As with any diy project preparation is key.
Restoring hardwood door rail.
Rot is often caused by water collecting at the bottom of panels in rail and mullion grooves.
Keep the palm sander moving.
Use a palm sander with fine grit to give the door a light sanding.
On this weekend workbench segment blake sloane of the rebuilding exchange helps ryan restore a sad old door without sanding stripping or any hard chemical.
If you leave it too long in one spot you ll damage the wood.
Other rot prone areas are the exposed ends of door components since end grain cuts absorb water more quickly than surfaces parallel to the grain.
Coat both the mortise and tenon sides with a good wood glue to and tightly clamp the doors back together.
Remove the three hinge pins from the door by placing the flat.
Once stripped the door should be lightly sanded with a 120 grit sandpaper to remove any remaining traces of paint and paint stripping product.
Priming end grain areas before reassembly is a good idea especially for exterior doors.
Hopefully this will restore the original integrity of the door by maximizing the glue surface of the joints as originally intended and perhaps they will last another 70 years.