Making Your Own Door, Part I

Why make your own door?

1. It looks better.

2. It costs less. Finishing one pre-made door costs 14.00 for the door. Meanwhile, making one door from scratch costs 3.00 for a 1/8" thick strip of basswood and 1.20 for a strip of chair rail. Yeah, that's 4.20, so what? What if you want to use more expensive trim? Some trims are as much as 3.00 for a single length and, after all, if you want a complicated door, with recessed moulding, that's more! OK, well, let's compare. Doors are usually around 6.5--7" tall, which means that you can get 3 door pieces for every strip of basswood--that's enough to make 1.5 doors. If you add on trim (let's assume that you need 3.00 worth of trim for each door), then you bring your grand total to 4.80 per door. That's almost 3 doors for the price of one! If you use cheaper trim, then you bring your price down to 3.00 per door. That's 4.5 doors for the price of one.

The first door we're going to make is the easiest--the plain door. Below, is an example of a plain door already in the dollhouse. Doors like this were common in the "non public" areas of older houses--i.e. the kitchen, servants' quarters, or attic. Doors like this are still common in modern houses and apartments.

If you have a pre-made door, then start by taking it apart--you can use it as a template. The door should separate into 3 parts: the frame, the threshhold and the door itself. Also, don't be shy about using the door frame and threshhold for this door--it's easier than making your own, and it's less wasteful.

The next step is to reproduce the door. A standard door is about 1/4" thick, so I'm going to use two 1/8" thick lengths to form my door. I'm going to use my PREAC table saw, a must for any miniaturist's studio, to cut two pieces of wood the exact same length and width as the pre-made door.

Place the door length-wise along the arm of the saw, and snug the stop against the side. Remember to cut two!

Now, place the door width-wise against the blade, and snug the gate against it. Again, remember to cut two!

I suggest cutting the door length-wise before you cut it width-wise because it conserves wood--wood is expensive, and you want to preserve as many large sections as you can. It's pretty discouraging when, halfway through a project, you realize that you have plenty of wood--but its all half an inch too small.

Also, when you're working with a table saw, sometimes you can inadvertantly snug the gate too tight and end up with a length of wood slightly too small. A good trick is to slowly run the pattern piece (in this case, the pre-made door) in and out of the lane a few times. Make sure, here, that it doesn't hitch against the blade--if it does, then your lane is slightly too small. The pattern piece should glide easily in and out of the lane.

After you cut the two pieces, you're ready to stain, paint, or whatever else. At this point, if you're making a simple door, then you're done!