Louvered Doors

[mike_wood]

I am remodeling our bathroom and have made a built-in cabinet (between the studs). My wife asked me if it could have a louvered door. I said no as I have never made one and the prospect was not appealing - mostly because of time constraints. However, after some consideration, and thinking this could lead to a tool purchase, I thought I might give it a go. I will need to make a jig to cut the slots so I was wondering if anyone has made louvered doors and can give me some advice. The door will be 15"X40".

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Bryan S]

Cant offer any personal help but Norm has made louverd shutters. You might find some info on The New Yankee Workshop site.

 

[cskipper]

If it doesn't lead to a tool purchase, and time is an issue, then this may be one of the things that that you just want to (gasp) buy. Yes, I said that dirty phrase (buying something that could be built by purchaser) - sorry if I offended anyone.

 

[mike_wood]

Yea, I thought about buying a bifold door and cutting it off or perhaps a cheap cabinet & using the door but the problem is the size requirement. Narrow and long. However, I may give it another go.

Thanks.

 

[jeff...]

I've bought bigger doors and cut them down to the right size (both width and heigth). Seemed to be more paractical at the time than building one from scratch.

 

[Charles M]

Mike,

I have no affiliation with Woodworker's Supply other than they are one of our dealers but I have always been fascinated by their Matchmaker gadget which they claim makes louver mortises:
http://www.woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=95-201

 

[cpowell]

I haven't done this before but have a few thoughts.

You could build a jig similar to the one at this link http://sawdustmaking.com/Box Joint/boxjointjig.html

Make the keys sized to the louver stock thickness (blade thickness). The key must have a snug fit to the slot. Set the fence to the desired louver angle and make a pass through the sacrificial fence. Then adjust the fence to align with the blade using your keys and make the louvered cuts. As long as your setup is good and you make sure the stiles are registered against the key each time (clear any sawdust from the key-to-fence corner) you should be fine.

You could rabbet the front edge of each stile and use molding to hide the louver edges.


Chuck

 

[Travis Porter]

You might send Douglas Robinson a PM. I think he has made shutters with louvers at one time.

 

[sapwood]

I remember NZAPP1 (Nick) also did some louvers/shutters on his house in Apex.

Roger

 

[junquecol]

Mike, I have a copy of the NYW program, "Jigs, Jigs, Jigs." It is a two part program. In one episode Norm shows how to make jig to do louvers. I think I would go with the bi-fold door routine myself. A 2-6 (30") one would yield a couple of 15" panels.

 

[junquecol]

Do a Google for US Shutter company. They make both fixed and movable shutters. They are one of the pop up ads at Woodnet.net