workshop doors

[amilo]

hi my doors are m and t jointed they have 3 windows at the top 365mm x365mm the doors are 7' x 4' 8" the bottom half is t&g set in a reabate i know not to glue the t&g but should i nail it to the brace and if i should nail it how do you stop the nails splitting the t&g.

thanks

 

[PowerTool]

Personally,I would nail (or screw) the boards to the brace,but only on the middle of the boards - this keeps them in place,but still allows for expansion and contraction.
If splitting is a problem,pilot holes should solve it.

Andrew

 

[Pete Robinson]

As above!!

 

[amilo]

thanks for the replys right so i should nail to the brace just one nail in the middle of each board, thing is i want them to look nice ie no ugly nail heads so wots the secret of nailing it and it still looking nice dont want rusty marks on my nice new doors.
so anybody got any tips for me,
type of nails, (lost head ?? ) (stainless ?? ) (can you get stainles lost nails )
angle of nailing,

ps doors are being finished in sikkens light oak dont know if this makes any diference to the nails rusting.

Thanks

 

[amilo]

nobody got any advice then

 

[Blister]

How about copper nails , and make a feature of them , all evenly spaced etc , as used in the wooden boat building game ?

Just a thought

 

[Pete Robinson]

Amilo, Oak naturally contains tannin and will rust any untreated nail or screw and eventually the surrounding wood will turn black. To prevent this from happening you should use preferably brass (this is known to prevent this) or maybe galvanized!!

Hope this helps

Pete

 

[Tom K]

:? Are the doors made of oak then?

Amilo said

doors are being finished in sikkens light oak dont know if this makes any diference to the nails rusting.

Regards Tom

 

[amilo]

the doors are made of pine will be just oak stained .
i just need to know how best to nail the t&g
(yes i know use a hammer )
but really what nails should i use iam thinking lost head or small oval nails i just want it to look neat and iam not well up on nails i normally prefer a good screw :wink:
Thanks

 

[Tom K]

Hi Amilo, I would probably screw them from behind (calm down)through the brace and pin them top and bottom from the front. Just make sure whatever you use is exterior grade ie plated and punch the pins below the surface.
Not splitting the T&G is mainly a question of not using nails/pins to large and getting used to a bit of hammer restraint :lol:

Regards Tom

 

[amilo]

 

[eggflan]

You can stop nails splitting the t&g by making them blunt ,, turn the nail or pin over and put it head down on a hard surface (top of a vice ) and give the pointy end a gentle bash with your hammer
This sounds daft but i use this method when nailing close to the end of a board and it has never failed yet Go on give it a try on some scrap timber you will be amazed how close you can get to the edge :shock:

 

[druster]

I blunt the end and in most soft woods just reverse the nail where it is going to go in, hit with a hammer, this then blunts the end and creates a perfectly sized countersink for the nail head and with care can be hammered home without marking the wood.