M&T Jarah Door rebuild questions

[ptrott]

Hi all

I am in the process of re-building a jarrah door. (It was a five light old style front door, now a one light.) It has been made with M&T joints, and I have completely dismantled the door, removed all paint etc. and am ready to re-assemble it.

Firstly, I am not sure what glue to use. It is to be an exterior door so glue needs to be water resistant. I need it to be a glue with a good Open time as I need to take my time to get it all assembled square. I bought some Tightbond III for it but it seems to have a very short Open time.

Secondly, do I glue the whole surface area of the tenon and the haunch tongue? I read in an old joinery book that it is not necessary to glue the whole lot, but I dont want this thing to come apart down the track.

Thirdly, the same book suggests gluing it and clamping it up then gluing the wedges in later. If that is the case, do I clamp the sides of the mortise onto the tenon as well as clamping the joint into its Home Position?

Fourthly, do I drive the wedges in pretty hard and alternate hammer blows from one side wedge to the other side wedge (of the same tenon)?

Would it be a good idea to assemble the top and bottom rail to one stile first and wait for the glue to harden, then put the other stile on?

I have obviously never done this before and am completely in the dark, so all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Phill.

[Carpenter]

Hi Phill,
I'm jealous about the jarrah door, not something seen over here on the east coast. I've fixed up many doors for clients wanting to recycle them, but have never taken one completely apart (time is money). The Titebond would be OK as you say except for the short work time. As with any glue up, you have to get organised for the big moment, so any time saved will help. Getting the glue on quick is a good way to gain time, so dont fiddle with the bottle, just poor it into a dish & get it on fast with a small paint brush & dont worry about the mess. See if you can find or make something like an oversized pipe cleaner that you can dunk into the glue dish/bucket & get the glue into the mortice's quickly. You could do one side first, them the other & then clamp. I'd be putting the wedges in last after its all clamped up but before the glue goes off, & I think you'll find the whole thing will allign all by itself. You shouldn't have to belt the living hell out of the wedges, just snug them up together. If the wedges are too short or go below the surface, I find it handy to use an appropriately sized pin punch to do the driving. Remember, the glue you're using is far superior to the original stuff, so its going to be bloody strong. Assemble it all at once & if in doubt, get a friend to help. Just make sure you have the plan of attack all sorted before you get the glue out. Dont forget the water bucket & rag/sponge for the clean up.

[ptrott]

Thanks Carpenter.
I'll give it a go the way you suggest.
I'll let you know what happens.

Phill.

[ptrott]

Thanks Carpenter.
Followed your advice and it turned out well.
S/Hand Jarrah is still reasonably cheap here but new is getting scarce and expensive.
This is it in its new frame (not quite finished yet)

[Ben (TM)]

Looks sweeeeeeeeet. Good job

[Carpenter]

My pleasure Phil. Glad to see all went well.