Building door, need help please.

[Chris Yarish]

I am building a rather standard sized, plywood torsion box designed closet door that uses an alternative closing mechanism (rather than a clasping door handle). It is not a bi-folding or sliding door, so the crux of my problem lies in the ability of the hinge screws to adequately support the weight of the door through the sides of plywood.
Standard closet doors usually use 3 hinges, and I'm not opposed to using more if need be....but I really need to figure out a way to hang it so that it doesn't sag or come apart at the hinges.


Thanks.

[Brett Baldwin]

My first thought would be to use an oversized edge piece in your box assembly on the hinge side of the door.

[Chris Yarish]

My first thought would be to use an oversized edge piece in your box assembly on the hinge side of the door.

How do you mean?
Like a piece of hardwood sandwiched in between the layers into which I would screw my hinges?

[Richard Wolf]

You might want to think about using a piano hinge.

Richard

[Vaughn McMillan]

How do you mean?
Like a piece of hardwood sandwiched in between the layers into which I would screw my hinges?
I'm not Brett, but a piece of hardwood between the plywood layers was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw your original post.

- Vaughn

[Steve Clardy]

Yes. All veener doors are rimmed with solid wood.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Nice big slugs of lumber running the inside of the periphery.
It'll stabilize the door support the hardware and hang it solidly.

[Chris Yarish]

Thanks all for your input.

The doors are going to be a wenge veneer, and I guess I'll try to "frame" it with the real deal for the additional support.
I'll also probably use 4 hinges instead of the traditional 3.

[Charlie Mastro]

Why do you think the doors are going to be so heavy? Isn't the idea of torsion box is that it's hollow? Seems to me 3 hinges would be more than enough.
I've built a solid core 1/8" veneered teak that was plenty heavy and used 3 hinges and it still there 20 years later.
If you don't have solid wenge for the edges use a solid wood on the edges and veneer that.:)

[Chris Yarish]

Wwell, the initial question was whether or not screws would sufficiently support the weight of a door when set into a plywood edge. I have always been told that edges of plywood are not as big a stronghold as solid wood, or more specifically, hardwood.

My concerns were door weight, total cost of meterials, and longevity.

If I did not have to use expensive woods to get the same functionality, then I wouldn't incur the additional cost. But if saving a few bucks meant having my doors last a year and fall off at the hinges, I would incur any additional costs to preserve their longevity and wear.
The torsion box is supposed to be lighter, but I am using 3/4" plywood as my two exterior shells, and they are weighty.

So, I will probably sandwich a hardwood on the hinge side, and have it buscuited in place to ensure additional strength.

[tod evans]

chris, i`ve been watching and not commenting on this thread, the advice you`ve been given is sound......but why in the world are you using two layers of 3/4 ply as skins for a torsion-box closet door?? do you have a pet lion or bear you`re wanting to restrain? i`m bad about overkill but no where near this level......please rethink your plan unless there`s something not mentioned.....02 tod

[Chris Yarish]

Yeah, I had orignially been instructed to use 3/4, and after seeing the weight of the 3/4, I'm going to use 1/4 for the outer.

[Brett Baldwin]

Sorry Chris, I lost this thread after I responded. Here is a crude sketch of what I was refering to when I said to make the hinge side thicker. The lines represent the framework inside the torsion box and I meant use a thicker stile piece on the hinge side to give the screws more wood to bite into. Since a torsion box gets its rigidity form the panels being secured to the framework, 1/4 should be more than enough and the veneer should have a flat, rigid surface to adhere to.