Planning Barn Door Build


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Going to grab the wood for this build tomorrow and hoping to get most of it done by early next week. I'm wanting to give each of the vertical "panel" boards some definition so that it doesn't look like one solid panel and am wondering what kind of a profile I might be able to route on the edge in order to give me that definition. Would a straight round over or maybe a fluted bit give me that look?

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2 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Add a slight chamfer to the corners of the t&g boards, that will provide plenty of definition.

 

3 minutes ago, Mark J said:

+1 on a simple small chamfer.  You could even use a block plane rather than a router.

Thanks guys. Clearly was overthinking this. I would have eased the edges with a chamfer anyway. Wasn’t thinking about that bringing the definition that I was looking for. Appreciate the wisdom.

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Alright, so I have another question that might seem silly to some, but I’m still learning at this, so I appreciate the patience. I’m planning to do tongue and groove jointing for the vertical “panel” boards of this door and trying to determine how much width on the board I will lose when I make the tongue and thus how wide they need to be prior to preparing the joinery. I’m looking at some tongue and groove bits and noting that they have a kerf width along with a diameter and shank dimension. Based on how we usually talk about kerf on a blade, I’m assuming that the kerf on the bit is the width of the tongue or groove, but what I’m really needing to know is the width of the tongue and thus how much of the overall width of the board face I’ll be losing when I create it will be. Does that make any sense to anyone? I can see the question I’m asking in my head, but I’m not sure I’ve articulated it well.

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You are talking about the DEPTH of the groove and LENGTH of the mating tongue. The bit you choose will define the maximum those dimensions can be, but your can also use a fence on your router table to offset the cut and reduce the depth if desired. Seems like a 1/4 tongue length is pretty typical.

FYI, this joint can be cut a few different ways on the tablesaw, as well.

 

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Good idea also on the ship lap but I don’t understand why you would loose any less width than with the tongue and groove as both seat into or over lap? To not loose would be to butt the boards together and I don’t think that to be a good idea. What am I missing? 

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2 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

FYI, this joint can be cut a few different ways on the tablesaw, as well.

Thanks so much for clarifying that for me. I’m glad you were able understand what I was getting at. 

I’m assuming that on a TS, you would just run the boards over a dado stack to make the tongue and the groove?

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7 hours ago, Jonathan McCully said:

 

I’m assuming that on a TS, you would just run the boards over a dado stack to make the tongue and the groove?

Dado stack or single blade, there are multiple techniques that work. I do suggest a taller auxiliary fence and featherboards for any methods that cut the board on edge. Any wobble can ruin the cut.

It is possible to set up the saw to make each of these cuts in a single pass, but getting the joint centered can be tricky. I've had the best luck arranging to cut in 2 passes, flipping the board end for end so that the cut is properly centered.

Just like M&T, I would cut the grooves first, then sneak up on the fit of the tongues. And to be clear on your previous question, the width you lose is the length of the tongue. The groove should be a hair deeper to allow room for glue.

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