Replies

1. 
   John_D | Apr 02, 2006 10:13am | #1

   Well, that's not going to be as simple as it seems.  If he cuts 10" off the top, that's going to remove the 5" top rail entirely.  That won't leave a structurally sound door.

   My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
2. 
   Dave45 | Apr 02, 2006 04:37pm | #2

   Barbara -

   This could be a real project - lol.  Even if you could cut down the bottom rail, the amount you need to remove would make the rails pretty narrow - and much weaker.

   Check for a custom door maker in the Sacto area.  It may be less expensive than you think.

3. 
   WillGeorge | Apr 02, 2006 07:28pm | #3

   As Johd D said..

   Well, that's not going to be as simple as it seems. If he cuts 10" off the top, that's going to remove the 5" top rail entirely. That won't leave a structurally sound door.

   It has a 5" top rail, a 10" bottom rail, and the side stiles are about 5" wide. Gee how tall is the opening ya have to put it in?

   Sounds like you have to either lower or heighten the house walls?

   Aprils Fools!

1. 
   BarbaraD | Apr 03, 2006 04:04am | #4

   Sorry I didn't word my question precisely enough.  I wanted to know how to disassemble the door.  From there I know what to do.  Just didn't know how to go about taking it apart, that's all. 

1. 
   notDusty | Apr 03, 2006 04:28am | #5

       Hi Barbara ,

                     First you need to learn what joinery was used to understand what your dealing with . If it is a mortise or dowel type you will probably need to reverse clamp or smack the stiles from the rail .

             One way is to cut say 3 or 4" out of the top of the panel across the face . Then pry apart the frame ,remove the panel and trim the stiles to  the finished length .

         You then can trim the panel to the finished size and reshape , if you are careful and lucky you may be able to re use the rails .

                  hope this helps

          good         luck           dusty

2. 
   WillGeorge | Apr 06, 2006 05:16pm | #9

   Geeee. Sorry..I guess you did not see the "Aprils Fools!" at the bottom..Just me..

4. 
   chuckh | Apr 03, 2006 06:13am | #6

   Barbara,

   Since you are lowering the door 10" an the top rail is only 5" just measure down 6" an cut the whole top of the door off.  Then take the 6" piece and start cutting slices off one end until you reach the end of the tenon or the dowels.  If the joint is a m/t you can now determine the dimension of the tenon and clean up the ends of the rail using a dado blade on a table saw or hand tools.

   If the gods are with you, you'll get the center panel out without too much trouble.  Try spreading the stiles with a reversed clamp but be careful not to put too much stress on the center rail.  If you can remove the molding it will help a lot.

   Once you get the stiles and panel cut down to their new dimensions, start at the top of the stile and cut a new mortise down to the bottom edge of the tenon.  Now your top rail will slide in from the top.  Dry fit everything & glue and clamp.  You can fit pieces into the top of the mortises when it has all set up.

   I hope this makes sense.

   -Chuck

   P.S.

   Before you do anything, make sure the bottom of the door is square.  Depending on how it was fit in its first opening, these old doors can be a good bit out of square.

        

1. 
   BarbaraD | Apr 03, 2006 09:23am | #7

   Many many thanks to notDusty and chuckh for your suggestions.  I completely understand what each of you has suggested and will discuss these methods with my friend who's helping me with the project.  I will let you know how it turns out.  I really appreciate your taking time to help me.

   Barbara

5. 
   Steinmetz | Apr 04, 2006 05:39am | #8

   Barb, that type of lock is called a 'bit key' lock, If after the door is cut down and still maintains the most pleasing proportions,the placement of the lock can be changed.

   I've done hundreds of doors like this... Remove lock set, fill the mortise with wood blocking leaving room for extra blocking at the lock face and glue in place. into the mortise
   For the faceplate section of the lock, add and glue a 'dutchman' of the same wood as the original.
   Be sure to have the face grain of the wood showing( Not Any cross grain)
   This can be planed and/or sanded {Do not use nails}
   The bottom rail should be as wide or larger than the top rail.
   Top rail can loose an inch if needed.

   The holes for the spindle and key can be routed out and a rectangular dutchman can be glued into this new mortise
   After the glue is dry, plane or sand the wood flush with the surface. The placement of the lock, ( when relocated)should have the knob 39 or 38"s from the floor

   Keep in mind , doors are handed IE: right hand or, left hand

   If you don't install the door to swing as it orignally did, but
   choose to 'reverse the swing', the latchbolt on the lock has to be reversed as well.

   Open the lock case, remove the latch bolt, and turn it over and reinstall in lock case. You mentioned you have several doors to
   hang. If any of these locks are the correct hand, you may substitute one of those. Steinmetz

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/3/2006 10:45 pm ET by Steinmetz

6. 
   Ricks503 | Apr 06, 2006 07:46pm | #10

   How about taking 4" off one end and 6" off the other and turning it upside down and mounting that way?

    

   If that will not work, the only thing else to do would be to make the door yourself to spec., or use a single panel solid core door without the door handle cut out, cut it to size, and then drill the door hole where needed and then dress it up with some mouldings/trim

   1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go        4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
1. 
   BarbaraD | Apr 07, 2006 08:31am | #11

   No, because the rails need to stay the same height they are.  You can't take a 5" rail and narrow it down to 1"; it would look really stupid.  Sorry.  I've been given two very good solutions to the problem in above postings, so I'll go with one of those.