I messed up. Now I need to screw into particle board.

I bought a sliding barn door that was the right width but a bit too tall. The bottom has a groove for a guide, so in order to shorten the door, I cut a couple inches off the top. The trouble is, I cut off the hardwood at the top of the door that the roller assembly screws into and now all that's left is the particle board interior. The particle board isn't strong enough to hold the weight of the door on the rollers. So... I need to figure out how to attach the rollers to the top of the door, with only particle board to screw into. (In retrospect, I clearly should have cut extra height off the bottom - too late now.) I'm wondering if I drill holes, fill them with epoxy, and then set the screws in place if that will be strong enough. Thoughts?

Here is the door for reference:

formatting link

Reply to
Dave
Loading thread data ...

Ouch! That is an expensive mistake. If you saved the piece you cut off, you could use a strong, resin type wood glue and try to glue it back in place. For additional strength you could glue dowels and or biscuits into both pieces before assembling.

Posting a few pictures of what you are dealing with would probably help the group, help you.

Reply to
Stormin' Norman

On 07/04/2017 5:44 PM, Dave wrote: ...

Cut off that much more that the present cutoff gives correct overall height. Glue that back to the top; using some biscuits or dowels for some extra glue surface area wouldn't hurt.

Or, just rip the hardwood off the cutoff and glue it on where it was and trim the bottom for the height.

Reply to
dpb

Reply to
trader_4

IDK if there is some trim that would hide the boo boo, if there is then that would work. Otherwise I don't see that he has anything to lose by trying his idea. I'd put epoxy under the brackets too.

Reply to
trader_4

Is there a hardwood strip on the "bottom" of the door ? If so, could you just turn it "upside down" ?

OR instead of using wood screws, uses a bolt, washers & nut thru a hole drilled thru the door

Reply to
Retired

Saw a slot in the top of the door 3/4" wide and as deep as your blade will go. Glue a piece of hardwood in there, screw into that. Perfect would be a dado blade in a table saw but you could do it with a circular caw and the fence. Set it to cut the outsides of the 3/4" slot first then eat out the middle. Start smaller than 3/4 and sneak up on it. Clamp 3-4" of material to the side of the door, even with the top to get a stable base to work from. Laid flat and clamped on a table or the bench, hang the fence from the top surface with your clamped "base" on the bottom using the wide side of the saw plate against it. Just be sure everything is stable before you start the saw.

Reply to
gfretwell

Construction adhesive would be a choice too.

Reply to
trader_4

Cut a bunch due to aioe quotation limits. What about using hinges that attach to the side of the door? Something like these: or

formatting link

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

I'd pilot drill and use #10 x 3-1/2" deck screws and call it a day.

Reply to
Reverend Harry Hardwick

A router would probably be the better choice for cutting the dado.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Better be a big router ... at least 1/2" collet , and if I were doing this I'd probably hog most of it out with a circular saw and just finish the slot with the router . At a minimum a couple of 2x4's clamped on to give the saw and router bases some stability . The OP might be able to clean the slot up to the outer veneer layers , clean up the wood strip he cut off and glue it back in . I've done this with hollow core doors with good results .

--

Snag

Reply to
Terry Coombs

You just have trouble getting it very deep. If the surface of the door is not important, you could use one of those cylinder shaped nuts. That is what the furniture guys use in that sawdust material.

Reply to
gfretwell

90/206193108

How deep do you think it needs to be? He mentioned that he cut off "a coupl e of inches" but he didn't say that all 2? were hardwood or how long the screws were.

Even if he needed the full "couple of inches" you can get straight bits wit h 2" cut lengths.

e.g.

formatting link

25VZ

Multiple shallow passes could easily get him the full 2". A simple jig with a straight edge clamped to the door and he's good to go.

Of course, he could also use the tool shown at 3:00 of this video. ;-)

formatting link

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Any decent router with a 1/2" collet could handle this.

Multiple shallow passes with a 2" cut length straight bit will get the job done, assuming he actually needs the full 2". There are 1.5" cut lengths also. I recently bought a 5/8" bit with a 1.5" cut length to route out a 3/4" recess for a deck of cards in a cribbage board I made. With the 1/2" template for the recess, I needed at least 1.25".

formatting link

formatting link

I would expand on your 2x4 support idea and build a jig with a straight edge for the router to follow.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Turn it upside down?

Reply to
Wade Garrett

I was assuming this guy did not have as big a shop as "Norm". ;-)

Reply to
gfretwell

Hey, I simply suggested that he install dowels and use glue. It doesn't really matter, it appears the OP has vanished and I doubt he has the jig required to accurately install dowels, let alone cut a

3/4" slot and install a spline.
Reply to
Stormin' Norman

17 hours since the first post and you assume he's vanished? Maybe he has a job that doesn't allow him to post all day.

Why do you doubt that he can do the work? If he doesn't have a doweling jig, he can buy one for for $30-$90 depending on how much he plans to use it in the future. If he doesn't have a router, he can buy one. It's an extremely useful tool. I have 3. If he's never cut a slot and/or installed a spline, does that mean he'll never be able to?

Other than the fact that he screwed up the first cut (who hasn't?) how are you able to access his skill-set, or more importantly, his ability to learn? I've been playing around with home repair and woodworking for many years and I'm still learning new stuff. That's one of the reasons I do it. I like the journey. Apparently, the OP does too since he took it upon himself to cut the door in the first place.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

That's cheating. We gotta buy hundreds of dollars worth of new power tools. Don't you get it?

Reply to
Tommy Silvah

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.