Making Your Own Door, Part III

The third basic kind of door we're going to make is an inset panel door. This is probably the trickiest kind of door to master, not because it's so challenging but because it requires a high degree of accuracy and quite a bit of patience. If you can master these three kinds of doors, then you have the skill set you need to reproduce any door you want.

I personally find the inset panel door to be very fulfilling. It's fun to make, and it looks really beautiful when its done. As before, you want to start with two door panels. Here, I tend to use one 1/8" thick panel and one 1/16" thick panel. The 1/16th panel is going to become the inset side of the door.

Again, start by marking out guidelines on the door panel (see above). Then, cut and glue trim to form two panels. Here, instead of an applique, we're making an inset; look for trim with a small lip, such as wainscoting trim. When you cut the trim, make sure that the lip points outwards--when you set the completed trim panel into the door, it should be flush with both the outer panel and the inner part of the door. After you assemble the panels, place them on the door. You're now ready to form the outer panel.

First, cut and assemble the outer panel. For this step, I use 1/32" thick wood, because its exactly the same thickness as the lip on most trims. I'm a perfectionist, so I really want all of my pieces to fit together tightly.

When you assemble the outer panel, it should be flush with the edges of the inner part of the door. The completed trim panels should fit comfortably inside. Be careful not to make the fit too snug--wood expands and contracts when wet, and you don't want to carefully stain and varnish the trim panels, only to find that they don't fit! A good tip, here, is to stain and varnish the trim panels before you create the outer panel.

Now, using your glueing jig, very carefully glue the outer edges together. Here, I'm using a piece of scrap wood to make sure that the bottom edges line up.

Now, insert the completed trim panels into the outer panel. Make sure they fit, and that the fit isn't too tight. Very carefully, mark the edges of the panels, just under the overhanging lip of the trim.

Now, you're ready to cut the center section of the outer panel, and glue it in. Usually, I glue the center section with the completed trim panels in place, to ensure that, after my outer panel dries, they still fit. The fit should be snug, but not too tight--there should be just the slightest amount of wiggle room. Here, I taped the center section to the rest of the outer panel, to make sure that the pieces dried flush together.

At this point, you should have four pieces: the inner part of the door, the outer panel and two completed trim panels. Set the completed trim panels aside, and stain (or paint) the two remaining panels.

After they're dry, it's time to glue them together. When I'm staining a door, I prefer to finish the outer panel before I glue it on; I apply three coats of spray. However, I wait to sand the outer panel, or apply a finish coat, until after I assemble the door. Spread the back of the outer panel with quick grip, and lay it gently onto the inner part of the door. Hold the two panels together for a few minutes, and then weight them together. I, personally, wait until after the quick grip sets (about 45 minutes) to sand, because I think the final finish comes out much smoother. I sand the outer panel lightly, and then, using a small amount of tacky glue, I attach the completed trim panels. then, I apply a last, light, finish coat of spray.

Your inset panel door is now complete. This is a basic strategy you can use to create almost any door. Here, we used it to create sunken panels; if you reverse the direction of the trim, i.e. point the lip inwards instead of outwards, then you can use it to create raised panels. Also, depending on what kind of trim you use--thin or thick, ornate or simple--you end up with a very different look.

Making Your Own Door, Part II

The next door we're going to make is a variation on the simple door. Here, we're going to use an applique to create raised trim. We're going to start with the same two panels as the plain door. Here, before you start to cut any trim, you need to do a little advanced planning--what trim are you planning on using in the room? You want the door to match, or at least coordinate. When I'm working on a house, once I reach this stage I do a "walk through" where I place the trims and other components I'm planning on using in the appropriate rooms. That way, as I'm going through making the different doors, I have a constant visual reminder of what goes where. Especially with bigger dollhouses, it's surprisingly easy to confuse yourself.

Once you sort yourself out trim-wise, the next step is to mark out the door itself. Sometimes this is more important than other times. Below, is an example of one of those times when it's vitally important.

This is the dining room in the Hampton. I wanted the door to blend in with the panelling, so I measured the panelling at the same time I measured the door. Generally, this involves having some sense of how high you want the panelling to be. Don't be afraid to tape the door into the door hole and draw on it, right along with the wall. This isn't rocket science, but it does require patience.

Generally, I like to start my applique about 1" from the bottom of the door, 1/2" from the top of the door and 1/2" from each side. Mark the distances (whatever distances you choose) with a ruler, and draw them in. You're going to use the door as your template to create your appliques.

Select a length of trim and cut it on an angle using your mitre saw.

Place the trim against the door and, using your template, mark off the trim.

Now, you're ready to cut the trim. Below, I've made my own 45' angle jig. You can also buy an angle jig from the friendly folks at Smaller Than Life. They also sell PREAC saws, as well as many other tools. I place my trim against the stop and move the jig along the arm until the cutting mark is level with the blade. Then, I tighten the stop on the arm in place. I can move my jig up and down, and cut as many identical lengths of trim as I need. This is a very handy skill to practice, because it has all sorts of applications.

As you cut the lengths of trim, lay them out on the door.

Now, you're ready to assemble the trim. I use a gluing jig, from Smaller Than Life. It's worth its weight in gold--I absolutely love it and use it all the time.

Once the trim is assembled, it's time to stain or paint. Finish the door itself, before you glue the appliques to it--this makes it much easier to smoothly sand the door. Once the door and the appliques are dry, you can glue the appliques to it. You don't have any guidelines anymore, but you can mark guidelines out with tape or make very light pencil marks and lightly touch them up with paint after the glue dries. If you're staining, then you should wait to spray or paint on your finish coat of varnish until after you glue the appliques to the door.

