How to Make and Install Sliding Barn Doors

My neighbor asked me to build a pair of Sliding Barn Doors for his living room/office doorway.  Check out my video below to see how I made them.

Supply List

These are the supplies I used to build and install the barn doors.  The key to building these doors is lots of planning and measuring.  You may need different supplies depending on the size and of your doors and how they will be installed, so adjust this list to fit your needs.

• 8-foot 2x6 boards (3 per door)
• 8-foot tongue and groove planks (6 per door)
• 8-foot 1x4 board (cut into 4 diagonal pieces, 2 per door)
• 8-foot 2x4 for mounting the track
• Wood glue
• 1 gallon of paint and paint brush
• 4 door handles
• 14-feet of steel flat bar, 3/16" thick and 2" wide
• 4 garage door pulleys with 3" diameter
• 8 bolts and 8 nylock nuts (for door hardware)
• 4 bolts, 8 washers, and 4 nylock nuts (for wheels)
• 8 lag screws 4" long
• 3 screws 1" long (for mounting track to 2x4)
• 2 felt pads to protect baseboards

Instructions

Here are some basic instructions for building and installing one barn door.  Remember to make adjustments for your particular situation.

1. Cut the 2x6 boards to length for the rails and stiles.  Use a 3/4" dado set to cut 1" deep grooves into one side of all 2x6 pieces.  The middle rail will need a groove on both sides.
2. Cut tenons on both ends of the rails.  Do a dry assembly of the door frame to measure for the panels.
3. Cut the tongue and groove planks for the panels.  To center the groove lines in the panel opening, you can rip the sides off one plank and use those pieces to start and end the pattern.
4. Glue the three rails into one stile and let it dry.
5. Slide the tongue and groove planks into place.  The planks I used are plain one side and have a center bead on the other side, so make sure the boards are flipped the right way.  Start and end with the thin spacer boards so the grooves are centered.  I did not use glue between the planks.
6. Glue the remaining stile to the other side of the rails.
7. Once the glue is dry, sand and paint or stain the doors as desired.
8. Cut four 15" pieces of flat bar.  Drill a hole at one end for the wheel.  Drill two holes at the other end for mounting to door.  Sand any rough edges.
9. Cut a piece of flat bar for the track.  In my case, the wall space limited the track to 107" long.  In general, the track will usually need to be about twice the width of the door(s).
10. Paint the steel flat bar pieces and mounting hardware flat black.
11. Mount the wheels to the top of the door using the 15" flat bar pieces.  Make sure there is enough space between the top of the door and the bottom of the wheel to fit it onto the track.
12. Cut the 2x4 board to the same length as the track.  Mount the track to the 2x4 board using three screws, so that it overlaps the edge about 3/8" to allow clearance for the wheels to sit on the rail.
13. Check above the door opening for a solid header or stud locations.  Drill mounting holes through the track and 2x4 for the lag screws.  Screw the track into place.  Make sure it is sturdy because these doors are heavy.
14. Hang the doors onto the rail.  Make sure they clear door trim and baseboards and hang straight and square.  You can make minor adjustments to crooked doors by slightly enlarging the wheel mounting holes and mounting the wheels a little higher or lower.
15. Too keep a door from rolling off the end of the track, add an L bracket or strategically placed screw as a stop.
16. If you do not want the doors to be able to swing out from the bottom, you can buy or make a bracket that will allow the doors to slide, but prevent them from swinging out.
17. Attach the handles.
18. Enjoy your new barn doors!

The supplies for this project cost about $200.  If you purchased similar barn doors and hardware from a store and paid for the installation, you could expect to spend about $1,500 or more, so you can save a lot of money by making and installing them yourself.  It took me about 25 hours of work over the course of 1 week to complete this project.  

I am really pleased with out these barn doors turned out.  It was a challenging project to build such large doors in my small shop, but they were a lot of fun to make.  My wife has already requested that I make some for our home, so that means I get some more shop time!  Yes!

