Don Stephan
Posts: 825
Joined: 2003-07-18
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
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D:
I agree with you that this door component presents lots of challenges. My suggestion would be to decide on either an inside or an outside form, whichever seems to allow the easiest tweaking if the resultant door "has issues." Make the form to allow for at least 2" additional at the hinge and at the opposite side (and one inch at the top and bottom edges) and cut the laminates one at a time to see how to keep adding to the width as they accumulate. Once you've cut the laminates for the first go you'll know how long to cut them on following tries.
Plan a strategy to square up the four sides and cut to length. After the first door is cured you'll be able to see if there is any twist and tweak the form accordingly.
If bending ply won't work, you could use 1/16" thick sheets of veneer, but you wouldn't be able to alternate the grain direction.
Alternatively, you could use the most stable straightgrained lumber available and build the door using narrow strips. On the curve the strips (staves) could all be cut to the same angle which might be simpler than making the form. After the core's glue is cured, you could use a curved scraper, curved sandpaper backing plate, . . . to shape the inside and outside. The issue is that you'll be applying veneer to a solid core.
My concern with MDF would be holding the hinge screws over the long haul.
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