Thread: Poll - Internal Door construction idea - be ok?

It will work. At work we have built internal doors in just this way when they're specifically ordered, subject to disclaimers. This is NOT a good idea for external doors which see large temp/humidity variations between both sides and we will NOT build one for a customer. Not even with disclaimers to cover our butts.

You'll have to follow all the rules about alternating grain direction between boards, etc., etc. to prevent cupping. Gravity will help to hold a tabletop flat against 'light cupping' - to a degree - but a door will move significantly.

Modern solid cores that are made of timber generally use your method but are built up from strips around 1" wide. This not only reduces the expenses involved with wider planks (ie. using what would otherwise be offcuts) it also minimises the cupping problem. They typically also have top/bottom rails and are faced with veneers/laminates.

Personally I'd still prefer to have top and bottom rails, which also assist with cupping, but primarily because they add strength across the major grain direction. What if someone slams one of your doors and there's an object in the way? Any splits along the grain would probably grow until you had to come up with a solution for a problem that should never have cropped up.

You can do without visible rails if you want to do something like running a couple of lengths of all-thread through the width and plugging over the holes, or running mortises through each board so you can glue in a concealed near full-width floating tenon.

Whatever approach you take, I strongly recommend some form of bracing across the grain.

2.1 x 35 but how wide ? If its narrow strips like 35 x 35 I wouldn't be using the domino normally but thinking about it , long ones going in 70mm each side would have a real effect on keeping a door straight in a situation like that. If you rip down wider stuff into 35 x 35 then the strips can be orientated so every strip has as close as possible to a 1/4 sawn face on the front and back . That's going to be as stable as you could do .
You would have seen veneered doors like that possibly . The old corestock. Isnt it possible to by door blanks something like this now ? .
If your talking wider boards at 35 mm thick like you probably are then as said above or good luck.

Rob

Won't expansion be a problem? Pretty sure the solid cores are oriented so the expansion is across the depth of the door.

Thank you chaps. they would be wider boards - prolly minimum 70mm or so, but generally around 120-150 I should think. Don't mind a rail across the top and bottom, and as Skew says, will assist far more for preventing cupping plus added strength.

I'd be concerned about a couple of things. If you're fitting the doors to existing jambs, then chances are they are out of square or out of plane. If you have to trim to fit you don't want to have to plane a whole lot of end grain. Catching on the bottom will tend to split along the grain, if the grain runs vertically you can do more damage appearance wise.
How about something like this?
image.jpeg

I did this 30 yrs ago with a custom size entrance door WRC. Used all tread in 3 places, 150 from top and bottom and 100 below centre line of lock. The door is still going today

Originally Posted by richmond68

I'd be concerned about a couple of things. If you're fitting the doors to existing jambs, then chances are they are out of square or out of plane. If you have to trim to fit you don't want to have to plane a whole lot of end grain. Catching on the bottom will tend to split along the grain, if the grain runs vertically you can do more damage appearance wise.
How about something like this?
image.jpeg

Very nice doors, are they in a display showroom?

Originally Posted by richmond68

How about something like this?
image.jpeg

Yep, that looks the goods. Exactly what I have in mind, with the addition of the rails on Skew's original advice.

Originally Posted by rwbuild

Very nice doors, are they in a display showroom?

Don't know to be honest, I was emailed that pic and asked if I could make a sliding door like it. Sent back a quote and that was the last I heard of it. You know, business as usual. Most prospective clients have no appreciation of the cost of materials nor the amount of work required.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Yep, that looks the goods. Exactly what I have in mind, with the addition of the rails on Skew's original advice.

Looks as though that will work . And looks good.

Although knowing what you now know, you could go back and re name the thread.

"Can I use a Table top as a door ?"



Rob

I'm going to jump into the "your dreaming" camp.

Compared to frame and panel your proposed construction is heavy and a fair amount of work -- especially if the doors are made from 1-2" wide strips. and you keep them flat with allthread or dovetail battens.

I encourage you to reconsider frame and panel.
the panels can be veneered MDF or marine ply -- I doubt if you can get A/A or A/B ply in Sydney -- rather than raised, or even your own 12 mm thick glue ups.

you can trick the doors up with applied moldings or leave the panel surrounds beveled.

Although the "table top" sliding door design looks pretty smart, I'll bet it has breadboard ends. I would suggest that humidity varies more indoors than outside, especially up your way. By heating the house in the depths of winter when the cold air is super dry, the relative humidity plummets. I've been whacked by static charges countless times on cold days.

The Poms often use solid core doors inside but they're all tongue & groove with bracing on one side...not unlike the gate to the chook shed. I would cut T&Gs rather than use dominos.

mick

Veneer a hollow core door? I think you are under estimating the work involved in building them the way you plan.