Support a door for finishing?

[PhilofKayDu]

Does anyone know of plans to build support stands to finish a door? I need to finish the edges and surfaces at the same time. In the last WOOD MAG. (page 12) Dave Gruenhagen from Boise, Idaho submitted a tip for finishing cabinets. My thought is: hang the door (centered so it can spin), be able to lock the door horizontally (finish 1 side), unlock-spin-relock, finish the other side. I know! Saw horses, right! But I need to finish this door quickly for a friend. Phil

[cabinetman]

You could just hang it from where ever a hinge will be installed. If you need it centered, use a small screw eye in the center of the bottom edge of a base door, or on the top edge of an upper door.
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[Rich P]

I recently refurbished a set (6) of mahogany clad casement and transom windows an an entry door (including rebuilding the leaded glass which was a new experience) with 3 coats of spar varnish. With essentially an overnight dry time and limited space it was a challenge. What I wound up doing was screwing hooks into the hinge holes, finishing the edge opposite the hinges and the hanging the window/door from the ceiling and then finishing the remaining sides and edges. Worked for me.

[herb fellows]

Well, this is supposed to be the forte of Painters Pyramids, no? Assuming you have the time to let one side dry.

[pelligrini]

Does anyone know of plans to build support stands to finish a door? I need to finish the edges and surfaces at the same time. In the last WOOD MAG. (page 12) Dave Gruenhagen from Boise, Idaho submitted a tip for finishing cabinets. My thought is: hang the door (centered so it can spin), be able to lock the door horizontally (finish 1 side), unlock-spin-relock, finish the other side. I know! Saw horses, right! But I need to finish this door quickly for a friend. Phil

Ohhh, I never thought of applying that idea to doors.

[August86]

Hang the door either where it goes or in an dot of the way jamb. Hold the door open (90° best) with a wedge with small contact under the door or screw a strip of wood to the top of the door and either to the top jamb or top of the casing.

Mike D.

Does anyone know of plans to build support stands to finish a door? I need to finish the edges and surfaces at the same time. In the last WOOD MAG. (page 12) Dave Gruenhagen from Boise, Idaho submitted a tip for finishing cabinets. My thought is: hang the door (centered so it can spin), be able to lock the door horizontally (finish 1 side), unlock-spin-relock, finish the other side. I know! Saw horses, right! But I need to finish this door quickly for a friend. Phil

[chopnhack]

I must be the only sad one that built a jig for painting..... ok, so I had many doors to prime and paint, I built a 2x4 frame to accommodate width/length, I used lag screws every so many inches at the top and bottom (I figured I would rather deal with some pin holes in the tops and bottoms of the doors that no one would ever see than have to wait to flip these doors) the entire frame was mounted to another standing frame via a 1/2" threaded rod that passed through a 1/2" copper pipe (acts as a bushing) I kept the threaded rod from moving around with some c or e clips cant remember what they were called. This was on both ends of the frame passing to the standing frame. I turned one side with a pair of wing nuts jammed against each other, but you may want to fashion a handle or use some vise grips as the door is kind of heavy when you try to spin it with so little surface area to grip against. DO spray lightly otherwise you will get drips. DO wait a few minutes for the surface to tack before spinning and painting the other side. Take the time to recoat before removing it from the jig, two coats is better than one And yes the irony is that even after all that time making the jig, you can still only paint one door at a time, albeit that door is completely finished, lol... In my situation I had room for the jig and two more doors on the flat. I sprayed the one in the jig to completion, then the two doors one side only. By the time I finished spraying the last door and cleaning up the gun, etc. the first door was mostly dry. 1/2-1 hr more and it could be handled same for the other doors (could be flipped). My jig was horizontal, you may want to build one vertically and be able to build more than one, perhaps with a unified base such that when you mount or remove one, the rest of the jig still is steadily held in place by the weight of the other doors. Good luck, HTH

[Shep]

Just ran across this hint today in an older issue of the family handyman. Take the door off the jamb with the full hinges attached to the removed door. With chains hung from an open joist, attach the chains to the hinges with s hooks. You'll be able to get all 6 sides at once.

[iceman61]

I use 2 saw horses & 2 nails. I start by driving the hinge pins out of the hinges. Then put one nail in the center of the top of the door, & one nail in the bottom of the door, then you put the door between the two saw horses balanced on the nails. The nails act as pivot pins so you can spin the door & get at ever surface on the door.

[cabinetman]

I use 2 saw horses & 2 nails. I start by driving the hinge pins out of the hinges. Then put one nail in the center of the top of the door, & one nail in the bottom of the door, then you put the door between the two saw horses balanced on the nails. The nails act as pivot pins so you can spin the door & get at ever surface on the door.

That's how I do passage doors too. The OP didn't say what kind of door, whether it was a passage door or a cabinet door. His mention of a tip in a wood magazine about finishing cabinets was a bit confusing.
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[pelligrini]

His mention of a tip in a wood magazine about finishing cabinets was a bit confusing.
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The Wood magazine tip showed an idea for finishing large workpieces by using a pipe flange fastened to the top and bottom of the workpiece and a pair of A frame cradles on casters that supported the workpiece and allowed it to be rotated on a pair of pipes threaded into the flanges.

[cabinetman]

The Wood magazine tip showed an idea for finishing large workpieces by using a pipe flange fastened to the top and bottom of the workpiece and a pair of A frame cradles on casters that supported the workpiece and allowed it to be rotated on a pair of pipes threaded into the flanges.

I didn't mean that the tip was confusing. I meant that the mention of cabinets, was the point whether it was a cabinet door or a passage door.
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[iceman61]

That's how I do passage doors too. The OP didn't say what kind of door, whether it was a passage door or a cabinet door. His mention of a tip in a wood magazine about finishing cabinets was a bit confusing.
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Yeah after going back & looking at his post I'm guessing cabinet doors now. Thanks Cabby.

[Kensrock]

Painting doors

I have used a method in which I use two 1/2 inch pipe flanges, each fit with a 4" length of galvanized pipe, centered on the top and bottom of the door. You rarely see these surfaces. Hang the pipes on your saw horses and place a screw on each side and you can turn the door to any position you want.

[PhilofKayDu]

Finishing a door

C'man, and anyone else, sorry for confuseing you. It is a new interior passage door. I thought by referencing the cabinet stands would be enough to imply; bigger than cabinet doors. Thank you all for your ideas. The other day I stoped into my local Habitat ReStore, and wow, low and behold 2 metal stands! I'm gonna make these work. And I hope one of these days to show some pics. of my jig solutions. You are all great! Thanks again! Phil: