These doors are called
The Celtic Cross Entrance Doors
They are each 32" by 84"
They are constructed of Old Growth VG Redwood
with curly VG Redwood Panels
and the "circle and rays" are gilded with gold leaf.

Here are the completed doors. The styles and rails are matching vertical grain Old Growth Redwood. The panels are Curly Redwood and they are also Old Growth. The Celtic Cross "Sun and Rays" are guilded with 2 different sheen's of 24k Gold Leaf

Here are the doors on their New Home !

Here are the completed doors. The styles and rails are matching vertical grain Old Growth Redwood. The panels are Curly Redwood and they are also Old Growth. The Celtic Cross "Sun and Rays" are guilded with 2 different sheen's of 24k Gold Leaf


Click On Images to Enlarge

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Here is the 5th or 6th, and final, generation drawing

Here is a close-up of the Sun and Rays
The circle gold is a matted gold and
the rays are a shiny finish

Here is a view of the inside of the doors

Click On Images to Enlarge

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The Circle is a true circle that is carved into the Redwood

and the carved Sun circle is deeper

then the Rays

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Here is a close-up of the front of the door

the inlaid gold leaf brings the Celtic Cross to life

Here is the back of that same door


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here is a close-up of the wood

look at this beautiful wood

All of the panel wood is curly Redwood and it is book matched


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and each piece in the panels match the piece next to it

CLICK HERE to see how the panels were guilded

such beautiful wood



~ Below is the provenance of the making of these doors ~

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Here is the Old Growth Virgin Redwood I'm going to use in the door

I worked on the design, with the client, for over a year and a half ..... and here is the final drawing.

and ......... here is the final door. How did I do?

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This wood is 500 to 1000 years old

and you can see how dense this wood really is

There are 40 plus growth rings to the inch

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  • Click On Images to Enlarge

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I had add pieces on to the door to make the tapered cross

here are the pieces of the door frames after I machined them

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See the pieces that will be tapered

Here are the horizontal rails

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I made a template that will help me pull off the design

another view

the I cut it out on the band saw

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take your

think I'll save this explanation for "the book"

clamps, templates make it all work

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I flushed everything with a router

the template is screwed into the rebate

here it is flushed to my template

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a look down the style

nice taper

and the the other side with the same template

Click On Images to Enlarge

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here is the detailed edge and rebate, before creating the mortise in the top, mid, and bottom

a view of the top

here is the door frame laid out for preliminary fitting

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then added the mid rail

nice taper

then the other side

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here we start the glue up of the right side

we clean, remove, and wash all the excess glue

here the door will stay in clamps for 3 to 4 days

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here is the second door set in clamps

here is the right door, out of clamps

and the left door

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here they are together .........

for the first time

here is the sub-base for the panels

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what's he up to ?

Here the book matched curly Redwood for the panels

Here I placed them together an wetted them with water. Such beautiful wood.


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Here I am gluing them together

into big sheets

then we sanded them in a dimensional sander

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the panels are pressed in our vacuum press and stay in the press for at least 2 days

and here they are out of the press

the excess glue is "grated" off

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Here are the panel blanks
here I am starting to make "blanks" for the cross
I laminated 2 pieces of mdf

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I'm cutting out the cross
carefully
here is the finished product

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I practiced on a piece of mdf
it works !!
and fits

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here you can see the "sun" is recessed into the Redwood
this is a mockup of the center door styles and mid rails ...... this helps make the "sun" circle a true circle in the Celtic Cross
here is the template, on paper, for the "sun rays"

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here they are laid out on the wood
and here are two of the three rays engraved in the Redwood
from another view

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a finished upper panel
here is a carved lower completed panel
.... I pulled it off !!

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This was the final drawing
and here is the finished product
so now ....... the finishing begins

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this is treated like furniture for you "wall"
and sanded to furniture grade
and finishing the bevel by hand

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here are the panels ready for our varnish oil
time to sign the doors
with pride

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then I mortised for the hinges
and we gave the door frames a final sanding, first by machine
........ and then by hand

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here is one of the doors, outside, ready for oil
that door is "looking up" into these Redwood trees .......... here at mendocino Doors
here is that door after its' first coat of oil. The 1st of 4 coats

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such fine and exceptional virgin Redwood
the doors cure for at least 3-4 days between coats

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they both cure
here are the panels being oiled
the oil soaks into the wood for at least and hour and half.

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Here are the finished (oiled) panels wrapped for delivery to be guilded
Here they are laid out
here they will be gold-leafed

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by the Sign Shop of Fort Bragg
Here the doors receive their fourth coat of varnish oil
soooooo ....... let's put it all together

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the dust is from the gold-leafing process
WOW !
so we reoil the wood, without touching the gold leaf

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make it perfect
then we select the stops
and then we hand cut each stop for a perfect fit

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The panels are set in a siliconized latex caulking that turns translucent clear when cured
here is a piece of leftover wood from these doors ....... wanted to show that it was really "salvaged" Redwood
Here Glen, is sanding the astragal for between the two doors

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and the he hand sands and finishes the astragal
Here is a picture of the end view of the Astragal. The groove is for weather-stripping

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