This page has been set up to show you the prospective customer, how we build doors. The style of door you see below is being custom built for a customer in Tenessee who had sent us a photograph of the look they wanted to have on their new home. As they say, a picture says a thousand words. Read on over the next four pages to see how this door was hand crafted by Steven Strasser.

We bring in top quality Hardwoods, and in this case we select through some 300 feet for the nicest quality boards.

Above we see the preliminary scale drawing faxed to the customer for approval. Below shows the layout on the bench of the radius top. The doors are always laid out on a stick or a sheet of plwood before we build them.

Steven is shown here sizing the frame. This same saw took the life of the founder Henry Hoffmeyer in 1926. A broken splinter of wood flew off the saw and into him. Unfortunately, an infection from the wound claimed his life. If you look at the doors in the background you can see patches on the doors from where lumber has shot through them. A closer look sees a hole the size of a quater in the door as well as severl patches on the plywood. The doors panel is 1/2" thick. With a powerful saw such as this ,one has to treat it with respect and be very careful. Steven has well over 20 years experience in our Mill.

Once the sill has been mortised out, the frame verticles are screwed in from the bottom. Note how they have been lapped out on the top.

The top rails are placed into the lap and screwed into place. The arched header for this door was a time consuming aspect but will be the focal point of this door when completed.

This particular style of door called for a V-Grooved center panel. Steven is placing splines between the boards to hold the pieces in place.

A closer look shows you the splines, and the V-grooves in this 1 3/8" thick panel. You can see how the wood grains were reversed on each board to help keep the panel flat.

Once glued, the unit is clamped and let to set for a day or so. Two men to lift it as it stands.