Advice needed for sliding door project run amok

[clare]

Tempered glass would be my suggestion for 30X37" doors that cannot be over 1/4" thick - or 6061T6 aluminum.

[clare]

Another thought - try to get "aircraft grade" plywood - 45degree instead of 90, and all veneers "A" grade.

[Martin Eastburn]

Did you varnish both sides at the same time ? If you left the inside bare the moisture can hit the bare side and swell.

Mart> >> Dick Snyder wrote in

[Martin Eastburn]

Kinda like welding sheet stock to a base. Weld one side and the standing sheet bends in the weld. Welding the other side won't fix it.

One tack welds back and forth on both sides - once tacked in then weld.

The idea is for wood also - coating one side might at first relax that side but as the coating is dried it shrinks. Putting it on both sides causes it to shrink in back to back motions that counteracts the forces.

Mart> >> >>

[dadiOH]

I'm thinking a piece of 1/4" x 30" x 37" glass might be a tad heavy to slide around. If I were OP and was going to use glass, would use four pieces, rather than two. He could still access the same amount of space.

[John McCoy]

"dadiOH" wrote in news:me3qdj$4bh$ [e-mail]:

A very good point. Four at 30" x 18.5" would be much more manageable, both in use and in installation.

John

[Dick Snyder]

The general consensus among members of the rec who commented is that the plywood was too big to remain stable. Each sliding panel is 30" high and 34" long. Even before I put a finish on it it was curved. I had hoped (incorrectly) that the track would take out the curves which were in one direction only - the longest one). I bought it at the end of December and kept it in my very dry warm basement where my shop is.

Anyway, I am moving on to try 1/4" smoked acrylic sheets which should be very stable.

[Dick Snyder]

I am going to try 1/4" smoked acrylic sheet. Should be stable and a lot lighter than glass.

[dpb]

...

Veneer it is the other choice to retain the original cherry look.

[Baxter]

Dick Snyder wrote in news:LJudnSF5rP [e-mail]:

What if the spline(?) for the track is offset for each door? You might have to trim any interior shelves by a little.

[dpb]

Dick Snyder wrote in news:LJudnSF5rP [e-mail]:

What if the spline(?) for the track is offset for each door? You might have to trim any interior shelves by a little.

How much _can_ you sacrifice in shelf depth? It wouldn't take but a

1/2" thick frame or maybe even 3/8" with a rabbet to add sufficient stiffness to the panels. Doesn't have to be a centered groove, a rear flush rabbet'll do the same trick...

[Dick Snyder]

The panels/doors have to pass by each other

[Dick Snyder]

I may do the hardboard as a second choice. First choice right now is smoked acrylic glass. I will have to give up on the cherry doors but my daughter (the recipient) is OK with that.

[dpb]

So, they still can/could, just need the width of the thickness of the panels which could be as little as 3/4" total plus a smidge for clearance...

[dpb]

And, in fact, they can still go in the 1/4" grooves simply rabbet the bottom/top edges to fit and turn the to panel overhangs to front/rear, respectively on each.

[dpb]

On 03/15/2015 4:51 PM, Dick Snyder wrote: ...

See my other note above; you don't _have_ to give it I think...

[krw]

The idea is that one panel is offset to the outside of the track and the other to the inside. They will still pass by each other, just as the bare panels do but the "inner" door will cut into the interior space a bit.

[Doug Winterburn]

How about this stuff:

[dpb]

Precisely, and better worded besides... :)

[Swingman]

Very nicely done!