EMERGENCY! Source for cabinet sliding door hardware please

**Xanthorrhoeas** · 8th July 2017, 06:48 PM

Can anyone recommend suitable hardware for twin sliding doors about 500 high and 700 wide? The two doors need to run on twin tracks so that they can slide past each other. The doors will be solid panels of Qld Maple 12 mm thick and 500 x 700 approx.

I have had a request for a sideboard for my daughter's 25th birthday. It will support the turntable and amplifier that I have bought for her entry into vinyl record audio. This project is turning into a long story - see below.

At first, this was to be a relatively simple build - a simple cabinet divided into cube storage, open fronted, sitting on a plinth. easy, I thought, I can build that in time. But, it has evolved, my darling wife (MDW) got involved. OK, we needed to go, the three of us, and look at this great shop she had found that sells repro mid-century modern furniture. That upped the ante considerably.
Now, it is to be 'mid-century modern' style sideboard with sliding front doors and a particular style of leg. No design of course, Dad can fix that!

I had purchased some lovely Queensland Maple from a forumite and thought it would be perfect. Nope, it is is 16% moisture still. Darn. OK, some recycled Northern Silky Oak (purchased long ago from the same person) should be dry. It is, but it is warped! OK, the warp (cup) is coming out with water and wet grass and sun, so the boards look like they will work. It will be a relatively simple rectangle about 1400 mm x 500 mm with mitred corners supported either by dominos or by fillets in the corners if I am in a hurry. One vertical divider mid-way along. The timber is lovely wide boards about 430 mm wide and 2100 long. Being recycled there are a few holes and grooves to deal with but, but I am planning to work with them rather than against them.

The legs are a whole other story - imagine a V with a solid section top and bottom. I'll need to do a few trials and mock-ups to make it work and look good. MDW has suggested the legs should be 1/3 and the cabinet 2/3 in height. She's an artist so who am I to argue?

I do hope I can pul this off. I have enough very dry Northern Silky Oak to do it, my skillset is 'maybe' OK, time is far too short. Please help with the info on the track for the doors or I will fail!!!!

I will be sure to post photos as it develops.

**DaveTTC** · 8th July 2017, 09:01 PM

Would brass track work with rollers set in the doors?

You could make a channel x2 in the top of the carcass with timber plants or rout them out if your members have enough meat

DaveTTC
The Turning Cowboy
Turning Wood Into Art

**elanjacobs** · 8th July 2017, 11:42 PM

Hafele is pretty much always the answer for cabinetry. It won't be as pretty as brass, but it will be functional and probably cheaper.

**Chief Tiff** · 9th July 2017, 01:10 AM

Some narrow track made from brass or ally or even just grooves routed into the bare timber, then throw in a handful of loose ball bearings that the doors will ride on. You can make grooves 1/4" wide, use 6mm bearings and rebate the door edges to 6mm; this will allow the doors to pass each other with as small a gap between them as you feel comfortable with. Naturally all my dimensions are ballpark, you could also use 8mm 5/16" or 10mm 3/8".

If you are concerned about the doors warping and jamming into the tracks/grooves; then instead of rebating the doors run a groove down them and insert a bar of steel/brass/ally to form the tongue.

**acropolite** · 25th July 2017, 08:42 AM

What about a couple of Pocket Door hinges to give you regular opening doors that retract back in to the cabinet, I did that for my HiFi "gadget central". The cabinet would beed to be a couple of inches wider to allow for the retracted doors, but would look much neater. I think I bought my tracks from Howard Silvers but Bunnings probbaly have them nowdays. Pocket Door Hinge-runner-flipper-door-hettich

**richmond68** · 25th July 2017, 12:45 PM

Cowdroy are my go-to brand for sliding cupboard hardware. At the most basic level you could run the doors in a simple rebate lined with slick tape, which is self adhesive UHMW plastic, like cutting boards. I'd use that in preference to ball bearing as they don't trap dust. If you can't get the tape your local plastics supplier should be able to supply it as bar or rod.

**China** · 25th July 2017, 05:50 PM

Lincolin Sentry have plastic sliding door track

**Xanthorrhoeas** · 25th July 2017, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by acropolite

What about a couple of Pocket Door hinges to give you regular opening doors that retract back in to the cabinet, I did that for my HiFi "gadget central". The cabinet would beed to be a couple of inches wider to allow for the retracted doors, but would look much neater. I think I bought my tracks from Howard Silvers but Bunnings probbaly have them nowdays. Pocket Door Hinge-runner-flipper-door-hettich

Thanks. I've been absent from my own thread while I got on and built the cabinet because today's B day - as in my daughter's birthday, so I had to have the basic cabinet and legs ready (see separate thread Mid-century Modern sideboard build)

That is a very interesting idea as I am coming around to the idea of having two hinged doors (one at each end) with a sliding door in the centre. However, my old, probably recycled Qld Maple door panels are quite thin (about 11 mm) so I do not think they will have the 'meat' to take a pocket hinge. I'll definitely keep it in mind for a future build though - I did not know these things existed.

David

**Xanthorrhoeas** · 25th July 2017, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by richmond68

Cowdroy are my go-to brand for sliding cupboard hardware. At the most basic level you could run the doors in a simple rebate lined with slick tape, which is self adhesive UHMW plastic, like cutting boards. I'd use that in preference to ball bearing as they don't trap dust. If you can't get the tape your local plastics supplier should be able to supply it as bar or rod.

Thanks. I have purchased Cowdroy single track in Aluminium because (as above), I am now planning to have two hinged doors at each end with a sliding door in the middle. I actually prefer brass to Al but, since this is evoking mid-century modern (based on a Danish Larsen 1958-59 design scaled down) then the Al is/maybe/perhaps the way to go. It matches the nickel plated screws used elsewhere on the piece so there it is. I have some strips of UHMW I purchased for jigs some time ago so they will probably become the runners. Also, Aldi had these lovely UHMW thick cutting boards recently for only $12 - one of those may also come to serve a greater purpose.

**Xanthorrhoeas** · 25th July 2017, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by China

Lincolin Sentry have plastic sliding door track

Thanks China. I did find their tracks at the big green shed, but had already gone for the Aluminium option, which fitted my pre-existing dadoes in the recycled Northern Silky oak better.

David

**Xanthorrhoeas** · 25th July 2017, 06:39 PM

Thanks for all the replies. This has been a "seat-of-the pants" design exercise. Yes, I prefer to design thoroughly first. But, sometimes I don't have the "headspace" for that so I just start ... and work it out as I go. A bit like life I suppose (or mine at least). If you want to see how it went look at Mid-century Modern sideboard build

Thanks again to all contributors. You make this a great forum.

David

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