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About doors
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About doors Unknown Doors can be seen as a barricade or as a portal. They're both. Very likely the first doors were rocks piled at the entrance to a cave or hut, and it would have been discovered that draping a hide over a small opening in the barricade would further cut off drafts. The earliest villages discovered by archaeologists are clusters of houses with no doors or windows. Access to the inside of these houses was gained by climbing a ladder to the roof and entering through a hole in the roof. The ladder could then be pulled up behind you and you descended another ladder, or the same one lowered into the room below. Neolithic man was not technologically stunted- they were inventing at a pretty good clip in the context of the times. Generations build on the knowledge acquired by those who came before. They were using a relatively clean slate, and we've forgotten much of what they had to teach us. A five thousand year old door has been unearthed in Switzerland, from the late Neolithic period. Using tree ring dating it's estimated that it may have been built about three thousand sixty three B.C. The door was made of aligned planks and appears to have been held together by splines and pegs. This door has hinges, another invention of Neolithic man and deserving of its own historical examination. The door was found on the site of a village of stilt houses, where wood would have been plentiful and woodworking an accomplished art. A Swiss wooden door, circa 3063 B.C.  This construction method is similar to the sliding dovetail door that I made for my own cellar. The planks are laid out in the pattern of the finished door. The planks are tongued and grooved to match each other and eliminate gaps. Two grooves are cut laterally in the surface of the planks, one near the top and one near the bottom. The edges of the cut are angled to match an angle on the spline- a dovetail- to be slid into the groove, preventing it from simply popping out and precluding the use of any fasteners or glue. In fact, you don't want any glue in this case because wood moves with changes in humidity and the planks need to be able to move as they expand and contract when they absorb moisture and then dry out again. Four glued wooden pegs on either end of each of the splines keep the spline from sliding out again and secure it laterally to the plank door. I might have made wooden hinges and latch for my door, but I was content to simply make the entire door of wood without nails or screws. My cellar door. Made with joinery instead of nails or screws.    Some of the earliest doors on record are those on Egyptian tombs. These are often made of a single plank. In the dry desert climate warping would not have been the concern that it was in Europe, and there would have been minimal movement of the wood. Stone doors were often made for very important or sacred buildings. They would be very durable and not at all subject to expansion and contraction. Those at Nippur, an ancient Sumerian city, were of dolerite, a sub-volcanic rock, and swung on dowel like pivots that fitted sockets in the lintel and sill of the doorway. The construction in stone mirrored that used in wood, the masons cutting mortises and tenons on the stone beams and columns just as a joiner would in a timber frame building. Some early tenons were also sheathed in bronze. A Roman basalt stone door from Azrac, Jordan  In the west it wasn't until the industrial revolution that iron and nails became commonplace in buildings, but doors were a place to spend the money. Nails had to be made from a plank of iron heated in a forge by a blacksmith and then tediously cut by hand, hence the term "cut" nails. A head was then formed and after the nails were driven in a plank door they were clinched, or bent over, to prevent them from retracting. So, "deader than a doornail". It wasn't unheard of in this country to burn down an old building and sift the ashes for the nails to reuse them in a new project. A clinched nail door.  Plank doors can benefit from using a diagonal brace, and often this is just a board with the ends cut on a bias and pegged, nailed or screwed to the planks, but it helps to let in the ends to add strength. I copied a pattern, called a bird's mouth, from a wicket door- a walk through door in a larger door- on a barn I once owned and use it in all my gates now. It's sturdy, not difficult to cut and takes a lot of the stress off the screws or nails. The brace is set on a diagonal for the same reason that knee braces are needed to buttress a post to a beam in traditional construction- it's harder to deform a triangle than a square. If you keep in mind what you're trying to accomplish here- keeping the door or gate from sagging under its own weight- it isn't hard to let in a brace that will firm things up. My garden gate with birdsmouthed diagonal brace.   