About a year ago, I got the brilliant idea to build a sliding barn door. Although my wife and I are both wood turners, we decided we might be able to tackle a project like this. In looking for designs and wood, I came across a sawyer in Galax, VA, with some very nice black walnut book matched slabs for sale. Knowing absolutely nothing about working with wide wood, I bought a set of his slabs which had been stacked and stickered on his property for about four months. From there, I stored the slabs in a basement with a dehumidifier for another six months or so, and then brought them home to Raleigh. At this point, I realized I was in way over my head and that my project had gone from a segmented barn door to a massive 8'X4' door slab, so I joined the NCWW group for advice and assistance. A couple of folks responded to my first thread and recommended I approach Scott Smith. He was more than helpful with guidance and information and we ended up putting the slabs in his kiln for a few days as the moisture content was higher than it needed to be. Who knew? With the content now at 8%, I was ready for jointing, planing, sanding and glue up. My shop is very small and we didn't have the necessary tools, space and, most importantly, expertise to proceed, and Scott, too, didn't have the space and was way too busy running his business to help us see our project through. He did, however, recommend I talk to Billy Keck at Raleigh Reclaimed. Billy and his folks did the glue up, and then allowed my wife and me to leave the door in his warehouse space while we finished it, a longer process than I had anticipated. We applied 4 coats of Tried and True Varnish Oil to the front and back of the door. Then we put battens on the back and pegs in the screw holes, and took it home to let it acclimate for a couple of weeks before hanging it. Happy ending to the story, the door is installed and, IMHO, looks great. We are very pleased. I made numerous mistakes along the way, but also learned from those mistakes should I ever tackle another woodworking project other than turning again!
Thanks to all of those who responded to my questions and offered advice on processes through finishes. I especially thank Scott Smith for his help and also for his reference to Raleigh Reclaimed. Good job, guys. In an earlier thread, I described our "barn door" as more of a wooden piece of art that could double as a door closure. Here are pictures of how it turned out. Thank you all.
Thanks to all of those who responded to my questions and offered advice on processes through finishes. I especially thank Scott Smith for his help and also for his reference to Raleigh Reclaimed. Good job, guys. In an earlier thread, I described our "barn door" as more of a wooden piece of art that could double as a door closure. Here are pictures of how it turned out. Thank you all.
