Need to bounce something off the collected wisdom of the forum….
I’m building interior doors for my antique home. These doors will be painted poplar, frame and panel, with historically accurate profiles. I built the first door using 6/4 stock milled to 1-3/8″. Everything looks good.
Only 9 more doors to go…
The question is whether I should keep using 6/4 stock or glue up 4/4 stock to prevent any future warping of the rails and stiles. My experience over the past 20 years or so has been good using thicker stock, but some wise oldsters keep telling me I’m asking for trouble.
What are your thoughts?
Art
Replies
I see no need to glue up for rails and stiles. I have built many doors, both interior and exterior, using solid stock for the thickness needed for rails and stiles (up to 1-3/4"), and have never had a problem. I have not used poplar for doors, but as long as the stock doesn't twist and and otherwise misbehave when you saw it to width, you have no worries. It's also a good idea to let the stock acclimatiize to the humidity and temperatures of the house before making joints.
short story....
If your stock is stable, solid stock is preferable as in less work.
Stability [in a given species] is mostly a factor of proper drying and more importantly a minimum of pent up stress in the wood from wild grain or fast growth. The latter is evidenced by wide spaced or wavey growth rings.