New "Z"entrance Door, Part One

I need a new front door. I feel like my house looks "cheap" because the front door is a porch door with a large window on the upper half; I feel like it detracts from my home. On top of that, the challenge is that my front door is smaller than the inner door because it's not a real front door, so buying a standard door isn't an option. And buying the entire door frame is a bigger project than I am ready for - carpentry isn't my forte. So, I trash picked this awesome Cedar door. I know it's beautiful, but to best restore it is beyond my woodworking skills.

View of door prior to work. This side shows little damage.

Because it's a trash pick, it had some flaws - lots of damage around the lock and some near the top edge.

View of damage at top of door.

View of damage near lock.

I picked up some Elmer's Wood Putty for $12 and started filling in all scrapes and chipped areas. The part by the lock was very badly damaged, missing much of the wood. I had a piece of scrap curtain rod which I inserted into the hole where the lock will be in order to build the missing wood with the putty into the proper shape; I don't want to have to drill into the putty, making another task.

Metal tube inserted to ensure a cylindrical shape prior to adding Elmer's putty.

I realized that these holes are going to be in the wrong place because I will be lengthening the door, so I had to fill them in anyways...

Filled in door knob holes.

Next, I cleaned up the raw edges using sandpaper and a wood rasp. Once the door was properly prepped, I decided to lengthen it first (before narrowing it). 

Wood stock for extending the length of door.

I grabbed the wood stock that I previously cut and planed for the door. I drilled out three 1/2" holes down the length, using the drill press. I used the drill press in order to help keep the drill straight for the next step. I lined up and clamped the stock wood to the door and drilled thru the holes 2" into the door. 

Next, I cut four 1/2" wood dowels into 4" lengths. (The depth of hole into door plus hole in the extra stock.) I applied glue to the dowels, tapped them into place with a rawhide mallet and clamped down the extension.  I allowed it to dry overnight before finishing up with the wood filler.

The drilled out holes with wood dowels glued in place.

The extension glued in place.

Trimming the door's length is important to make a straight edge to make or professional. I measured the original door and then made several marks on the new cedar door and used a straight edge to connect the lines. The first thing I realized was my door was not square :/

I measured the distance of the edge of the saw to the blade at 1.25" so I added that to my line and clamped down my 2x6 there. This provides a straight guide when I cut down the length of the door.

A board clamped onto the door below to act as a straight edge guide for the saw.

The sawed door.

At this stage, the door is ready to be wiped down and painted. Additionally, I will make a glass mosaic in the center window. This next step is the exciting part for me!