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| Fig. 11.—Forms of Panelling. |
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| Fig. 12.—Joints. |
The doors in dwelling-houses and other buildings of a like character are commonly framed and panelled in one of the many ways possible. The framing consists of styles, rails and muntins or mountings, and these members are grooved to receive and hold the panels, which are inserted previously to the door being glued and wedged up. The common forms are doors in four or six rectangular panels, and although they may be made with any form and number of panels, the principles of construction remain the same. The example shown in fig. 7 is of a six-panel door, with bolection moulded raised panels on one side, and moulded and flat panels on the other (fig. 11).
A clear idea of the method of jointing the various members may be obtained from fig. 12. The tongues of raised panels should be of parallel thickness, the bevels being stopped at the moulding. The projecting ends or horns of the styles are cut off after the door has been glued and wedged, as they prevent the ends of the styles being damaged by the wedging process.
Where there is a great deal of traffic in both directions swing doors, either single or double, are used. To open them it is necessary simply to push, the inconvenience of turning a handle and shutting the door after passing through being avoided, as a spring causes the door to return to its original position without noise. They are usually glazed and should be of substantial construction. The door is hinged at the top on a steel pivot; the bottom part fits into a metal shoe connected with the spring, which is placed in a box fixed below the floor.
For large entrances, notably for hotels and banks, a form of door working on the turnstile principle is frequently adopted. It is formed of four leaves fixed in the shape of a cross and working on top and bottom central ball-bearing steel pivots, in a circular framing which forms a kind of vestibule. The leaves of the door are fitted with slips of india-rubber at their edges which, fitting close to the circular framing, prevent draughts.
When an elegant appearance is desired, and it is at the same time necessary to keep the cost of production as low as possible, doors of pine or other soft wood are sometimes covered with a veneer or thin layer of hard wood, such as oak, mahogany or teak, giving the appearance of a solid door of the better material. Made in the ordinary way, however, the shrinkage or warping of the soft wood is very liable to cause the veneer to buckle and peel off. Veneered doors made on an improved method obviating this difficulty have been placed on the market by a Canadian company. The core is made up of strips of pine with the grain reversed, dried at a temperature of 200° F., and glued up under pressure. Both the core and the hard wood veneer are grooved over their surfaces, and a special damp-resisting glue is applied; the two portions are then welded together under hydraulic pressure. By reason of their construction these doors possess the advantages of freedom from shrinking, warping and splitting, defects which are all too common in the ordinary veneered and solid hard wood doors.
The best glue for internal woodwork is that made in Scotland. Ordinary animal glue should not be used in work exposed to the weather as it absorbs damp and thus hastens decay; in its place a compound termed beaumontique, composed of white lead, linseed oil and litharge, should be employed.
Church Work.—Joinery work in connexion with the fitting up of church interiors must be regarded as a separate branch of the joiner’s art. Pitchpine is often used, but the best work is executed in English oak; and when the screens, stalls and seating are well designed and made in this material, a distinction and dignity of effect are added to the interior of the church which cannot be obtained in any other medium. The work is often of the richest character, and frequently enriched with elaborate carving (fig. 13). Many beautiful specimens of early work are to be seen in the English Gothic cathedrals and churches; good work of a later date will be found in many churches and public buildings erected in more recent years. Fine examples of Old English joinery exist at Hampton Court Palace, the Temple Church in London, the Chapel of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey, and Haddon Hall. Specimens of modern work are to be seen in Beverley Minster in Yorkshire, the Church of St Etheldreda in Ely Place, London, and the Wycliffe Hall Chapel at Oxford. Other examples both ancient and modern abound in the country.
Carving is a trade apart from ordinary joinery, and requires a special ability and some artistic feeling for its successful execution. But even in this work machinery has found a place, and carved ornaments of all descriptions are rapidly wrought with its aid. Small carved mouldings especially are evolved in this manner, and, being incomparably cheaper than those worked by manual labour, are used freely where a rich effect is desired. Elaborately carved panels also are made by machines and a result almost equal to work done entirely by hand is obtained if, after machinery has done all in its power, the hand worker with his chisels and gouges puts the finishing touches to the work.
Ironmongery.—In regard to the finishing of a building, no detail calls for greater consideration than the selection and accurate fixing of suitable ironmongery, which includes the hinges, bolts, locks, door and window fittings, and the many varieties of metal finishings required for the completion of a building. The task of the selection belongs to the employer or the architect; the fixing is performed by the joiner.
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| Fig. 13. |
Of hinges, the variety termed butts are in general use for hanging doors, and are so called from being fitted to the butt edge of the door. They should be of wrought iron, cast-iron butts being liable to snap should they sustain a shock. Lifting butts are made with a removable pin to enable the door to be removed and replaced without unscrewing. Rising butts have oblique joints which cause the door to rise and clear a thick carpet and yet make a close joint with the floor when shut. Hinges of brass or gun-metal are used in special circumstances. Common forms of hinges used on ledged doors are the cross garnet and the strap. There are many varieties of spring hinges designed to bring the door automatically to a desired position. With such hinges a rubber stop should be fixed on the floor or other convenient place to prevent undue strain through the door being forced back.
Among locks and fastenings the ordinary barrel or tower bolt needs no description. The flush barrel is a bolt let in flush with the face of a door. The espagnolette is a development of the tower bolt and extends the whole height of the door; a handle at a convenient height, when turned, shooting bolts at the top and bottom simultaneously. Their chief use is for French casements. The padlock is used to secure doors by means of a staple and eye. The stock lock is a large rim lock with hard wood casing and is used for stables, church doors, &c.; it is in the form of a dead lock opened only by a key, and is often used in conjunction with a Norfolk latch. The metal cased rim lock is a cheap form for domestic and general use. The use of a rim lock obviates the necessity of forming a mortice in the thickness of the door which is required when a mortice lock is used. Finger plates add greatly to the good appearance of a door,
