Sliding doors in solid wood lam

[Eiji Fuller]

Im going to copy a mid century modern credenza with sliding doors. I will be building in birdseye maple and wenge.

anyway
I want to build the sliding doors 1/2" thick by laminating 1/4" maple and 1/4" wenge. is this panel going to be stable enough for the sliding doors?

I may consinder going 5/8 thick with 1/4" wenge in the middle and 3/16 of maple on each side but that is a considerably more work than a 2 layer lam

[Van Huskey]

I am afraid to hazard a guess but it would help to know the size of the doors.

As an aside please post some pics when finished my wife is a huge MCM fan and a credenza is on my honey do list. We have been through a ton of variations and she never can settle on one, would like one more to throw in the mix. The last version she came up with was Zebrano and white dyed Birdseye maple, what ever it ends up being it will be fun...

[Frank Drew]

Eiji,

I think a three layer lamination would be inherently more stable than a two layer lamination.

[Eiji Fuller]

doors are 19 1/4w x 18 t

[Eiji Fuller]

darn. I was hoping not.

[Van Huskey]

I am afraid I have to agree with Frank at that size. With the 3 part lam you have the same wood pulling on each side, with two you have two different wood species pulling against each other which has a much higher chance of causing issues as conditions change.

[Andrew Nemeth]

Would you consider using plywood and veneer? If I was going to be making doors that thin and it was imperative that they remain perfectly flat, as is the case with most sliding doors, I would use a core of plywood wrapped in solid wood and then veneered front and back. I used to be very opposed to using plywood in "fine" furniture but I have changed my ways. Many mid century modern pieces used modern materials when it was the best choice. In-fact, using modern materials and production techniques was a hallmark of the modernist movement as it relates to furniture.

Do you have any drawings or sketches of your design? Mid century modern is one of my favorite styles and love to see what others are up to. However, you end up building the doors, good luck on your project and keep us posted. I know I'll be watching.

[Eiji Fuller]

no ply I need to route the recess for the pull exposing the wenge under the maple

[Andrew Nemeth]

When you wrap the plywood core you can use a wider piece of solid wood for the side to route the recess. You could even laminate the "solid" pieces if you want the edge to feature contrasting woods.

I have nothing against a purist and the desire to avoid plywood, I've been there myself. If that is the case I would laminate it from at least three layers with the two outer layers made from the same species and cut of wood.