At this point, you should have two finished door halves. Now, it's time to glue them together. I use quick grip for this procedure, although any tacky glue would work. Spread your glue along one door panel, and massage it around with your finger until you have an even coating. Remember, time is of the essence, here--you don't want the glue to dry! Work as quickly as you can, while still being precise. Very carefully place the two door panels against each other, and press. Hold the panels together for a few minutes, or until the glue begins to set. Now, lay the door down on a flat surface and, very carefully, weight it down. Unless you weight the door, it's going to warp, and you don't want that. Heavy books, in my experience, make the best weights. I use my old law school casebooks. Be very, very, very careful when you place your weights--you don't want the door panels to shift against each other.

Below, is an example of a door with raised trim. This is the master bedroom in the Hampton. Here, the height of the panels isn't important.

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!

The Doors!

Order matters, which is the main reason why planning is so important. In the first dollhouse I ever completed (notice I say "completed," not "began") I did each door only after I finished the rooms that it connected and I left the windows until absolute last. Needless to say, nothing ever looked quite right. Installing the doors first allows you to achieve a much tighter fit with all the trim in the room. Ultimately, you're going to end up with a room that looks much more like a room in a real house.

Today I'm going to talk about finishing a pre-made door. In the next couple of posts, I'm going to teach you how to make a variety of different doors from scratch. Trust me, you're a better woodworker than you think--within a few weeks, you're going to be a door making champion.

1. Pick a door, any door. For the purposes of this post, I'm going to assume that you're working with a standard Houseworks 6 light door. The term "light" actually refers to the 6 little inset panels in the door. But, regardless of what door you choose, the procedure is about the same so bear with me.

2. Sand that baby. The trick here is to be (don't I know it) firm but gentle. This should resonate with the parents out there: you want to get rid of the obvious flaws, but not push so hard that you rough off the beautiful, crisp edges. These are, after all, what make the door interesting. Start with a finer grit of sandpaper than you think you need, maybe 240, and go slowly. A little bit of sanding sponge (they tear pretty easily) works great to sand down those beveled edges.

3. If you're staining one side (or both sides) of the door, now's the time to do so. If you're staining (or painting) both sides, order isn't as much of an issue, but the reason you want to tackle the stain before the paint is, wood is porous! Any gesso or paint that gets on the wood now is going to stay there, and that's not really the look you want. Stain the door (remembering the sides of the door), and lay it aside to dry. After it dries, apply your first coat of varnish. I use matte or semi gloss spray varnish, here. Sprays, unlike liquids, don't leave brush strokes. It's very important, however, when working with a spray to apply very, very, very thin coats. Don't try to cut corners on this step. Waiting about 30 minutes between each coat, apply 3 thin coats of varnish. After the door is completely dry (usually about 2 hours), lightly sand the door with either 400 grit sandpaper or an extra fine sanding sponge. If you sand through to the wood, it's OK--you can fix it. Using a small brush, touch up the area with stain. If you're using a water based stain, then mixing a little bit of brown acrylic paint into it helps to thicken it up and increase coverage. And remember, real wood doesn't look completely uniform and that's what makes it so expensive.

4. Remove any dust from the crevices of the door with a clean, dry craft brush and repeat the sanding and spraying procedure. After the door is clean and dry, spray a single, final finish coat on and leave it to dry.

5. If you're painting the other half of the door, then now's the time to break out the masking tape. I use 3M painter's tape. It works well, but nothing's foolproof--this is a tough step. If you're using a pre-made door, you might want to consider staining or painting both sides of the door the same color. Run the tape around the sides of the door, creating as straight an edge as you can. Use your fingernail (or a scrap of wood) to gently press the tape into the door. You want to ensure a tight seal, here. The tape is going to give you a smooth division between the stain and the paint.

6. Break out the gesso and gesso that baby. After the gesso is completely dry, lightly sand the door. It should feel smooth to the touch.

7. Break out the paint. As with the walls, you want to start out with a slightly watery first coat--except around the edges of the door. Here, you want to apply the paint full strength, angling your brush strokes towards the tape. Once you're finished painting the door, set it aside to dry for at least a couple of hours. Once the door is dry, gently remove the tape. If you painted both sides of the door, you can use the same technique with the tape to separate the colors of paint from each other.

8. The frame of the door breaks into two parts: the lintel and the threshold. The lintel is the part that encases the door, and the threshold is the part that sits on the floor. In most houses, the threshold matches the surrounding floor--wander around your house and have a look. If, for example, you're going to be installing hardwood floors, then you might want to paint or stain the threshold to match. If you're going to be installing carpet, or tile, then you might want to paint it a brown or cream, to coordinate. In most houses, the lintel matches the trim on the door. Keep in mind that the lintel will be visible after you install the door.

9. Once you've finished the door, it's time to install hardware. If you're yearning for something other than the basic brass options, then my friends at Earth and Tree, www.earthandtree.com, have an awesome selection. Personally, I like to use something different every time.

10. Now, reassemble the door with the frame. It can be especially tricky to realign the threshold with the lintel, and I usually use a gluing jig for this step. If you don't have one, then small clamps work just as well.

Your door is ready to install. Personally, I don't use the trim that comes with pre-made doors, but that's a matter of personal taste. At this point, if you're using pre-made doors, you want to go through your house and install them all. If you're making doors from scratch, then tune in next time!