Sliding Door Guide Strips

[Edward Hennessey]

I'm helping someone refurbish sliding closet doors. The doors themselves have a simple groove routed top and bottom to accomodate the guide strips which are nailed into recesses in the closet frame.

Questions:

1. Would it be best to fabricate the new guide strips of a hardwood like red oak or is a softer wood the better option?

Note: the doors themselves are faced with ply. I have not determined what wood composes the gooved portion of the doors. If that determination is necessary, please let me know. If it comes to speciating the slotted wood in the doors, more guidance may be needed.

1. As I'll be making new ones, are there any suggested fractional clearance intervals between sides and top of the guide strips and the door slots?

1. Should the strips or slots be left denuded of paint? If paint is wise, a list of kinds and names would be welcome. What can be had here under air-quality regulations is another thing. Would another coating or impregnation of the strips or slots be advisable?

2. Along its inmost contact surface with the slots, the old molding has a low, roughly convex profile. How much of that owes to wear, only 70 years could say. To be honest, my hasty look at the doors didn't leave me with a memory of the slot profile, although presumption would think it rectilinear.

If there is a default profile for the inmost surface on the new molding--or there are outstanding questions for me to resolve--I'd appreciate direction.

Lastly, I'm happy to chase down the answer on the net-- and will. However, if someone has actual knowledge ready to leap from their brains to the keyboard, I'm all ears in the lotus position.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

[RicodJour]

See if one of these works for you.

[dadiOH]

More options (in addition to RicodJour's)

[SonomaProducts.com]

I would use the hardest and smoothest wood you can find. I wouldn't use Oak because it has pronounced grain. Use hard maple. Physics instruct that you should minimize the contact surface area for the smoothest ride. So shape it to have a bit of an acute radius if possible. However you need to keep wear in the equation so you do need something wider than a knife poiint edge. Then wax it, no paint.

[RicodJour]

school, but pretty bulletproof.

is one brand, and in selecting the sheaves I'd suggest bumping up the load rating to ~150% of the door weight.

R

[Edward Hennessey]

Thanks for the pointer.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

[Edward Hennessey]

school, but pretty bulletproof.

is one brand, and in selecting the sheaves I'd suggest bumping up the load rating to ~150% of the door weight.

R

R:

Thank you for both URLs. I'll relay the modernization options from you and DadiOH upstairs.

BTW, I hope RicodNuit remains an option in your toolkit.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

[Edward Hennessey]

Your points on waxing and desirable wood characteristics are well taken. I'll forward the options for a roller system versus the original wood-to-wood setup.

Thanks and regards,

Edward Hennessey