by Susan Griffith

One hundred years of opening and closing has taken its toll on the doors of Harkness Chapel, but the wear is no longer visible courtesy of the combined talents of several Case Western Reserve University employees.

photo by Mike Sands Tim and Wanda Logsdon hang the newly constructed doors at Harkness Chapel. It took three years to recreate the 100-year-old doors.

The staff members in plant services, engineering services-even photography services-have recreated new doors for the chapel on Bellflower Road that look just like the old ones.

A simple process?

Not so, according to Timothy Logsdon from plant services, who has crafted as many as 22 doors for buildings around campus and restored the large Adelbert Hall table that was damaged by fire a decade ago.

He said the Harkness doors presented his most challenging project so far, because of its intricate work.

Logsdon started searching for the wood three years ago, and it took him more than a year to find the exaggerated grain to match the old white oak doors.

" You can't go to any lumber yard to find this kind of wood," he said.

A photograph, taken by campus photographer Mike Sands, aided in the search that led Logsdon to Jackson Hardwood in Newbury, Ohio, which tracked down a supply of timber. The timber then was sorted piece by piece to find wood to nearly exactly match that used in the old, 200-pound, 3 by 8 foot doors and the arch above them.
Finding hinges presented a new task.

The old Harkness doors originally swung both in and out like old saloon doors. Logsdon said through the years the hinges were modified to swing only one way. Later, hinges that were salvaged during renovations at Adelbert Hall were used to replace broken ones at Harkness.

Salvatore Cordaro, supervisor in engineering services who operates the machine shop in the Olin Building, manufactured the brass hinges, which eventually were coated with a black oxide to match existing hardware at the chapel.

Cordaro also used the shop's computerized milling machine to fabricate some of the 50 sections of intricate moldings where possible. After the use of modern technology, the corners on the arches still had to be hand-chiseled by Logsdon before being finished.

Then the 400 metal buttons from the old doors had to be replaced-also by hand.
Logsdon's wife, Wanda, also from plant services, varnished and stained the doors and then helped her husband with the installation.

Logsdon learned the basics of restoring and using the machine tools to complete this kind of work at Johnson Institute (now Johnson College in Pennsylvania) where he earned an associate's degree.

Return to the online edition of the 7-24-03 Campus News.

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