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With the
right set of
router bits,
a divided-light door is a lot
easier to make than it looks.
The key to success is simple:
Measure and cut every
single part first. To get you
going on the right path, I’ll
show you a foolproof way
to calculate the precise
length of every piece. Then
you rout, mortise and
assemble. Piece of cake.
Tools you’ll use
To build these doors, you’ll need a router table and a set of special bits. You’ll also need a metric ruler, tablesaw, planer, jointer and some means of making mortises.
Design your door
Let’s start with some old-fashioned terms. The openings for the glass are traditionally called lights. They’re “divided” by bars called muntins.
Start by drawing your door. Determine the door’s overall size, the widths of the stiles, rails and muntins, and the size of the lights.
Next, select a set of divided-light door router bits. Each set is designed for a specific range of door thicknesses and requires a different setup, but the general steps are the same. Visit the manufacturers’ Web sites for details. They’re suitable for doors from 13/16 to 1-1/8 in. thick with 5/8-in. or wider muntins. These bits make tenons; some other sets do not.
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Anatomy of a divided-light door
Three major parts make a divided light door: stiles, rails and muntins. Every part is locked in place by a mortise-and-tenon joint. In this six-light door, the two horizontal muntins are the same length as the rails. Three short vertical muntins fit between the rails and horizontal muntins.
Although proportions vary among furniture styles, in this door the lower rail is 1-1/2 times as wide as the top rail. All the lights are the same size and evenly divided.
Two matched router bits cut all the profiles. The cope cutter shapes the ends of all the rails and muntins. It also forms a short tenon and a rabbet to receive the glass. The bead cutter shapes the long edges of the stiles, rails and muntins. It also forms a rabbet.
Both bits may be adjusted to fine-tune the tenon’s thickness. You simply take apart the bit and add shims above the bearing. These shims come with the bit and are stored under the nut and washers.
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