Unwarping a door

	Unwarping a door

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Subject

Author

Date

Unwarping a door

Christopher Nelson

05-20-2008

Re: Unwarping a door

Phisherman

05-20-2008

Christopher Nel...

Ken

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Posted by Christopher Nelson on May 20, 2008, 12:59 pm

I have an old wardrobe cabinet that I want to refurbish. The biggest
obstacle is that one door is warped 3/4" over 5 1/2' and won't close
fully. It's the right door and the top, left corner doesn't meet the
cabinet. I tried putting a turnbuckle inside to draw the opposite
corners together but the wire wasn't strong enough and broke. I can
get stronger wire but I now wonder if this is the best plan. The door
is wood, approximately 20"w x 66"h with two 1/4" (plywood?) panels set
into a 1x3 frame. Any suggestions on getting it to be flat again?

Posted by Phisherman on May 20, 2008, 7:28 pm

On Tue, 20 May 2008 09:59:22 -0700 (PDT), Christopher Nelson

>I have an old wardrobe cabinet that I want to refurbish. The biggest

>obstacle is that one door is warped 3/4" over 5 1/2' and won't close

>fully. It's the right door and the top, left corner doesn't meet the

>cabinet. I tried putting a turnbuckle inside to draw the opposite

>corners together but the wire wasn't strong enough and broke. I can

>get stronger wire but I now wonder if this is the best plan. The door

>is wood, approximately 20"w x 66"h with two 1/4" (plywood?) panels set

>into a 1x3 frame. Any suggestions on getting it to be flat again?

An interesting fix to a warped wooden door is to place it flat onto
the lawn in the sun. Orient it like placing a bowl upside down. The
wood fibers against the grass will swell. It should take an hour or
two.

Posted by Christopher Nelson on May 23, 2008, 10:07 am

> On Tue, 20 May 2008 09:59:22 -0700 (PDT), Christopher Nelson

> >I have an old wardrobe cabinet that I want to refurbish. The biggest

> >obstacle is that one door is warped 3/4" over 5 1/2' and won't close

> >fully. It's the right door and the top, left corner doesn't meet the

> >cabinet. I tried putting a turnbuckle inside to draw the opposite

> >corners together but the wire wasn't strong enough and broke. I can

> >get stronger wire but I now wonder if this is the best plan. The door

> >is wood, approximately 20"w x 66"h with two 1/4" (plywood?) panels set

> >into a 1x3 frame. Any suggestions on getting it to be flat again?

> An interesting fix to a warped wooden door is to place it flat onto

> the lawn in the sun. Orient it like placing a bowl upside down. The

> wood fibers against the grass will swell. It should take an hour or

> two.

Thanks but I think I have two problems. The warp is diagonal so there
isn't really an inside and outside of the curve and the door is
finished (paint on one side, varnish on the other).

Posted by Ken on May 23, 2008, 1:04 pm

> I have an old wardrobe cabinet that I want to refurbish. =A0The biggest

> obstacle is that one door is warped 3/4" over 5 1/2' and won't close

> fully. =A0It's the right door and the top, left corner doesn't meet the

> cabinet. =A0I tried putting a turnbuckle inside to draw the opposite

> corners together but the wire wasn't strong enough and broke. =A0I can

> get stronger wire but I now wonder if this is the best plan. =A0The door

> is wood, approximately 20"w x 66"h with two 1/4" (plywood?) panels set

> into a 1x3 frame. =A0Any suggestions on getting it to be flat again?

A few suggestions:

1.) Ask over in rec.woodworking

2.) I'm thinking that normally warped boards don't unwarp, that's
just how that particular board wants to go. If you do manage to
flatten by wetting/drying/tensioning, etc. The door will eventually
go back to it's "normal" warped state.

3.) If the wardrobe is valuable enough to be worth the trouble, you
could attempt to take apart all the joints in the door. If it's
mortise and tenon joints, you can adjust the mortises and/or tenons to
get the door flatter buy planing, chiseling, and shimming, and then
reassemble.

4.) This may not work in your case since it's 3/4" you're talking
about (which is kind of a lot), but the hinges could be repositioned
such that the diagonal corner of the door sits out 3/4" from the
frame, which could bring the other corner back flush.

5.) Do a combination of 3 & 4.

6.) If it really is an old wardrobe, just appreciate the character of
a warped door. ;-)

Ken

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