Extreme How-To - January/February 2011

DO YOU
LIVE IN A
BARN?

Rip the pieces to width. Cut off the tongue and groove for square edges on the end pieces.

of 1-by and its job is to project the rollers and door slab past the existing door casing. Having the rail 6 inches above the head jamb looked great, and projecting it 3 inches proud of the rail on each side worked nicely, too.

On the wall in the backer location, make a small mark showing the center-line of the backer on the right side. Measure up half the width of the backer (in this case, 3 inches) and make a second mark. This marks the top of the backer.

Finally, strike a level line from the top mark.

TOOL SETUP

There’s really nothing that says “I did this” like making all the pieces to a project such as a door—something people touch and use everyday. Since it must both look good and work, I take a little extra care making it.

Success starts with the tool
setup. Having the right tools,
bits, blades and clamps—
before you start working—is
key. I mainly used:

• Miter saw and cut table

• Table saw

• Router with cove and 3/8” dado bits

• Jawhorses and squeeze clamps

• Impact drivers

•2x4s

• Circular saw with straight edge

• Random orbit sander

• Socket set

MAKING THE RAIL
BACKER

I cut my rail backer 3 inches longer than the rail to get a 1- 1/2-inch reveal on either end. I ripped the backer on the table saw out of 1-by- 10 flooring stock to a full 6-inch width.

Next, I sanded the backer on the show face and on the edges with 100- and 120-grit sandpaper. Beyond smoothing out imperfections, sanding does three things. First, sanding the face of the pine opens the grain, enabling the wood to accept