Before the gluing and clamping operations are complete, check the door for square by measuring across its diagonal lengths, ensuring they are equal. Leave the door in the clamps for 24 hours to ensure a solid glue bond.
Once the glue has dried, remove the door from the clamps, sand thoroughly and fit into its opening.
Hang the door in the opening and trim it with new casing, plinth blocks and baseboard as desired. Be sure to prime the door with two coats of shellac-based primer to prevent the pine knots from bleeding through the paint. Finish with two coats of oil-based semi-gloss paint.
1. Once the material is cut to rough length and width (see plans), the next step is to cut a 1/2" x 1/2" groove in the centre of all the stiles and rails. I used a 3/8"-wide stacked dado blade on the tablesaw and raised the dado blade to 1/2" above the tablesaw surface. Centre the dado blade in the stock and cut a groove into one of the stiles. Turning the stock end for end and running the stile through again results in a 1/2"-wide groove that's 1/2" deep and centred in the stile. Test the cut on scrap material before committing to the actual door material. Clamp a featherboard to the tablesaw's surface to keep the stock tight against the fence during this operation. As you assemble the frame, insert four #20 biscuits at the intersection where the centre stiles meet the rails to help align the stiles with the rails.
2. Mortise the stiles with the aid of a simple platform for the router to sit on while plunging. Clamp this shopmade jig to the stile to support the router during the mortising operation, so the mortise is parallel to the face of the stock. Cut the mortises by plunging the router bit into the material and working to the layout lines and the prescribed depth of 2 1/4".
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