How to Make Custom Entry Doors

Plan

• Start by drawing out your door design full-size on a piece of plywood. Use a straightedge to draw out the outline of the door in the size needed. Draw the stiles and rails next. The stiles are the vertical pieces on the door. The rails are the horizontal pieces. For the sake of simplicity and building efficiency, make the door with two even panels: one at the top and one at the bottom with a dividing, horizontal rail in the center. If you feel daring, you can divide the panels in half vertically by adding another vertical to both panels, but it will be more difficult, time consuming and more costly. Once you've drawn the door to your specifications, measure the dimensions of the inside openings for panels.

Order Parts

• It's too difficult to run the parts you need to build a door without using large shapers, sanders, saws and other woodworking equipment. It's best to order the parts from a cabinet shop or a door shop if you have one in your area. Door shops use a mortise and tenon joint on their stiles and rails, but don't order them that way. It adds considerable cost, and you don't need mortise and tenons anyway. It's also imperative the ends of the stiles and rails are cut perfectly square. Most saws you might have in your garage can't handle it. Using your plan, order the stiles and rails 1 3/4-inch thick, sanded on all four sides and cut to length. Order the raised panels 1 1/4-inch thick, shaped and cut to size according to the openings on the plan. Order enough 5/8-by-5/8-inch, quarter-round molding to fit around the inside perimeter of each opening on the interior and exterior sides of the openings. The quarter-round is to secure the panels inside the frame. When you have all the stiles, rails and panels, lay them out on a worktable as if the door already was assembled.

Doweling

• Mark the dowel locations across the intersections of the rails and stiles; use three dowel marks for each joint. Separate the parts and draw a line centered on the end of each stile and rail for each dowel. Use a handheld doweling jig to drill 1 1/2-inch-deep holes for each dowel and the corresponding holes in both stiles and rails. Inject wood glue into all the holes. Tap dowels into the ends of all the stiles and rails, and slide the door together. Hit the sides of the door with a rubber mallet to drive everything tight together. Pick up the door and place it across two sawhorses. Place bar clamps across the door on the top and bottom at each joint, and tighten until glue oozes out all the holes. Allow the glue to dry overnight, then remove the clamps.

Panels

• Measure the dimensions of the inside openings. Set a miter saw at 45 degrees, and cut a piece of quarter-round molding for each side of the opening using the long points of the miters for the measurements. Use glue and a pin-nailer with 1-inch staples to nail the quarter-round molding along the inside edge of each panel opening so when you place the panel in the opening, the panel is centered. Two sides of the quarter-round are flat, and one side is round. One of the flat sides nails to the door, the other flat side faces the panel, the round side faces out, and the 45-degree miters fit together in the corners. The quarter-round molding creates a lip inside the opening to support the panel. Drop the panels into the opening. Repeat, installing quarter-round on top of the panel. Hold the molding tight against the panel and nail it in place to secure the panel inside the frame. Don't add glue to the panel. This type of panel should have room to expand and contract naturally.

Finish

• Putty all the nail holes with wood putty. When the putty is dry, sand all the corners, edges and molding smooth using 100-grit sandpaper. Mark the locations for hinges according to the existing jamb hinge locations. Use a chisel to cut the hinge mortises, and a hole saw to cut the doorknob and striker holes according to instructions per doorknob manufacturer. Stain the door if desired. Finish with at least two coats of exterior varnish, polyurethane or your choice of top coat. Make sure to seal the top, bottom and both sides to prevent moisture penetration.