April Wilkerson of WilkerDos.com made some barn doors from plywood siding.  This is a great alternative to rail and stile construction.  I liked the way she used regular materials for the mounting hardware.  Check out her video below and subscribe to her channel if you haven't yet.  Thanks April!

Aaron at MrFixItDIY.com inspired me to use the rail and stile method to build these barn doors.  Check out his video below and subscribe to his channel if you haven't yet.  Thanks Aaron!

Harbor Freight Foot Switch Review

I recently bought a foot switch from Harbor Freight for my scroll saw.  I thought it would be fun to try it out on other tools too.  Check out my video then read more about my thoughts below.

Harbor Freight sells two types of foot switches.  The Momentary Foot Switch (Item 96619) works like a sewing machine pedal - press it to make the machine run and release it to stop.  The Power Maintained Foot Switch (Item 96618) works like a regular switch - step on it to turn on and step on it again to turn off.

I purchased the Momentary Foot Switch for my scroll saw, because it seems very similar to the use of a sewing machine.  The switch works great for this purpose and I highly recommend it.  I also recommend this switch for a drill press, sander, and even a router table where the router switch may be difficult to access.  My only complaint is that it's made of plastic.

I don't see myself using a Momentary Foot Switch for larger tools, like the table saw, band saw, or lathe.  I move around and change my stance a lot when using these tools, so keeping my foot on the pedal would be cumbersome.  Also, the thought of accidentally shutting off power to a tool in mid-cut is kind of scary.  The Power Maintained Foot Switch may be a better option for these larger tools.  It could be useful as a secondary stop switch or for hands-free operation when handling large sheets of plywood, but I think the switch itself and the power cables could be a trip hazard.

There are some safety considerations when using foot switches, so make sure you follow the safety guidelines that come with the switch.  If you have kids, pets, or frequent visitors in your shop, it's a good idea to turn off the tool's main switch when it's not in use and not rely solely on the foot switch.  If you blow a fuse or trip a breaker, turn off the tool's main switch before resetting the breaker.  Use common sense.

I can see where foot switches could make a production environment more efficient for repetitive tasks.  For most of us in a home woodworking shop, speed isn't much of an issue, but there are still some good uses for them.  Pick one up for about $13.99 (even less with a 20% off coupon) and try it out on a few tools to see what feels comfortable to you.  Just make sure you buy the right type for your purpose.

Sidebar Convo with Project Follow-Ups and a Shop Visitor!

In this Sidebar Convo, I follow up on some of my most recent projects.  Also Keith Hurley from South Georgia visited the shop and I asked him a few questions about his brand new YouTube channel "Peccy's Place".  Check out the video!

Show Notes:

• Subscribe to Keith's channel Peccy's Place.
• Make some simple Raised Garden Beds.
• Purchase my Scroll Saw Stand Plans.
• Watch my Scroll Saw Stand Video.
• Check out my Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me whirligig.
• See how I make Drumstick Pens from broke drumsticks.
• Have a look at my Sticker Spinner project.

Keith taking a bite out of my Palletroni Pizza!  Mmm!

DIY Scroll Saw Stand for the DeWalt DW788

I designed and built this Scroll Saw Stand for my DeWalt DW788 scroll saw.  Watch the video below to see how I made it, then continue reading for more info.

This scroll saw stand can be customized to fit other saws as well.  Below are some of the features that I incorporated into the saw:

• Added casters so I can move it around and even take it outside on nice days.
• On-board storage allows for a place to keep scroll saw accessories and blades in the top bin, and the larger bin at the bottom can be used for cut-offs and scrap.
• The stand has a small footprint and is 25" tall, but can be customized with risers to make the saw tilt forward to reduce neck strain. 

I have created a 20-page detailed set of plans for this project and made them available for purchase on my Etsy store.  The plans included measured drawings, plywood layouts, actual size cutting templates, and detailed assembly diagrams and pictures.  If you would like to build one of these stands, please consider purchasing the plans.  Click here for the plans!