Hey Jim,

I am impressed for he has a lot bigger toys than this old codger does but, thanks for the show.

I still have to do it the old fashion way but still turn them out one at a time. About the only thing that even compares with what he has is my Woodmaster 38" drum sander and Woodmaster 718 trim maker that I can change to gang rip as well as to plane however I have dedicated it to making trim..

Ralph

Pretty interesting video Jim, thanks for posting that. I recognize the multi-router where he's mortising the end of the short rail. I don't recognize that gadget he's using on the edge of the long rail. What is it?I went to the mulit-router web site and didn't see anything that looked like that.

Hey Richard

It's called a Virutex Lock Mortiser similar to a jig porter cable made.

Here's a link on it

Thanks Jim. I'm familiar with the PC Lock Mortiser. Never even thought about using it for mortise and tenon work. lol

A-1 Jim said:

Hey Richard

It's called a Virutex Lock Mortiser similar to a jig porter cable made.

Here's a link on it

Here's a link where you can buy one if you have a spare $ 1000 give or take.

http://virutex.com/lockmortiserfc16s-1.aspx

Or you can get that wonderful lock mortiser here!

Porter-Cable 513 1-1/2 Horsepower Lock Mortiser

another interesting machine -

Hello Rob,

Quite an interesting machine but again, way out of my category.

Ralph

Ralph , That machine will do chisel as well as chain mortises . Unfortunately it is out of my price category !

Mine too, Can't you figure an old 75 year old buying one of those? He would have to live to 150 just to pay the interest on the darned thing.

Ralph

rob durfos said:

Ralph , That machine will do chisel as well as chain mortises . Unfortunately it is out of my price category !

Well Ralph , you have a point ! I am getting up there myself but having machinery that can replace an employee and do top notch work is of interest .This machine will do regular slot mortises or oscillating chisel square corners .Again pricey , but there are some used pieces around .

I've settled on a system that I am going to try for a while and will document it if anyone is interested.

Yes, please do!

rob durfos said:

I've settled on a system that I am going to try for a while and will document it if anyone is interested.

Rob,

That was very impressive but it would take me the rest of my life just to learn how to set it up much less run it.

Ralph

rob durfos said:

Well Ralph , you have a point ! I am getting up there myself but having machinery that can replace an employee and do top notch work is of interest .This machine will do regular slot mortises or oscillating chisel square corners .Again pricey , but there are some used pieces around .

Just curious, how many doors do you make a year?

Hello Richard,

I don't know who you are directing your question but, as for myself I generally do about 35 to 40 doors per year and all in the old fashion methods. My mortises and tenons are all over 21/2" deep/long.

Here is a drawing of one of my doors that are good sellers.

I make the most of them out of poplar if they are to be painted but mostly out of rift sawn red oak if they are to be finished with a stain and varnish.

Ralph

Ralph , that is a nice looking door ! To answer Richards question , about 100 per year give or take .For me building better and smarter is a mantra I work on around the clock . I've got some parts at the machine shop that will take my mortising a step further and we will see how it goes .Otherwise I will keep looking for an older dedicated machine as the next step .

Hi Rob,

I used to make the raised panels up and stock them in both poplar and red oak for that style of a door they are equal in size, however after a fiasko of some of them cuppping even though no glue ups were more than 4" per board the cupped over the entire width and really made me sick when I saw them. I had them stored but forgot to place some weight on top of the stacks and mother nature took it from there. Fortunately all of them didn't cup but only the few on the top of the stack.

I make my mortises 1/2" wide by3/4" deep and run them from end to end one the stiles, while they will be 3/4" deep on the rails.

I have my tenon machine which is a table saw tenon jig by B&D I think. At any rate I first set my blade so that when I make my shoulder cuts they leave a 1/2" thich portion that I then insert in my tenon machine and cut them all on my table saw. By doing this allows me to set the rails into the stile on one side of the door and it is a piece of cake to insert the panels and center stiles then the last panels and then the outside stile. Clamp them together till the glue sets up in the mortises and tenons in the stile mortises. Note the panels and middle stiles are not glued.

Doing these doors in this fashion I can cut out and assemble one door in less than two hours. That is if the panels are already raised.

When I get a door order I make the panels first and raise them to the desired raised panel and set them a side with a concrete block on each stack.

Then proceed with the stiles and rails. Though I mortise the full length of the stiles the same depth first and then cut the deep mortises into the stiles with my Jet mortising machine. I always leave 3/4" of the top and bottom of the wood toward the out side of the mortises for strength.

Once one gets into the flow of the different steps and repatitions it is possible to cut out four or six doors in one 8 hour day. Then assemble them the next day.

Ralph

I've been wondering why most of you go for a large tenon instead of a lap joint(T&G looking) or just going with some bigger dowels?

I've used both methods including drilling in from the side edges completely into the rails and haven't had a door fall apart for 20 years.

I can see if your turning out 100 per year using a machine but not for 20 doors a year.

Ralph , I don't totally follow your work flow , probably me ! I do build a number of laminated up frames (typically 3 part ) but do all the laminating then re- true all stock before any machining . Every darn door I build is different so pre- cutting parts is not an option . If I am lucky enough to get a suite of doors in a home where there might be 3-4 sizes, economy of production certainly does come into play and I am loving life. It is more likely that custom builders, home owners, cabinet shops ask me to recreate someone else's design from a photo in a magazine with a custom finish in a limited time frame and for less $ than the company whose photo the door came from would get. One last note: the amount of time I spend building a door is downright embarrassing compared to your hourly figures. I will mention that I work with only reclaimed, rough stock produced on site here.

In response to Dragon1: I have built doors with dowels, then mortised in fake tenon pieces on the sides of the stiles. I think that in doing the math, a large tenon has more glue surface area than multiple dowels. I also have a tendency to study what the "big guys" do in terms of construction practices and the machinery they use to produce state of the art doors. If you spend lots and lots of hours going over the internet and look at at the number of ways to do mortise and tenon joints it is clear there is no right or wrong way, only the way that is best for the craftsman employing this style of joinery. Certainly had some thought provoking responses on this thread and I hope it goes on for awhile. Thanks.