Raised panel doors are beautiful to look at and it takes some skill to build them. It isn't conservation of materials or aesthetic considerations that gave rise to the method though. Once again it's that fact that wood takes on moisture from the air and expands, and contracts again when drying out. The parts of a panel door are the stiles, the upright boards that frame the edges of the door vertically, the rails, which complete the frame horizontally and tie the stiles together, and the panels, which fill the gaps left over. Stiles and rails have a groove cut down the length of the interior edges and a panel is loosely inserted in that groove, so that it can float freely as it swells and then dries naturally. The smaller amount of wood in the stiles and rails of a panel door means that there will be less expansion and contraction going on than in a solid door. Mortises- merely rectangular holes- are typically cut near the bottom and top of each stile and a matching tenon or post cut on the ends of the rails to fit closely in the mortises. A haunch is often cut as well to fit the groove cut for the panel. Raises are formed on a panel by beginning with a panel that is thicker than necessary. The perimeter of each panel is planed or sawn down to match the groove on the frame, leaving a raised field. The embellishment of the field by special cuts and the addition of molded cuts along the stiles and rails creates shadow lines on the finished door and makes it a thing of beauty, and a showpiece of the craftsman's skill. A simple utilitarian panel door.  An old raised panel door.  I once made a pair of raised panel cabinet doors for my house entirely by hand, using wooden planes, hand saws and chisels. I lost that house in a divorce and unfortunately have no photos of those doors, but I was proud of them. A panel raising plane would have been used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to form the panels, if the craftsman could afford one, but it's a complicated and somewhat rare find among antique tools, and kind of pricey, too, so I used what I had on hand. I planed a groove describing the rectangle of the field with a wooden plow plane that plows a quarter inch groove. That plane has a fence regulating how far from the edge it cuts. A rabbet plane would have done the entire job, as it cuts clear across its width- and then used a regular bench plane to cut the bevels down to the correct thickness. I mixed a stain to resemble fumed oak- the real thing is dangerous to try, using toxic chemicals. The whole pair of doors were made from scrounged wood- oak pallet lumber and a couple of old oak planks from the stable floor. It didn't cost me a nickel. Wide doors are often seen as inviting, welcoming, while narrow doors appear restrictive. But all doors, and doorways, make us curious as to what lies beyond. When visiting someplace new, we want to open doors to rooms and cabinets and see what's in there- if nobody's looking. Locked doors will make us even more curious. You want in! If it's locked, it must conceal something worth seeing. I always want to see how a door is made, most especially in an old building. They were often thrifty with materials, but in some buildings would spare no expense and it's interesting to decide if the doors fit the rest of the building or if they're a bit of an extravagance. I found a wonderful old "primitive" cabinet in an antique store with handmade raised panel doors. The panels had no sharply defined field. The cabinet maker had simply feathered the panels with a plane or drawknife to fit the groove in the frame. I wanted that cabinet but I couldn't afford it. Now I can't remember why I thought I couldn't afford it. Modern doors sometimes mimic the appearance of old panel or plank doors, but they're usually made with veneers or synthetic materials that won't expand or contract with changes in humidity and the look is just that- a look, and serves no structural purpose. I hate these doors. A thing should look like what it is. You can dress it up to show off your talents at carving and your own sense of whimsy, but I never see this in plywood or aluminum. Steel doors that you might find in a home center frequently have moldings applied to the surfaces to make them look pleasing and traditional to the eye, or they might be stamped, but they look like plain steel doors with stuff glued to them to me. They may be stronger doors and might resist the elements better, but I'm not convinced. Mostly, I think they're just cheap- real craftsmanship costs money. How many of those things will future archeologists discover five thousand years from now, and what will they think of us for making them and buying them? Become a member now and get a free tote bag. |
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Thank you Leo. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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WOW!!!! In a few minutes I've learned more about doors and how to make them than in my entire life! Yes, a small 5000 years old door is more significant than an ostentatious entranceway. Visit my blog It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World of NaughtyInSO, leave a comment, become a watcher. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE AND LET LIVE Be happy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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I'm so glad you decided to participate after all. Excellent post!!!!!!!    WITHOUT PASSION LIFE IS NOTHING
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They're both significant. Both are art and craftsmanship. I'm interested in the accumulation of knowledge. You can learn at your grandfather's knee or in a university, but knowledge is passed on from generation to generation if only we will listen. Ancient people knew things that we have discarded and this is a shame. I think they were attuned to senses that we mostly eschew as unscientific and unproven. They were integral with their environment in a way that many of us can't fathom. This is a great loss. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I'm so glad you decided to participate after all. Excellent post!!!!!!! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Doors made of stone always perplexed me. So heavy! "To Be Consumed" Blog : I want to be your drug of painful withdrawals.
