Replacing the sauna door before it falls off #2: Worthy opponent

so it didn’t fit…

I guess I have nobody else to blame but myself. I was working from tape-measure measurements. I should have made a story(?) stick to check the correct width.

So after the trial run, I hand planed 1,5 mm off from the hinge-side, re-did the hinges, and of course also the round-overs. After which it fits:

Another scandal was the silicone: peeling off the tape tore woodfibers. After letting the silicone cure for more than a day, I started to sand the affected places. Which resulted in a silicone-sand-dust-goo around the seam, which I have yet to deal with. I’m sure I will eventually be able to live with it.

Somewhat compromising the artistic impression, I used the handle ”mounts” also for structural integrity, and extended them over the joint. This way I got four extra tenons, with plenty of long-grain glue surface. I also screwed them in place, and covered the screw with wood plugs:

And now the thing is parafine-oiled and hanging in its place.

Compared with my expectation of plowing through this simple and straight-forward project, the door proved to be a worthy opponent, and it put up a h### of a fight! I will be saluting it every time I use the sauna ;)