About the materials and construction

Once I decided I wanted a shoji-style door, I spent months researching, sketching, and measuring. I read books on building traditional shoji. I researched various types of door hardware. I researched woods and rice papers. I got samples and did more research.

Eventually I felt I’d found the right mix of materials and decided to get started. I sketched, meausred, re-sketched, and re-measured the space and the door. I ordered a track system and mounting hardware from a manufacturer online. I ordered rice paper from a shoji materials supplier online. And finally, I went to a local lumber yard with my wood order.

I wanted a good quality, medium-hard wood like cherry, maple or mahogany. (You can’t get this stuff at Home Depot!) Mahogany came in sizes that were closest to what I wanted to build, and I had the lumber yard cut down the pieces. The wood needed a great deal of sanding and maybe some additional minor cuts, but I don’t have a chop saw or table saw, so I had to pay the lumber yard to cut it down for me.

I used a Dremel tool with a sanding disc attachment to carefully cut a groove in the center of the frame to accept the rice paper. (The makeshift guide I came up with is an interesting story involving a block of wood taped to my thumb.) Then I used wood dowels and wood glue to put the frame together. Metal brackets on the bottom joints further secure the frame, and the hardware that will hang it from the track will cross the top joints and make it that much more durable.

On 1.30.08 I still have quite a bit of sanding to do, then some very detailed cutting before I can glue up the inside rails. After that will be the polyurethane, rice paper, and the final glueing of inside rails. (The mahogany is such a beautiful red color that it really needs no staining, just a few coats of poly.) Let that dry for a day or two and it will be ready to hang and enjoy. Keep checking back for progress updates! Thanks for reading.