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Built these sliding closet doors for my complete house remodel project that's been going on the past 3 years. Built with Quarter sawn white oak. Laminated stiles with a finished dimension of 1-3/8" thick. My first attempt at making doors (besides cabinet doors) and it went really well. I utilized the Domino XL that I purchased a few years ago for all the connections. Making a total of 48 plunges into the door stiles for 24 ea 12 mm x 120 mm domino's. Gluing up the long stiles really can be challenging with the amount of glue and clamps required. The interior panels were made by ripping a 4/4 board in half and bookmatching it, gluing it back together. I cut the panels to fit in between each rail, but kept the boards in order so the grain flows from the top to the bottom.

the Powermax 22-44 sander really came in handy for sanding the door wide panels. And I cannot say enough good things about the Festool Domino. Really an amazing machine! Simple to use, and created super-strong joints. Gluing up that many dominos does require quite a few clamps to pull the door together, but eventually it succumbed!

The finish is a spray on lacquer. Sherwin Williams "Sher-wood" product that a cabinet maker sprayed on for me. I contemplated staining these doors, but once I got the parts machined and fully realized the beauty of the natural wood I had a hard time just covering them up with stain. The lacquer finish really allows the quartersawn flecks to shine through. I've tried various techniques using dyes and stains on other quartersawn projects, which do help, but the clear finish really makes the doors pop!

Doors were very heavy, so I purchased some heavy-duty sliding closet door hardware. "LE Johnson 138F" Sliding door hardware was the model. Rated for 125 lb per panel. Just cut the track to the desired length, mount the track, mount the door hardware and hang. Very easy and smooth operating hardware! The sliding hardware shipped a round finger-push piece of hardware, but I didnt like the silver look and purchased some bronze hardware from Menards. The top aluminum door track that is visible will probably get covered up with a board sometime as well.

Gallery

Comments

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44 Posts
Exceptional work, great choice going with just clear. I can see how those dominos really speed up the process.
 

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5,244 Posts
Simply gorgeous.
 

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Very nice build, simple yet elegant. I like it a lot. Indeed, the only thing that distracts is the aluminum top rail, but once that's covered you'll have a beautiful set of sliding doors.

I share your enthusiasm about the Festool Domino (I have no links with the company :)). It's a truly amazing and well-thought trough tool that allows making strong and precise joints in a fraction the time you'd need for making traditional tenon joints. I also used it very successfully for joining pieces at an angle or for joining curved pieces.
 

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Good honest doors, well done.
 

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Looks good and you got to play/work with your toys/tools. LOL!
 

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Very nicely done. Great attention to detail and super-looking finish! Thanks for sharing it :)
 

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really nice I ve been wanting to make a 3 door set for my bedroom but with some white or frosted muted glass or plastic panels , something more contemporary A+
 
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