French Door Router Sets

[Jonathan Spool]

I am looking at a Freud French Door Router Set, as I plan to build some interior doors for my own home, which will have shoji style divided lites.
The description of the set makes no mention of a recoverable bead bit.
I imagine I must make the doors with recoverable beads or I could never make a glass repair. Does anyone either have this set and can tell me whether the beads are recoverable, or can someone recommend another set that would work for me?
If I choose to include an arched muntin across the top can someone recommend a site or a book where I can get a tutorial as how to build it? Would this be extaordinarily difficult, or is there a method that makes it workable.
This is a picture I found online that is similar to what I envision building.


If I use heavier glass than 1/8" perhaps I could forego the removable beads? The process of making a retaining bead along the curved muntin baffles me.

These are my first passage doors I will have built.

Jonathan

[Neal Clayton]

looks like their french door sets are just like the regular door sets, only with a smaller bit for a smaller muntin.

you don't need the smaller bit, you can make the muntins bigger with the same profile as the rails/stiles, alternatively.

as for the curved muntin, there's a couple of ways to skin that cat. make a straight one and steam bend it. or cut a curved one to start from a wide board. if you go curved to start you have to cut everything with a router, since that curved board obviously won't go through a straight saw blade. that means building a jig that matches the curve for your router to run in to cut the glass rabbet. considering all that, steam bending it after the fact might be the easier way.

cutting the stick profile on the curved muntin isn't difficult, the stick profile has a bearing to guide the board with. cutting the cope profile on a curved muntin will be tricky. you'll have to discover the angle as best you can and file the rest, probably. another point for steam bending after.

in short yes this is difficult for a first time door build. not impossible, but difficult .

[Charles McCracken]

Jonathin,

The Freud French Door Bit Sets do not create the removable bead in the same operation as the muntin profiling. You use the same bit to make them in a secondary step. You will need a template and a small diameter bit to cut the bead part off when making radius bead. Does that make sense?

[Jonathan Spool]

I thinks I understands. This is the Freud recoverable bead bit. It is already offset an eighth of an inch in order to compensate for the stock an eighth inch saw blade will remove. Is this the type of bit that comes with the set?
Jonathan

[Charles McCracken]

Jonathon,

No, the profile/sticking bit that comes with the French Door Divided Lite set is the one on the left in the two sets in this picture:



It cuts the profile for one face and the rabbet for the glass. You would use the same bit on a separate piece to make the bead.

[Brian Williamson]

Hi Charles. It's nice to see someone from Freud cruising SMC! I am considering using this set of bits to do a door and some windows. I've done some searching on the net and found a few nice demonstrations of window bit sets in use, so I've seen similar bits in use before and understand the sticking/coping arrangement. One thing I don't understand about the 3 bit french door set is the purpose of the 3rd straight bit. Are there instructions on the internet anywhere on the use of the 3 bit set?

Thanks!

[scott spencer]

The only doors I've ever made were done using the Freud entry door set, and it works beautifully. There's a lot of flexibility built into the set for door thickness and tenon length. Dunno if they'll apply to your application or not.

[Brian Williamson]

Nice!

I think I'll be ordering some of those bits!

How'd the doors turn out?