Tool List used in this video:
• Delta Unisaw (my model is no longer made)
• Domino 500
• Assorted Dominos
• Titebond CA Glue Medium
• TS75 EQ Track Saw Festool
• Lincoln Electric MIG 180 Pro Welder
• Craftsman Radial Arm Saw (my model is no longer made)
• Jet Parallel Clamps
• Portable Hand Held band saw (my model is no longer made)
If you want to purchase a door from me, please visit my custom furniture website.
My Buddy Owns a salvage business down the HWY from me. This is where I get most of my reclaimed material. He’s got some cools stuff laying around out their. The barn wood for this project was salvaged from a barn in Blackburn, Missouri.
Once I got the boards picked out, I returned to the shop to cut them to a rough length.
I straightened one edge to safely cut off the brown strip left behind from the batten boards, protecting it from graying in the weather. Batten boards are typically installed on barns to cover the gap between the main boards to keep the wind and rain from blowing through the boards and into the barn.
Since the boards weren’t going to be sanded, I didn’t want to get pencil marks on the wood, so I put blue tape down so I would have a place to mark the locations of the dominos. I lined up the dominos to the back of the door. This way any unevenness that might occur will show up on the show side of the door adding to its distressed board look. Fun fact: most barn wood is only gray on one side. The brown side faces into the barn so it doesn’t get exposed to the weather, keeping its brown appearance.
Again because the wood will not be sanded, I did not want to get any glue squeeze out so I used the least amount of glue possible.
I used culls to prevent the clamps from touching the wood so I would not get any of the black staining that typically happens when glue, and metal meets wood.
Because there were so many pieces to glue up, I started gluing up smaller sub assemblies, allowing them to dry before gluing the sub sections together. I did this until I had a complete door.
The door length was much longer than any of my clamps, so I rigged up a reverse clamp to push against the final board to push it into place. The other end of the door is securely clamped to the table.
I used my track saw to clean up the sides and cut the barn door to the final width and length.
I cleared off the bench and started cutting the steel to length to build the frame. I mitered all the corners.
I ground a bevel to ensure my weld penetrated all the way to the back. This way, I could grind the bead flat to look like one piece of steel after it is painted.
One of my favorite things about welding miters is if the miter has a gap in it, you can fill it up with molten steel.
I welded flanges on the back of the frame to hold the wood in place. Even though the wood is distressed, the sparks will likely cool before leaving a mark on the wood. I took time to project the immediate area around the weld from the sparks by covering the area with some scrap plywood. I also wetted the wood to prevent it from catching fire if I got my bead too hot.
This board is for the header above the door to bolt the track. I used a matching size drill bit to mark the bolt locations and spun it backwards to mark the locations. I then switched to the proper size bit to drill the pilot holes for the bolts at the drill press. I used the drill press instead of a handheld drill to ensure a straight hole
Finally, I did a test fit of each bolt using a block of wood to hold the bolts straight as I drove them. If these bolts are slightly off, the door will not roll smoothly on the track or hang straight.
This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing this.