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Who'd a thunk we'd get a bit of "this old house " and "history channel " on a "sex site " Very informative!
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Who'd a thunk we'd get a bit of "this old house " and "history channel " on a "sex site " Very informative! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Dang it! I missed the part where we were supposed to make our own doors gates and bridges. Are you as good with locks as you are with doors? I mistrust this curiosity of yours! Say, aren't you the guy I saw on PBS? Impressive knowledge of carpentry techniques, I must say. Thanks, and blog on!
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I love wood and would have liked to learn how to do what you've described here. Thank you for sharing your photos...you have many gifts...
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Superbe leçon de menuiserie , en France tu pourrais être maître ébéniste . Superb carpentry lesson , you could be in France Master cabinetmaker . Poton Bisou Kisses
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What a masterpiece on doors! I hope one day you'll tell us what happens in your cellar!  
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very cool post! Respond to every call that excites Your Spirit ~Rumi  ..
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Dang it! I missed the part where we were supposed to make our own doors gates and bridges. Are you as good with locks as you are with doors? I mistrust this curiosity of yours! Say, aren't you the guy I saw on PBS? Impressive knowledge of carpentry techniques, I must say. Thanks, and blog on! OK- I just gagged writing that. I'm glad I didn't have to say it out loud. I like making things and I especially like making them the quiet way, with very old tools. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I love wood and would have liked to learn how to do what you've described here. Thank you for sharing your photos...you have many gifts... Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Superbe leçon de menuiserie , en France tu pourrais être maître ébéniste . Superb carpentry lesson , you could be in France Master cabinetmaker . Poton Bisou Kisses I'd hardly be a master, but I would be an eager student. The Roubo workbench and the simple and elegant holding devices he documented are the gold standard among woodworkers. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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What a masterpiece on doors! I hope one day you'll tell us what happens in your cellar! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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very cool post! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thank you! I love old doors, and old joinery. Raised panel doors are timber framing on a small scale. They're practical and beautiful at once. Sometimes the most lovely are the least embellished, with plain utilitarian lines. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I've never seen so much wood and nary a naked woman to enjoy it! Lovely wood work! Thanks, mac. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thanks! Fun with joints! I've heard a lot about Ikea but I don't know anything about it. I don't think I've ever seen a piece of furniture from there. Our house is a mix of old and new. We buy antiques where we can find them and get a good deal but we're both too frugal to spend much. I never buy gates though. They're fun to make and I always have scrounged lumber lying around. It's very satisfying to build with found materials. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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In a more spiritual sense, do we not all make our own doors, gates and bridges? OK- I just gagged writing that. I'm glad I didn't have to say it out loud. I like making things and I especially like making them the quiet way, with very old tools. oh well, blog on!
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I too, liked his comment. blog on!
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Thank you dear. These sex sites are dangerous. Best to wear dark glasses until you see where you've landed. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Lucky you. I was unable to control the impulse and just barfed over everything... oh well, blog on! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Notre vie est un voyage-♦-Dans l'hiver et dans la nuit
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