[PLUG-TALK] Woodworking?

Denis Heidtmann denis.heidtmann at gmail.com
Sun Sep 12 03:20:35 UTC 2010


On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 6:44 PM, John Jason Jordan <johnxj at comcast.net>wrote:

> On Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:58:51 -0700
> Russell Senior <seniorr at aracnet.com> dijo:
>
> >John> 1) Go to Home Depot / Lowes and acquire an unfinished door of
> >John> the appropriate width and species. Doors are 80 inches tall and
> >John> the width varies from 2-0 to 3-0, that is 24 inches, 30 inches,
> >John> 32 inches, and 36 inches. Inexpensive species include mahogany
> >John> (cheapest) and birch (not much more) and oak (almost the same as
> >John> birch). Pick the species and width that appeals to you most.
> >
> >Can you tell me what the core of these Home Depot / Lowes doors is
> >composed of?  As someone with some mechanical engineering training, I
> >fear the lack of tensile (or any other) strength of particle board,
> >particularly since in this new application it'll be holding up heavy
> >things.  The Home Depot website (for example) was a little bit
> >ambiguous about the interior.
>
> There is no interior. That could explain the ambiguity of the website.
>
> Actually, having taken such doors apart in the past, there is a
> honeycomb of cardboard inside, and along the edges and the top and the
> bottom there is solid wood extending inwards a few inches. Along the
> sides the wood extends inwards maybe six inches at the point where one
> would put a lockset.
>
> If you want something more substantial, then you go for "solid core" as
> opposed to the above, which is classed as "hollow core." The solid core
> doors are solid wood with a veneer covering. It would take a lot to
> break one. They are also very heavy compared to the hollow core doors.
> Solid core doors are used today only for entrance doors, or when a fire
> rating is required, or the purchaser is rich.
>
> I have found that the hollow core doors are plenty strong enough to
> make a desk that will be subjected to normal weights - I used mine to
> hold up a couple desktop computers, old 21 inch CRT monitors, a couple
> laser printers, etc. However, in rental house applications I frequently
> find them with holes smashed in. An ordinary hammer is sufficient to
> break through the veneer.
>
> Rebuilders has solid core doors, but you may have to spend some time
looking for the dimensions you want--lockset holes can be a problem.

-Denis
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