Many projects call for doors, from kitchen cabinets to vanities to jewelry armoires. There are a variety of ways to make doors, and this Make Quality Doors instructional video class will help you choose an approach that lends itself to your woodworking skills and your tools. Regardless of which of our techniques you choose, you’ll create doors that will stand the test of time.
The router table provides a great way to make frame and panel doors. You might choose to use reversible rail and stile bits, two-piece sets, vertical or horizontal panel raisers. We cover them all in this class, providing you with tips to simplify set up, use the bits safely, and make sure the cope and stile joints are a perfect fit.
SMALL SCALE DOORS
Cabinet doors are one thing. Scaled down doors for smaller projects are something else. This instructional class provides you with buying advice so you can match your router bits to the stock you’re working with, and provides approaches for safely machining smaller door parts on the router table.
UNIQUE STYLES
Frame and panel doors may not always be the best choice for your project. Bead board, a form of home siding, provides an attractive door alternative, when used correctly. Some projects may call for paint grade doors, and mdf is a great choice for these doors. Painting mdf and getting a seamless finish can be tricky, so we’ll take you through the process.
CATHEDRAL DOORS
Many woodworkers aspire to make cathedral, or arched top, doors, but are concerned about the “freehand” cutting required to shape the panel and upper rail. With the tips and tricks we provide for cathedral doors, and a little practice, you’ll be comfortable making these doors in no time.
In addition to the detailed video instruction you’ll receive, this online class provides you with some downloadable resources and helpful information to print and keep, including: A detailed Class Guide you can follow and use as a reminder for the key steps of the class instruction; and source references for the tools and material used in the class.
NOTE: This Class video instruction is also available for purchase in DVD form. If you prefer to own a physical copy, you can purchase the Class DVD here.
Class Sessions
Session 1: Getting Started
1:02
Watch the entire class start to finish before making your first door. This will provide you with an overview of the techniques and approaches. Then go back and, choosing the approach that works for you and your shop, start practicing the set ups and cutting techniques.
Session 2: Making Frames
31:44
Whether you want to make door frames with a reversible bit or two-bit set, we’ve got you covered, taking you through the process start to finish. You’ll need a sled to simplify the end grain cuts on the rails and keep it safe. We’ll show you a shop-made version and a commercially made version.
For repeatability, this instructional video provides you with tricks and short cuts you can use to set up the bits each time you make doors in your shop.
Session 3: Raising Panels
30:57
Vertical panel raisers, horizontal panel raisers and panel raisers with back cutters each have distinct advantages. Once you understand the cutters you can choose the bit that’s best suited for your shop and your projects.
Set up and use of each bit is different, too. We’ll simplify that set up process for you and make sure you’re gearing up to use the bits correctly and safely.
Session 4: Getting a Perfect Fit
19:34
If you find that the fit between the end grain cuts and long grain cuts isn’t great, you can tweak the router bits. It’s all about shims, and correctly using them to optimize the strength of the cope and stile joint.
Now that you’re ready to make frame and panel doors you need to learn to calculate the door part sizes accurately. Whether you’re working on an inset door or overlay door, we provide you with formulas for making the calculations, and show you how to determine the panel size once the frame is complete.
Session 5: Tips for Making Small Doors
11:37
As door parts get thinner, narrower and shorter, you need to change your approach to making doors. First, you’ve got to make sure the bits you’re planning on using will work with the material you’ll be cutting. Next we want to make certain that you’re safe when you’re machining those parts on the router table.
Session 6: Beyond Standard Frame and Panel Doors
37:12
There’s more to door making than frame and panel doors. Bead board, a type of siding, can be used for doors, and provides a great “cabin” look. If you’re working on a project that will be painted, instead of stained and top coated, you can make your doors from mdf. It takes paint very well, provided you follow our recipe for painting success.
Session 7: Cathedral Doors
22:37
Cathedral doors are beautiful, but can be a little intimidating to make. Making these doors safely comes from using a starter pin in the router table, and providing a landing pad where the bit can start its cut on the panel and curved rail.
Templates simplify the process of getting perfectly matching curves on the panel and curved rail, and a flush trim router bit is key to perfectly tracing the template. We provide a straight forward system for helping you make these beautiful doors.
Session 8: Class Summary
0:53
Many approaches to door making are covered in this class, designed to help you with tooling, set ups and techniques that work for you. Make some practice doors, perhaps for cabinets in your shop, and you’ll be ready to produce a room full of doors in no time.
Your Instructor
George Vondriska
George Vondriska is the Editor in Chief here at Woodworkers Guild of America and has been sharing his woodworking expertise since 1986. Apart from conducting classes at his renowned Vondriska Woodworks School, George's passion for teaching has taken him to woodworking shows nationwide and has led him to teach woodworking for prestigious organizations such as Peace Corps/Swaziland, Andersen Window, Northwest Airlines, and the Pentagon. With a wealth of published magazine articles under his belt, encompassing tool reviews and shop improvement projects, George's knowledge and skills continue to inspire woodworkers every day. To discover more about him and his school, visit georgevondriska.com.
Bonus Material
Printable Class Guide PDF
Download and print this PDF Guide to complement your Class. It’ll be a nice reference for you to keep.
Class Resource PDF
See this list of tools, suppliers and reference info related to this Class
Meet Your Instructor
Download this short video to meet your instructor George Vondriska
Bonus Materials available for download after purchase.
FAQs
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Every Class has a free Preview video you can watch, to give you a flavor of the Instructor and the skills or project that will be covered. In addition, the Overview tab includes a thorough written description of the Class. And finally, each Class Session has a brief written summary of the content in that Session, including the length of each Session video. You will get a good feel for the Class content by reviewing these resources.
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