I am going to take apart, refurb and reduce the dimensions on two victorian four panel doors. I’m after tips to try and get the doors apart without damaging them unduly. The moldings should be easy enough to prize off but I’m not too sure on taking the mortice and tenon joints apart. Tips appreciated.

pulls up a chair

Like Jesus, Ernie Lynch is a carpenter.

I don’t know where he is though.

Can I ask why you want to make the door smaller, did you buy them elsewhere?

Jesus doesn’t exist. Ernie does.

I wouldnt bother. Splitting the joint will be a nightmare and salvaged replacements the right size would be cheap esp part exchange.

Just strip it (dipping) and reduce equally from the sides and top and bottom as required

Ernie paints cars?

Jesus doesn’t exist. Ernie does.

Debatable.

you needs.

simples.

electric plane simpleser

yeah just plane do not take apart.

Cut equal amounts off timber off each side of the door, if the door isnt striped weara face mask as the paint may have lead in it if its an old door.

If you try to dismantle the doors, you will first need to destroy the joints and then re- make them also get the mortice wedges out, thats afte removing all the dood arcitraves and re mitreing them.

Try getting some hot water in the joint to melt the glue. Hotter the better. You can try injecting it in if it’s hard to reach/tight. If it’s animal glue (which it may well be) that will work a treat. If it’s another type of glue it is likely to at least help.
Then give the doors a whack with a wooden mallet. You can try a hammer too but use a block on wood in between hammer and door.
Hope that helps.

Thanks Pilot, will give that a go. To answer the other questions, the doors are non standard sizes so the only option is to start from scratch and it’s pretty difficult to get a hold of good pitch pine or cannibalize some salvaged doors. Any idea if the mortice and tenon joints generally have wedge, if so I’m guessing the tenon will not make it apart in one piece..

can you see the tenon coming through the timber to the other side? or is it a concealed tenon?

Tony24, you can see the tenons, they are covered in about 120yrs of paint so will need to strip this back to see if there are wedges. I am thinking on cutting through the joints, reducing the door to the new dimensions and biscuit jointing and screwing the doors back together, then hide the screws with dowels, I’m not sure if this would be strong enough though. Thoughts?

What size are the doors now, and what size is the opening they atre going into,biscuit jointing a door wll be ineffective as they may well twist and also just fal apart after a few argumental bangs.

Tony24, you can see the tenons, they are covered in about 120yrs of paint so will need to strip this back to see if there are wedges. I am thinking on cutting through the joints, reducing the door to the new dimensions and biscuit jointing and screwing the doors back together, then hide the screws with dowels, I’m not sure if this would be strong enough though. Thoughts?

Make sure the joints don’t have a wooden peg, if so drill it out otherwise no amount of bashing will get them apart.
If you can’t get the joints apart and have to cut through them I’d use a router (can hire them) to rout mortices in both the stile (upright bit) and rail. Then plane up some timber that will fit into both as a “loose tenon” and glue that in.

Good luck

i would have a go at simply cutting away the wedges in the tenon first using a correct size chisel and some patience and then try to use a block of wood the same size as the tenon to knock it back through. They generally only used a normal mortice and tenon on the older doors.

If you strip the door back on the face as well near the tenon you will be able to see if there is a wood dowl. If so drill that out too and go to local hardware store and buy some new dowl in the correct size to rejoint them later.

If the doors are old the glue probably would have given up the ghost anyway… all depends on the age etc.