I've been tossing around making an entry door. The existing one was kicked down when we were out of town. And it's 26 years old. I was able to fix the door but the break in took its toll on it.
I've read a number of articles but none had step-by-step instructions nor did they have any information about do's and dont's. I know the joints need to be perfect, the wood grain has to be very straight and long tenons are needed.
I've seen solid wood doors made from mahogany, oak, alder and Douglas fir. I was thinking mahogany. I have a nice piece of African mahogany that I could use for the stiles and some smaller pieces. I found a door I really like. But can I make it so it will last?
What I'm thinking is using Freud's entry door router bits. They have pretty good instructions and the bits come with a DVD, so maybe that will be better than the PDF instructions. They recommend 2-1/2" tenons on three rails. The door I have in mind has no middle rail but this door is being sold as an entry door so it must work.
I've made dozens of cabinet doors and Freud's entry door bits work on the same principle. The curve on the top would be made with two pieces in order to minimize short grain runs. The tenons look pretty straightforward. The mortises would require either using a mortiser or making a jig to rout them out then clean up the corners with a chisel. The bit set cuts 5/8" wide dados. I'd have to buy a 5/8" hollow chisel bit for my mortiser if I went that route. (adds $90 to the cost)
For the panels, I'd make two pieces 3/4" thick, inside and outside, separated by 1/4" solid insulation. That would leave me a 3/16" edge on each panel to fit into the dado. I have two styles of panel bits (CMT) that I could use for the panels. They have back cutters that leaves 1/4" edge so I don't think cutting another 1/16" off would be an issue. They can cut a profile up to 5/8" deep (I'd use 9/16" of that) but I'm not sure how that would look, considering their profile. I'd have to check that out on a piece of scrap.
I'm thinking I'd make the short rails with tenons. Either that or use 1/2" dowels. I'm unsure how structurally sound it would be having tenons only on the top and bottom rails.
I took the image of the door and used AutoCAD to blow it up to size then drew the rails and stiles over that. Then I took Freud's router bit profile and created 3D parts and pieces out of the whole thing to see what I'd be in store for. I know I can make it. What I don't know is is the design structurally sound enough to hold up to the rigors an entry door endures?