Making divided lite doors without a window sash bit

[John TenEyck]

To make true divided light doors w/o a shaper you typically need a window sash router bit to cut the molding on the show side and the rabbet on the glass side, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Freud-99-051-...indow+sash+bit

I couldn't find a bit with a profile like what I needed to match an existing door, but I did find a molding bit with a near perfect profile: http://www.grizzly.com/search?q=(c1755)

Since this bit is symmetrical, with the same cove and bead radii, it can be used to make the sticking as well as the cope cuts needed. After realizing that, I remembered a process Steve Latta described in FWW a few years ago to make divided lite doors, and that's what I used to make this door, and two more yet to be made.



The process is pretty simple. You mold the inside edges of the stiles and rails, then use jack miters. I used big loose tenons to join the stiles and rails, cut on my slot mortiser.





Then you mill mortises in the stiles/rails for a grid that becomes the rabbeted side of what a sash bit would cut. My grid was 1/2" thick, so I used a 1/2" drill and 1/2" mortising chisel to cut those mortises about 5/16" deep.



Next you make the grid parts with rabbets on the ends and dados for the grid to interlock.



When assembled in the back side of the door it looks like this and, at this point, you can glue up the door frame:



Now you use the router bit to cut copes on the ends of the muntin bars and then the same molded edge on the other side that was used on the inner edges of the stiles/rails.



To fit the muntins in place you plow a dado in the bottom of them to fit over the gridwork.



I fit the horizontal muntins first and then the vertical pieces to complete the job. It's assembled with glue only for a nice clean look:



Thought you might enjoy that.

John

[Andrew Hughes]

I like it, nice work John very precise.

[Mel Fulks]

Looks good. And that bit is working well. If I may ,I want to point out something that had to be pointed out to me. By the nature of that bit we think of the cope, sticking joint being perfect. But it almost never is. So much area and strength in those rounded surfaces that there is a small crack between the flat butt joints while the copes are perfect. That can be worked out ,if desired, or not ,without complaint. But when making sash with tenon machines and stickers a better look and durability is gotten by by making the cope a tad deeper; then the butt is completely together and the very small opening at cope is completely obscured by the paint or varnish in the corners.

[John TenEyck]

Right you are Mel. I had to readjust the bit height for the cope and sticking cuts, and found the fit to be better if I cut the cope a smidge deeper than the sticking. It still wasn't perfect because the bit is likely not an exact mirror image of itself, it is a molding bit and not made specifically for cope/stick cuts after all, but it's really good and I'm confident the joints will be invisible for all practical purposes after the finish is applied.

John

[George Bokros]

Nice work John.

[Chris Hachet]

Gorgeous Door!