Crotch Mahogany Entry

These doors feature our own “Book-Matched” 1/8” thick veneer which is vacuum pressed over Honduras Mahogany “Stave Laminated Cores”.  This method provides maximum stability and control of grain pattern, and is used when the desire is for the finest possible, Furniture Grade Door. 

The door’s overall thickness is 2-1/4”.  All of the mouldings were custom and are particular to this house only.  The crotch mahogany panels are 1-3/4” with a graceful sweeping bevel.  The sidelights are done in the traditional manor with a sash resting on a beveled sill.  Beneath the sill, the paneling steps out to provide both structural and visual support, for the beautiful 1/2” thick Starfire® glass with a 1-3/4” bevel.

The jamb is 1-3/4” at the rim and 3-1/2” thick at the door.  The arched jamb head is vacuum laminated of eight 1/8” veneers, making an amazingly stable arch.  Wilson & McCracken never uses inferior methods for our arched tops such as “kerf bending” or laminating “bending plywood”. 
 
All miters are glued and “blind dovetailed” to ensure they will never open up.
Wilson & McCracken provided templates for the stone fabricator, to ensure the arched limestone would produce the proper reveal.

We’d love to build one for you.

First Presbyterian Church 6^th Ave Pittsburgh

Called the “Tunnel Door” this local 1905 Landmark has seen substantial daily use.  The church serves hundreds of wonderful lunches daily, most customers using this set of doors.  After a few break-in attempts and many years of use, a full restoration was in order.  We installed a temporary door for use during the restoration, and the doors were brought to our shop.

The doors were almost completely disassembled, and in doing so we discovered some inherent problems with the original construction methods.  Most glaring was the use of dowel pins to join the hinge stile to the arched top rail.  Using a horizontal slot mortiser we created pockets in which loose tenons could be installed.  Other items on the repair list were to replace the bottom rails and completely restore the iron hardware, cutting away and replacing some sections. Stain and four brushed coats of marine varnish topped off the project.  The “after” photo here was taken on a rainy day, as we re-installed the newly restored doors. 

We always have something fun going on at Wilson & McCracken.  This commission is for seven reproduction valances.  Each valance has 6 carvings and four “veined” sections.  In the new valances, castings of musical instruments will be used in place of the plaster busts.  We’re about half way done here are some progress shots.  We’ll keep you updated.

Double doors with custom mouldings made from Honduras Mahogany. The stiles and rails are 2 ¼” thick.  They are veneered with our own re-sawn 1/8″ thick book-matched veneers.  A stave-laminated mahogany core makes this south-facing door extremely stable.  The custom panel mouldings feature blind-fasteners in the miters to keep them from opening. A deep stain and four brushed coats of satin marine varnish make these doors a major improvement over the originals supplied by the builder.

Shown here is a detail of a quartersawn white oak door.  The stiles and rails are 1-3/4″ thick and are veneered with our own re-sawn 1/8″ thick book-matched veneers.   A stave-laminated mahogany core makes this reproduction door extremely stable and gives it a solid feel.  The door was dyed greenish brown and then stained with a reddish pigmented stain. The finish is four coats of marine varnish.  The complex finishing technique renders the door color different in changing light.

Mahogany gate and jambs, brush painted red.  The panels and rails are designed to shed water, by use of tiny drip edges.  This will help the paint stay fresh longer.