Building A Five Piece Door

Since I have carried this nickname around for a while, I thought it was time to start writing about some of my favorite wood working tools and projects.

Obviously most woodworkers would like to have a shop equipped like Norm Abrams' New Yankee workshop, but the reality is that very few do, so here are the tools you need to make 5 piece doors; Table saw (use a 7-1/4" 24 tooth thin kerf blade for ripping hardwoods on benchtop saws), a drill press with a fence, 35mm forstner bit, a 1/2" table mounted router and fence, a 90 degree sled for routing the ends of the rails, rail & stile & raised panel bits, a round over & a decorative edge bit of whatever shape you like, feather boards, a jointer, a thickness planer, a random orbit sander, a whole bunch of clamps, carpenter's glue, and some sort of spline system to join your panels (I use biscuits because they are fast, easy and cheap), some sort of dust protection is a must - be sure to read understand and follow all safety precautions for the tools you are using, and always remember to wear safety glasses.

Let's define what a 5 piece door consists of - 2 stiles, 2 rails, and a panel.

For the sake of easy math I machine my rail & stile stock to 2-3/8" wide. This way, no matter what width the door is the rail length will always be 4" less.

panels are cut 4-1/16" smaller than the overall length and width. (4-1/8" smaller if using a softwood panel with hardwood rails & stiles since softwood moves more with changes in humidity)

Always cut a couple of extra pieces of stock to set up your router bits, and save these as set up blocks for future projects. You will need to invest a bit of time and material experimenting with your tools to find out what works best for you, and how to set up your router bits, so it is best if you make a couple of small doors for no particular project before you jump into a large job. Keep a journal and write down what you try, what idiosyncrasies you discover about your tools, as well as what worked and what didn't work. This will save you time if 5 years from now you decide to make another set of doors, just look at your notes. You do not need to spend huge money of things like sleds and jigs for projects, make them yourself from scraps. (my sled is made from melamine, a piece of oak, a  5/16 x 6" piece of keystock, a toggle clamp and a few machine screws - cost under $10.00 and it works as good as a Kreig that retails at $250.00) Buy a tap and die kit, and keep a bit of keystock and flat stock around for jigs and fixtures, it will save you tons of money in the long run.

Back to the actual doors you can route long strips of rail and stile stock then cut them to the required lengths (again cut stiles to the finished length of the door and rails are 4" less than the finished width) You need the sled to route the ends of the rails - use your set-up blocks to set the router bit to the correct height so the faces match when the rail & stile are assembled. 

Making the panels - I like laminated solid wood panels (plywood panels are for shaker doors), so that is what I'll explain. Stock must be edge jointed and planed to width. Width can be whatever you want, but bear in mind that wide boards cup, so 3" or less is best. When laying out your pieces, look at the end grain - boards must be joined so the rings alternate one up one down (see illustration below) to stabilize your panels - minimize warpage. Mark the front face 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. so you don't mix them up, then mark where the biscuits are going to be placed - cut the biscuit slots glue up - clamp the panels and set them aside to dry 24 hours. Once they are dried trim them to length and width and rough sand the front and back. (I leave the thickness a bit big so I can plane or thickness sand to final size at this stage) Now that your panels are sized, set up the raised panel bit in your router. It will take several passes on each panel to complete the profile, and remember to check the fit using your rails and stiles - the panel must slide freely. Make a pass across the end grain first then the side then the other end then the second side this will ensure that the corners don't splinter off when routed. When all routing is complete finish sand all the parts and dry fit the doors. When you're happy with the fit glue them up - assemble and clamp (do not glue the panel it must move freely). After 24 hours if using european hinges set up the drill press with 35mm forstner bit and cut the pockets for the hinges. You may now rough sand the doors - apply 1/4"round over to the back edges, and your decorative edge bit on the front edges and finish sand. Clean them with a tack cloth and apply stain - let dry and apply finish (at least 2 coats lightly sanding with 220 between coats) or if you prefer an all in one stain and finish combo (this is done in a clean room or you must clean your shop thoroughly so no dust is present.) I use semi gloss or satin water based diamond coat for finishing wood - it does a beautiful job, has almost no odour dries in a couple of hours and is very tough.

There you are armed with enough info to make doors. Now consider how these doors are a representation of the ministry - the apostle is the panel who moves freely between the other parts the prophet is the base rail then the stiles are the teacher and the evangelist, and the pastor is the other rail. No part is independant of the others - each is necessary to make a complete door, and unless they are properly joined and glued together the door will fail. It is the same with the ministry, unless all the parts are present and are joined together through the glue of the Holy Spirit, the ministry will fail. No part is more important than the others and all are required to build up the body until we all reach maturity as stated in Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — 
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
NKJV
What each joint supplies - our unique perspective, and experiences on our journey with Christ - to be shared with the whole body - each sharing what they have with all of the others - to bring with you and share with all what you have - a verse or a hymn or a psalm -each time you meet from house to house sharing in a love feast. This is not a body tied to brick and mortar it is a house made of living stones jointly fit together the Holy Spirit being the mortar - a habitation for Christ himself.