

In any case, those nails aren't coming out in my lifetime...

 

[johnnyb]

Did your boards expand?(or more correctly did you leave sufficient gap on the t and g?) Ive found its very hard to stop cupping on slash sawn boards. Old and quatered wood from large trees can be more stable. This is why panel doors were favoured.

 

[AJBaker]

Did your boards expand?(or more correctly did you leave sufficient gap on the t and g?) Ive found its very hard to stop cupping on slash sawn boards. Old and quatered wood from large trees can be more stable. This is why panel doors were favoured.

Maybe, but I'd be surprised, since I installed the door just a few days ago, and since it's very dry here (cold alpine air, 24% humidity in the house).
I didn't leave gaps in the tongue and groove. The book I used didn't mention that, and I counted on the nails being able to move with the wood.

It isn't a huge gap, only about 15mm, but enough to be annoying...
(On the photo the finishing nail is intentionally left proud, it's so that I can still easily pull it out in case I need to change something).

 

[johnnyb]

Im sure that book mentions an expansion allowance usually 1/32 per foot. Just take a look at the gaps and put a straight edge across the batten to see whats going on. The boards are mainly unrestricted along there length.

 

[johnnyb]

Its certainly moved as if its expanded.

 

[AJBaker]

Good question, I'll check again. In any case, thanks for the help!

 

[meccarroll]

Well I must say your door does look very nice. When clenching nails try to clench with the grain and punch them into the grain so they are flush or at least slightly embedded. The cupping can happen when the wood starts to dry out and move about as it does when moved into a house. I'd just do as said above and accommodate the movement with adjusting the plant on stops.

I am a carpenter so been doing this sort of thing for years and despite all your best efforts there is always some wood that just wants to be tricky and makes you re-adjust the work.

 

[AJBaker]

Well I must say your door does look very nice. When clenching nails try to clench with the grain and punch them into the grain so they are flush or at least slightly embedded. The cupping can happen when the wood starts to dry out and move about as it does when moved into a house. I'd just do as said above and accommodate the movement with adjusting the plant on stops.

I am a carpenter so been doing this sort of thing for years and despite all your best efforts there is always some wood that just wants to be tricky and makes you re-adjust the work.

Thanks for the advice! What's the argument for clenching with the grain as opposed to across the grain? I was worried about splitting, and I thought it would be stronger perpendicular to the grain, but that was just my guess.

Otherwise, I did my best to embed them into the ledges. I wacked them hard with a lump hammer and a 5mm piece of steel as an anvil against the nail head. These nails are VERY stout and not easy to clench.