Making internal doors - Tulip Wood Vs Sycamore

[Doug71]

About 15 years ago I made 20 doors for my house out of unsorted Redwood and MR MDF.

Over the course of about a year I squirreled away all the best bits of Redwood that came through the shop and stored them in my house to acclimatise. When I had enough timber I machined everything slightly oversize and then stored it in the house again for a couple of months. It seems to have worked as nothing has moved or dried out despite having 9" deep mid and bottom rails.

I actually made all the door openings non standard sizes so a future owner can't just swap the doors for whatever is in fashion at the time destroying all my hard work

 

[CrazyMonkey1]

Actually made all the door openings non standard sizes so a future owner can't just swap the doors for whatever is in fashion at the time destroying all my hard work

Haha - lovely doors Doug, very impressive I can understand why you want them to remain!

 

[HOJ]

This surprises me, the Sycamore I have used has been much harder than tulipwood,

Dug these pieces off the rack this morning, I know the 2 pieces on the right in pic 1 are Tulip and the others are Sycamore, to my eyes difficult to tell them apart:

 

[Ollie78]

Dug these pieces off the rack this morning, I know the 2 pieces on the right in pic 1 are Tulip and the others are Sycamore, to my eyes difficult to tell them apart:

View attachment 172516 View attachment 172518

I bet the Sycamore is heavier for a given size and less likely to dent though. I have never had Sycamore as soft as Tulipwood.

Ollie

 

[Jones]

Unless you're making specials there's no point making doors. You can buy good quality standard doors for a reasonable price.

 

[CrazyMonkey1]

Unless you're making specials there's no point making doors. You can buy good quality standard doors for a reasonable price.

Where from buddy? They were crazy money when I looked!

P.S. job is renovating our own house, not trade.

 

[Ollie78]

Where from buddy? They were crazy money when I looked!

P.S. job is renovating our own house, not trade.

I would have a look at online door specialists, I had some hemlock ones made with 15 glass panels (supplied unglazed ) to a really odd size and they were only 300 quid. I forget which company it was now but they have all the standad patterns. A 4 panel in solid wood should be maybe £100 each.
Most places will give you a trade discount if you are ordering enough stuff.

Ollie

 

[Jones]

Your drawing shows a Victorian style with fielded panel, a fairly common type, most manufacturers will do one. Before ordering I would check the weight, some doors are very light and they feel cheap. I would expect to pay around £120 for a primed door maybe less as you're getting lots.

 

[TRITON]

Am i barking up the wrong proverbial tree?!

Not at all. Pegged loose tenons just as good. A god fit, plenty of glue and if the widths are narrow it would be just as good. It's when you get to wide doors theres a possibility the short tenon might sag and the front of the door might sag a bit with it.

 

[aaronjose]

Hello folks!

I am after some advice please - hoping to draw on people's experience

I have completed several projects with Tulip Wood, and I really enjoyed working with it. It cut well, finished well, and took paint nicely - exactly as I had read it would.

I have recently made some bandsaw reindeer out of sycamore logs I had been drying. I was impressed by the wood - the grain was nice and straight, the colourings were light, and it was quite easy to work to a nice finish - it reminded me of Tulip wood.

As Sycamore is native to the UK, it got me thinking that perhaps I should use it instead of Tulip wood in future projects (next up is 12 internal doors). Has anyone used British Sycamore for doors - if so, would you recommend it?

I have already done some research, so am fully aware that it is for internal use only (rots outside). Other than that, it seems like a sound alternative, but would love to benefit from experience before I invest several hundred pounds...

Door plans below - actually thinking about using loose tenons, will be more convenient, and less wasteful.

View attachment 172410

Many thanks!

I must say I was disgusted to find out it is actually Poplar.
Was this always an acceptable practice or have we sunk to a new low?

 

[CrazyMonkey1]

I must say I was disgusted to find out it is actually Poplar.
Was this always an acceptable practice or have we sunk to a new low?

Què?

 

[cemannion]

I must say I was disgusted to find out it is actually Poplar.
Was this always an acceptable practice or have we sunk to a new low?

I don't understand your comments

 

[highwood122]

I would have a look at online door specialists, I had some hemlock ones made with 15 glass panels (supplied unglazed ) to a really odd size and they were only 300 quid. I forget which company it was now but they have all the standad patterns. A 4 panel in solid wood should be maybe £100 each.
Most places will give you a trade discount if you are ordering enough stuff.

Ollie

hi,how do you know a doors quality if it is not through morticed, would it be for £100

 

[TomGW]

I must say I was disgusted to find out it is actually Poplar.
Was this always an acceptable practice or have we sunk to a new low?

Tulipwood or yellow poplar in USA (Liriodendron tulipifera). Not to be confused with our, local poplar, or indeed the many and various trees that are known as poplar worldwide.