These are The Celtic Cross Entry Doors

These doors are called
The Celtic Cross Entrance Doors
They are each 32" by 84"
They are constructed of Old Growth VG Redwood
with curly VG Redwood Panels
and the "circle and rays" are gilded with gold leaf.


Here are the completed doors. The styles and rails are matching vertical grain Old Growth Redwood. The panels are Curly Redwood and they are also Old Growth. The Celtic Cross "Sun and Rays" are guilded with 2 different sheen's of 24k Gold Leaf		Here are the doors on their New Home !

Here are the completed doors. The styles and rails are matching vertical grain Old Growth Redwood. The panels are Curly Redwood and they are also Old Growth. The Celtic Cross "Sun and Rays" are guilded with 2 different sheen's of 24k Gold Leaf

Click On Images to Enlarge

Here is the 5th or 6th, and final, generation drawing

Here is a close-up of the Sun and Rays
The circle gold is a matted gold and
the rays are a shiny finish

Here is a view of the inside of the doors

Click On Images to Enlarge

The Circle is a true circle that is carved into the Redwood

and the carved Sun circle is deeper

then the Rays

Here is a close-up of the front of the door

the inlaid gold leaf brings the Celtic Cross to life

Here is the back of that same door

here is a close-up of the wood

look at this beautiful wood

All of the panel wood is curly Redwood and it is book matched

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and each piece in the panels match the piece next to it

CLICK HERE to see how the panels were guilded

such beautiful wood

~ Below is the provenance of the making of these doors ~

Here is the Old Growth Virgin Redwood I'm going to use in the door

I worked on the design, with the client, for over a year and a half ..... and here is the final drawing.

and ......... here is the final door. How did I do?

This wood is 500 to 1000 years old

and you can see how dense this wood really is

There are 40 plus growth rings to the inch

Click On Images to Enlarge

I had add pieces on to the door to make the tapered cross

here are the pieces of the door frames after I machined them

See the pieces that will be tapered

Here are the horizontal rails

I made a template that will help me pull off the design

another view

the I cut it out on the band saw

take your

think I'll save this explanation for "the book"

clamps, templates make it all work

I flushed everything with a router

the template is screwed into the rebate

here it is flushed to my template

a look down the style

nice taper

and the the other side with the same template

Click On Images to Enlarge

here is the detailed edge and rebate, before creating the mortise in the top, mid, and bottom

a view of the top

here is the door frame laid out for preliminary fitting

then added the mid rail

nice taper

then the other side

here we start the glue up of the right side

we clean, remove, and wash all the excess glue

here the door will stay in clamps for 3 to 4 days

here is the second door set in clamps

here is the right door, out of clamps

and the left door

here they are together .........

for the first time

here is the sub-base for the panels

what's he up to ?

Here the book matched curly Redwood for the panels

Here I placed them together an wetted them with water. Such beautiful wood.

Here I am gluing them together

into big sheets

then we sanded them in a dimensional sander

the panels are pressed in our vacuum press and stay in the press for at least 2 days

and here they are out of the press

the excess glue is "grated" off

Here are the panel blanks

here I am starting to make "blanks" for the cross

I laminated 2 pieces of mdf

I'm cutting out the cross

carefully

here is the finished product

I practiced on a piece of mdf

it works !!

and fits

here you can see the "sun" is recessed into the Redwood

this is a mockup of the center door styles and mid rails ...... this helps make the "sun" circle a true circle in the Celtic Cross

here is the template, on paper, for the "sun rays"

here they are laid out on the wood

and here are two of the three rays engraved in the Redwood

from another view

a finished upper panel

here is a carved lower completed panel

.... I pulled it off !!

This was the final drawing

and here is the finished product

so now ....... the finishing begins

this is treated like furniture for you "wall"

and sanded to furniture grade

and finishing the bevel by hand

here are the panels ready for our varnish oil

time to sign the doors

with pride

then I mortised for the hinges

and we gave the door frames a final sanding, first by machine

........ and then by hand

here is one of the doors, outside, ready for oil

that door is "looking up" into these Redwood trees .......... here at mendocino Doors

here is that door after its' first coat of oil. The 1st of 4 coats

such fine and exceptional virgin Redwood

the doors cure for at least 3-4 days between coats

they both cure

here are the panels being oiled

the oil soaks into the wood for at least and hour and half.



Here are the finished (oiled) panels wrapped for delivery to be guilded	Here they are laid out	here they will be gold-leafed


by the Sign Shop of Fort Bragg	Here the doors receive their fourth coat of varnish oil	soooooo ....... let's put it all together


the dust is from the gold-leafing process	WOW !	so we reoil the wood, without touching the gold leaf


make it perfect	then we select the stops	and then we hand cut each stop for a perfect fit


The panels are set in a siliconized latex caulking that turns translucent clear when cured	here is a piece of leftover wood from these doors ....... wanted to show that it was really "salvaged" Redwood	Here Glen, is sanding the astragal for between the two doors

and the he hand sands and finishes the astragal

Here is a picture of the end view of the Astragal. The groove is for weather-stripping

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