This is an entry I call
The Volterra
It is 42" x 80" x 1-3/4"
with a 20" sidelight
The Volterra is constructed of Genuine Mahogany
with old growth Redwood panels
It has handmade fused amber glass lites

Here is the original drawing of the proposed door

and here is the finished door and sidelight

another view of the entry door

..... and the sidelight


Click on Any Image to Enlarge

Here is a close-up of the fused amber glass in the sidelight

Here is a close-up of the glass in the entry door
The fused glass is made by
April Zilber Glass of Santa Cruz

Here is a view of the dentil shelf and custom fused glass

The dentil shelf is attached to the posts with stainless steel screws and Rosewood pins

Here is a close-up of the 15" old growth Redwood sidelight panel

And here is a close- of the old growth Redwood panels in the entry door

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Here is the pictorial history of how The Volterra Door was constructed

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All of my materials are placed in a heated environment to stabilize before machining

Here are some "end cuts" showing the exceptional quality of the materials I use for my doors

one piece has 39 growth rings (or years of growth) in 1 inch

after planing .... the pieces for the sidelight "settle down" before the final machining and assembly

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each mullion is hand fitted

and bored for Mahogany dowels

...... then each vertical mullion is hand fitted for a perfect fit

at glue up ...... the excess glue is wiped off ........ and we "scrub" the corners with a toothbrush.

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The sidelight remains in clamps for 3-4 days ........ the glue will fully cure ....... and hopefully .....

...... last that 100 years of existence I'm "shooting" for !!

...... then the machining starts on the Entrance Door

The styles are ruff machines and allowed to "settle down"

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Here the pieces are being thickness planed

.... and jointed flat on face ...... from rough lumber

Here are the pieces for the door, after planing to thickness, and about to be cut to width and length

..... before the slot tennon is machined ........ the ends are coped with a male machined detail

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here are the mullions after machining

here .... the fitting begins .... piece by piece ...... and then the pieces are marked for splined tennons

...... each mullion is individually cut and fitted

..... so they fit like this ...... perfectly!

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The average door has at least 14 clamps to achieve flat and tight joints

Here the door will cure for 4 days till it can come out of the clamps

Here is the entrance door out of clamps

Here is the door and sidelight

Then ...... the finishing begins. All of the chamfered molded edges are hand sanded to a "furniture:" finish

......... and sanded

Here is the panel stock I've picked for the sidelight panel. It is old growth Redwood ..... 1pc 20" plank

I scanned the end grain to show the quality of wood ........ I figured this plank came from a 6ft diameter tree!

all of the chamfered stops are made from matching Mahogany

The stops then soak in oil

...... then cure ........ each stop is "soaked" 4 times in my oil ....... this is the right way to do it !!

The mullions are hand sanded, because they are delicate and need to be treated kindly

I make all doors slightly oversize then trim them to actual size and square

After trimming ....... I sign the door

...... and back-bevel the leading edge 2deg for easy of swing

Here is the sidelight ready to oil

It is sealed inside and out ..... allowed to cure 3-4 days .... then oiled 3 more times

Here is the panel stock ....... solid Old Growth Redwood

Here they are sanded to a furniture finish

...... a close up of the sidelight panel ........ such beautiful wood ....... flat sawn so that it will expand from front to back ....... so side to side

Here is the first oiling of the Entrance Door ...... 3 more to come !!

Here is the door and sidelight curing in the shop between oilings

Here is a preview of the glass before it goes into the kiln to be fused

.... and here is the sidelight glass

The panels are coated with the first of four coats of varnish oil

The panels cure for three days between coats

Here the sidelight receives its' third coat of varnish oil

Here is the door and sidelight curing

Here the custom fused glass is being laid out in the sidelight

After the varnish oil has cured, we prep the door for the dentils and shelf

the posts are glued down and in prefect alignment

Here are the raw posts left to cure for 2-3 days

The dentil posts will be varnish-oiled 4 times before I add the shelf

Here is the dentil shelf, just before oiling

The hand fused glass is first "floated" on rubber blocks

....... then caulked with a siliconized latex 50 year caulk ... that turns translucently clear when cured

Here is the finished sidelight ..... caulked and curing

Here is a close up of the 15" wide old growth Redwood panel


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