With the door for the chickens done, I turned my attention to the door Maggie and I will use. The existing coop door had a number of gaps, which would not only allow drafts into the coop, but also rodents and other critters. I sketched out a design that would use 2x wood for the rails and stiles, and some tongue and groove siding for the panel. One trip to Menards, and I was set.
My Rigid contractor table saw has been great for projects, but its one flaw is the blade throat. Rigid does not make optional throats that would allow use of a dado blade. I have a Delta cabinet saw and a dado set for it, but that saw is still in storage due to the ongoing basement project. My router table provided a workaround. I cut two 2x4s for the stiles and two 2x6s for the rails. I drew a triangle on each pair to help me keep track of the correct orientation of each, a trick I learned in a woodworking class at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
I cut a dado into the rails and stiles, and used the router table to cut tenons into the stiles. Not the best tool, but after a couple of test pieces, I produced serviceable tenons. I laid out the rails and stiles on the floor, and used that to determine the size and spacing of the tongue and groove siding for the panel. I glued everything together, and used pocket screws to join the rails and stiles together. A crosspiece was addedfor additional bracing. Lastly, I used a chisel to cut mortises for some steel brackets to provide additional strength to the joint
A coat of primer and two coats of red barn paint, and the door was ready to go. We ended up with one last nice day in November, just before Thanksgiving, and I used that afternoon to install the door. The old door was held in place with strap hinges nailed through the building siding, which were easy to remove. I then cut mortises in the door for some new hinges. Fitting the new door proved to be a bit of a challenge as the building is not square. I removed the header trim, and with the help of some shims and a little chisel work on the trim, was able to get the door into place and install the hinges. I trimmed the header and reinstalled it, added some hardware, and the door was in. I need to install some stops along the frame to address some gaps, but that will be a project for the spring. For now, we have a solid new door that will hopefully protect our future chickens.
Kommentare