Extending the Curved Door Frame

I removed the crown molding from the wall facing the bathroom and surprise, a big piece of plaster fell off, revealing what was once an outside wall (our bedroom isn't original to the house). At first I was surprised to see a rectangular outline above the curved door, but now I realize that it was once a window, and the square part on top has been filled it with some very, very hard white stuff (that I had to chip, chip away, like Michelangelo, until the wall was flush again). Looked like some abandoned medieval ruin after I finally chipped it all away.




I've never liked how the wall beveled into the door frame. Over the past few days I've discovered why this was done, many good reasons. I don't care. The truth is, I've been staring at those doors for several years now, and I really, really wanted an excuse to work on one of them. Crazy.

For this job I'll need to extend the curved frame about 4 inches. I'll need two pieces: the door stop and the jamb, one overlapping the other. Getting the straight part of the jamb was easy enough--the old hinge area will be covered when I'm done.


Cutting the curves on a band saw didn't work--I knew it wouldn't. But will a 1/2 inch piece of pine bend that much (without steaming). To test the theory I built an arch frame in the backyard. I know I should use multiple, thinner pieces. Details...


I'm soaking the pine in the fish pond right now. Fun.