# bowing boards ( sliding barn door )



## swimba (Mar 11, 2015)

I recently built a sliding barn door for my house with 1" x 8" pine for the front facing frame. It was backed with 3/4" car siding. I ran into the problem of a corner of the door bowing toward the wall and rendering the door inoperable. That was my fault, I didn't let the wood acclimate. Now I want to re-work the door. Here is my plan, back it with 1/2" ply ( for added stability ) and tack a pine face frame onto that ( simple right? ). My issue with this is that the longer boards ( ~5ft ) when acclimated have slight bows. Is this just something I'm fighting because I'm using pine or is there a fix for this? I'm new to woodworking and typically work on smaller projects so this is throwing me for a loop.

I don't have a jointer, and even if i did it seems like I would have to loose too much of the stock to completely flatten it out.

My thoughts on fixing ( or stabilizing the bows ) is to rip the boards, joint, and glue them back together with one piece flipped ( so the rings are opposite ) hopefully offsetting the bow. Is this a good fix, or am I just asking for trouble?

Any help is greatly appreciated. I just want the longer boards to be stable so I don't have to make a 3rd door.

And maybe I'm overthinking it and once the pine is attached to the 1/2" ply that will be enough stability.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Hard to tell without a picture.


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## swimba (Mar 11, 2015)

That's fair, I can take some tonight after the 9-5


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

The key to straight doors will be stock selection. Rather than 1×8s, look for 1×12 with the pith in the center, the ends will be quartersawn. Sticker and give the wood some time to acclimate/dry. Rip out the center (pith) and use the ends. Don't back it with plywood or anything else, that will just cause problems.

Your rip and flip plan is worth trying.


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## swimba (Mar 11, 2015)

If i did that, would you recomend using 2×12 and running a groove for a center pannel? That is aprx the width I'm looking for.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Something like this? Totally doable.


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## swimba (Mar 11, 2015)

Yeah, but I'm thinking just one cross piece like this:









..except vertical


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