Thanks Rick, how deep did your tenons go into the stock? and what glue did
you use? yes i plan on "pinning" the tenons (character) BTW to router out
the inset for the glass I was just going to use a rabbiting bit and clean up
the corners. thanks


"Rick" wrote in message
.. .
mcgyver wrote:
Building an old growth fir front door. 2 Rails and 2 stiles(42"x80")
which will have a 30"x60" double pane of glass in the middle. I'm going
back and forth on traditional M&T joints or a floating tenon joint done
with my plunge router (I've done lots of these joints before) I'm
concerned about the strength and particularly whether this joint will
support the racking forces once the door is hung. I'm thinking 1/2"
think tenons by 5" wide and 2 1/2" deep mortices. Any suggestions on the
sizes needed to keep this together?
I have built numerous doors, all using floating tenons. I just delivered a
pair of 30" doors with tempered glass similar to what you've described.
Mine were made from Vertical Grain Doug Fir. My doors were
1 1/2" thick and I used 1/2" tenon stock.

I have never had a problem with doors sagging or racking, but the oldest
door is only 6 years old, so I guess it's possible that a problem could
develop in the future. If you have any qualms about the strength, I would
suggest that you drill for a metal screw in each tenon at the 4 corners,
and plug the holes with face grain doug fir plugs. However inelegant, the
screws add a lot of strength. Also, make sure your tenon stock really
matches with width of your mortises without any additional space in the
mortises. The tenons can't really rack if there isn't a void to rack into
. . .

Rick
http://www.thunderworksinc.com