I have a project I am constructing for a client. I need to make two overlapping sliding doors, approx. 30″ wide, 20″ tall, and 1/4″ thick each. The plan is to use veneered ply and paint them white. The entire piece will be painted white as well.
My question is this: am I safe simply cutting two grooves in the case, top and bottom, say 5/16 to 3/8 wide? Wax the grooves and slightly round the corners of the door panels so they don’t catch? I’ve seen some slide tracks from Rockler, and some more sophisticated hardware from Woodcraft, but never used them.
This project is not a “showpiece”, but I would like them to function over a long period of time. I am in Northern Michigan, and this is a “second home”, so extreme variations in temperature and humidity can be expected.
Any input or personal experience will be appreciated.
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I made some doors like this about a year ago for a restaurant cabinet. I used some quarter inch plywood for the doors and they slid in grooves cut with my dado that were about 1/16 of an inch wider than the doors. The used just some 3/4 inch stock to cut the dadoes in. I only sanded the edges of the doors slightly to knock off any rough spots. The bottom dadoes I cut 1/4 inch deep and the top dadoes I cut 1/2 inch deep. That allows you to lift the doors up high into the top grooves and swing them into the bottom grooves. That makes them easy to take on and off. If you do it this way you should be able to measure the distance between the bottom of the bottom dado and the top of the top, subtract 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch, and thats your door height. If you follow me.
This wasn't a work of art either but it worked well. For handles I just screwed a rectangular block of wood vertically onto the front/side edge of each door. I ran the screws from the back side so they weren't visible. Before fastening the handles I drilled a large 3/4 to 1 inch whole in the middle of them for your finger to catch. I found if you put a delicate knob or handle on them they tend to get banged up by the other door when it slides into it. Unless you put some kind of stop in there to keep that from happening.
I didn't use any wax and they worked fine but I would be tempted not to paint too much inside the grooves because it will really gum the doors up.
Hope this it worded so you can understand it and hope it helps.
Thanks for the response. What you described is exactly what I'm trying to do. Great tip on the depth of dadoes and door height for easy removal.
Are you making a face frame box or euro style ? By cutting the grooves in the case as you spoke of you would have to be careful not to hit the nails or fasteners if it is a face frame box . You could let the bottom down from the edge of the face and add a track on both the top and the bottom .
dusty
I plan to construct them without face frames, simply attaching solid wood to the exposed edges.
My folks have that kind of sliding door for their spice shelves. Oak 1/4" plywood. They still work great after 25 years.
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