Replies

1. 
   JPGrout | Nov 25, 2002 08:41am | #1

   Clampman I have questions. First did you bend the top rails to the radius you desired. Second, Is the top of the rail a continous arch (Not the inside where the panel goes but the outside)Third, are the stiles going to run to the top of the rail or are the rails sitting on top of the stile. Fourth, what is the sticking detail going to be. I would like answer this but need to know more. Thanks, Joe

1. 
   clampman2 | Nov 25, 2002 09:45pm | #2

   Joe,

   Both the top edges and the bottom edges of all the rails are straight. But looking down on a door in plan view it forms a quarter circle. I will try to attach ####picture if I can figure out how to do it. It shows one of the rails sitting on top of the bending form. The stiles will also, in plan view, be on the same radius.

   
1. 
   Elcoholic | Nov 25, 2002 11:39pm | #3

   Whoa!  This is gonna be tricky for sure.  If they weren't raised panels wiggle-wood would be the way I'd go.  Looks like you'll have to cooper them and then raise the field with routers, jigs, handplanes, et all.  John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

2. 
   SgianDubh | Nov 26, 2002 08:49am | #4

   You seem to indicate that only the rails are laminated, and any glue lines here might be disguised by any moulding profile used. A mortise on the stile, and a tenon on the rail with a mitre at the moulding intersection is a typical technique-- although nowadays most people are too lazy or unskilled to do this and go for scribed and matched router moulder sets with wee tongue and groove joints.  Your main question seems to concern itself with the curved panels.  If the panels are a coopered construction, you could use a vertical panel raising bit in an inverted router (table) to form all the raised and fielded edges, assuming none of the edges are arched. Slainte.Some stuff I've made.

3. 
   JPGrout | Nov 26, 2002 08:55am | #5

   Well that wasn't what I envisioned yesterday. I have built doors like this before, and the one thing that is for certian is that every cut you make must be very accurate We built a wine cellar door last summer like this but the radius was not as tight as yours. We made special jigs to cut the coped ends on the rails which were fairly easy and then cut the rail sticking with a curved sled to carry the rail past the knives. Then we tilted the shaper arbor to cut the sticking on the stiles. I am not sure that would work for you on the sticking cuts because it would distort the sticking at that apparent angle. You may have to just cut the joinery into the stiles and apply sticking after you glue up the door. I assume that the panels are only shaped on the outside and if that is the case you will need to reverse your panel raising knife so that the cut could run along the curve. This all assumes you have a shaper, because you can only cut the way I described with a router table setup. I also hope you have a power feed.I just take off all the wheels but one and run the PF inside the panel. We have a single wheel feeder now that has a six inch wheel on it and it makes this type of work a lot easier. I hope I described this accurately enough but if you need more let me know Joe

1. 
   clampman2 | Nov 26, 2002 11:04pm | #6

   Joe and Sgian,

   Thanks for the tips. It is the stile sticks and the vertical cuts on the panels that worry me most. I can get the rail sticks with a router and the rail end grain copes on the shaper. The panel end grain I can get easily enough with a pinch collar head on the shaper. It is the stile sticks and vertical raises on the panels that worry me most.

   I'll just take my time, and chew up some poplar playing with possibilities. Tilting arbor shaper I don't have access to.

   Thanks again.

   Clampman

   Edited 11/26/2002 3:07:09 PM ET by clampman