building a steel door

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has anyone here made a door for a house.  I am interested in making a unique door for my house.  I want it solid and something that no one else has.  I am thinking of 2x2 tubing and reiforcing the corners with a backing plate that will be cut and slid inside and plug welded and then skin the outside with 16 or 18 ga sheet metal that will be riveted.  the inside of the door will get rigid foam to help with the noise.  I am planning on useing commercial ball bearing hinges and heavy duty hardware.  My olny concern is warping as i weld it together.  I know that I need to clamp it to a nice fla table.  any advice would be appreciated.  Have a little experienceand am pretty handy but never built anything like this.
Reply:I think if you're in a welding discussion forum, building it isn't a problem.  Spec' it to anything you can build.  My problem is, it always comes out too heavy, and I have no way of mounting it to the wood framing of the house.
Reply:I would go with 20g sheet metal... 16/18g is pretty heavy and will add up quick, use bend's or other line's to strengthen it instead of thickness... as far as warping... scatter your welds around and or use a blow gun and lightly cool the metal after each weld...Lincoln pro mig 180Lincoln Square Wave Tig 300/wp 20/home built water cooler Victor, Purox, Harris, O/A welding/cutting setupsVintage Craftsman drill pressVintage Craftsman/Atlas 12"x 36'' lathe7''x 12'' w/c band saw Everlast 140 st
Reply:Steel door will need matching steel frame, take a look as some commercial pre-hung doors for frame ideas.  I built one for the shop, nothing decorative just some 1 3/4 square tubing covered with sheet metal.  Outward swing with 1 inch square tubing inside stop (just try and kick it open  pleeeeease) the frame as best I can recall was made of 1/4 x 4 strap with gussets at the top and some left over square tubing running down the outside of the hinge side to help prevent sag.When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives.
Reply:2x2 14ga frame wont be that heavy for a 3 by 6'8" door. But when you start the jam is when its going to get hairy. Also shimming it will be hard imo.Is it going to have a door knob or latch? Will it be weather proof? Steel will transfer heat very effectively. Either out of your home or into your home. If you notice a home depot steel door has a wood core with steel on either side and a wood jam. To prevend heat conduction.I understand the need to feel safe. Cuz I was going to do this same thing to my back door. But the energy loss was looking bad.I think out side bars or a steel storm door over your wood door would be easier and better in the end. You could screen it and make it a extra heavy duty screen door. haha.I looked at buying a comercial steel door with steel jam. The kit was $400. But they did NOT come in standard home size door. And no R rating at all.As far as getting it strait. I bought 4 of these for my noob projects to come out perfect. I bought mine at local stores. And used a square to make sure they were perfect. I did run accross 2 that were out of line a bit. http://store.cyberweld.com/sthawecl2ax.htmlThermalArc 161STL TIG/Stick (160amp)Lincoln weld-pak 100 (fluxcore)4X6 Enco bandsaw10" skillsaw with metal blade for 45degrees (works)4" grinderWeld for fun. Very rare I do it for Money.
Reply:You can use flat stock as mentioned, something like 3"x1/4" for the jambs or 3"x1"x14ga rect tubing..  The flat stock can be a pain to keep straight but is easy to drill and countersink. The box tubing is obviously more rigid but harder to countersink as it is thin.  I would build it, as already mentioned, as a unit then install.  In my area steel is in without regard for the inefficient aspect.  For gaskets, I use a perimeter of 1/2"x1/2" square stock and space 1/16"-1/8" away from the door when closed and then use a good quality gasket that is self adhesive.  For the threshold you can use a premade one or just attach a sweep to the door itself (doesn't look as good).  I have attached a picture of what is hot in my area, in the pic I didn't have the jamb built but I will look for a close up of it and post when I do. Attached Imageswww.somethingdifferentftw.blogspot.com
Reply:Here's one of the doors to my house. It is wood with metal frame.I used a 1"x4" inner frame joined flat with biscuits. It has 1"x4" bead board over that frame with foil backed insulation in the middle between the inner frame. It ended up being 2 1/4" thick but has an R value of 11, much more than the standard door with R value of 2.The strap hinges run all the way across on the inside and I used the massive gate hinges with grease zerts. Sorry about the partial pics but I was taking them of my dog. Attached Images