Take up woodworking they said. It will be fun

[Kizar_Sozay]

Decided to make some screen doors.  Went to the big box and picked through the 2x6s to find enough clean doug fir to make the doors and jambs.
Took them home and milled them to thickness with a resaw on the BS and planed with the planer.
Cut to desired dimensions.
Make mortises with the mortiser, clean up with chisels.
Using a straight bit I make the tenons, sneaking up on a snug fit.
Clean up the shoulders with a chisel
Glue up.  Everything going smoothly.
Patch up knots and misc with Famowood
Sand everything with 120, then 220
Recess hinges on the edge with chisel.
Put a decorative edge on the exterior side.
Flip over to make a rabbet for the screen frame.
I apparently missed the detent depth stop (Bosch 1671) when changing to the rabbeting bit.  As I'm on the last side of the last rabbet I hit a knot and there's some minor damage I can fix.
About three inches later, the depth detent slips and router slowly descends until I notice the feel.  By then I've gone nearly halfway through the door.
This was the LAST bit of machine work on the project.  Nothing left but to chisel out the inside corners and then start priming and painting.

Usually when I mess up a piece I throw it against the wall, cuss and go in the house for a day or so.  This was an entire door so no throwing but mitigated with extra cussing.

I gave it a shot of layers of Famowood but even as I'm doing it I hate the idea and know its going to be junk even hidden by paint.

I've decided to cut out the offending section and scarf in a new piece.  This means cutting enough away with a hand saw so I can prop up the table and finish the cut on the BS.  I'll have to resaw and plane a new piece, then sneak up on the fit.  decided I'll probably dowel it in.

The whole project was turning out great right until I noticed the router was sounding funny.  That Whiteside rabbeting bit set just ate up the work.  Lowe's had pre-made wooden screen doors for eighty bucks.  I had about $35-40 invested with the lumber and the screening and frame kit.  I still would have had to make jamb extensions.  Fun, fun, fun.

[fredhargis]

 I have to think there was one or 2 mishaps you skipped, but overall it's sounds about right.

[Hank Knight]

I hate routers for that very reason! I can screw up work faster with a router by accident than I ever could on purpose.

[jteneyck]

Been there, done that, more than once.  Can't say I ever missed a detent stop, though, but I've had bits slip in the collet and dive deeper into a piece, even completely through a door once.  I sent that router to router hell.  

John

[joe1086]

Was this just standard borg construction lumber, and did the fir stay straight after you resawed/milled it? Just curious as I have a door like that to make in the near future.

[Kizar_Sozay]

Was this just standard borg construction lumber, and did the fir stay straight after you resawed/milled it? Just curious as I have a door like that to make in the near future.

Just borg 2 x 6 but I picked the ones I wanted and then the boards lay on the garage floor for a month or so until things dried out. No issue with any twist or turning into skis.  I made another a year ago from some B grade redwood 2 x 6s.  I had enough of the redwood left over for one of the stiles.  The redwood was much easier to work because of the shorter grain so no real splintering issue.  Harder to finish though because it bleeds through the primer. To me the redwood is worth paying twice the price.  Of course redwood isn't available nationwide.  I'd made a pair of screen doors several years ago and used Watco Teak oil for the finish (UV and mildew resistant).  They looked superb but the finish eventually went away through flaking off.  It was pretty easy to sand and feather and then re-apply.  The second time I opted to go with white paint.  Afternoon summer sun here is brutal.

[joe1086]

Great feedback, thanks.

[Cooler]

I built a screen door in  one  afternoon. 

I bought 5/4 pine from Lowes.  I picked pieces that were straight. 

I cut to size figuring on butt joints plus floating tenons.  I used two 3/8" beadlock tenons for the top, bottom and middle cross pieces.  Assembly went smoothly.

I Then used a rabbet bit to cut out for the screens.  I cleaned up the corners with a chisel. 

The following day I put on one coat of primer and one coat of color.  I followed up with a second coat of color. 

The door frame originally had a screen door and I did not need to make a frame.  I used spring hinges and a fixed door handle.  It is a year old and it remains straight and true. 

I figured the wood at about $35.00 plus the removable screens.  I could have (and probably should have) simply stapled the fabric.  It would have looked better and would have saved about $25.00.

I had no choice on this as my door was 28" wide and it would have required a $200.00 custom door (which I would not have done).  I am planning on a second screen door for the back door. (Though my to-do list may make this a project that never gets done.)

On a side note people told me, "Get a dog; you will meet women."  So I bought a Doberman.  No women showed up.

  I followed up with a German Shepherd to the same result.  Then I got a Chesapeake Bay Retriever who attracted children and women--he was a very good looking dog, and irresistible as t pup--but he was insanely protective and as an adult he would warn off anyone approaching.  Maybe I should have bought a hamster.

[K. L. McReynolds]

Early on in my woodworking saga, I had a router that I kinda liked. It worked ok and I used it a lot by holding it(no table). Then, one day, I was perusing WoodNet and read a thread about my router having an automatic adjustment feature. I did not realize this model Craftsman router had that feature. Soon after reading that thread, I experienced the self adjusting feature.

I then discovered that Craftsman router could fly.

[Kizar_Sozay]

I remember lending my brother some router bits for a project of his.  His mistake was bottoming the bit into the chuck, not allowing for the little flare where the weld is.  He was routing something in a table when the bit did a Harrier Jet impression and took off.

Was thinking about my repair project:

I've milled a piece of doug fir to the right thickness.
I'll pencil out  the shape of the piece I want to replace for my design feature square to the edge, about 14" x 1.5"
I'll cut the 1.5" ends out with a Japanese saw, more confident with getting a square cut then with a scroll saw.
Then I'll cut up close to the line with a scroll saw, staying the waste.
I'll use a template and a flush cut bit, securely in place, to finish off the 14" square.
Cut the 14" piece a tad long and a tad wide and sneak up on a snug fit in length with a cutoff saw and a stop I can gradually fill with shim stock until I get it right.
I'll cut the replacement piece a bit wide, glue it and dowel it.
When dry I'll sand anything not flush and use the flush cut bit to even everything up.
Then I will use the rabbeting bit again and fill any voids with putty knife and Famowood.

This will complete the woodworking but even though people will say what a nice job I did, I will only see the screwup and it will stick in my craw every time I go through the door.