We received a question from Buzz G. on Facebook regarding how to take apart an old door to repurpose the reclaimed wood. Below is his question along with our answer.
Question:
I have an old door, pine I think; VERY heavy. 7 feet high, 54.5 wide, 1.625 at thickest, 5 panels, painted both sides, wooden dowels on top end, skeleton key lockset with screen door type handle. How to take it apart to repurpose the wood?"
Answer:
Repurposing the wood from an old door is time consuming, but the beautiful wood recovered may be worth the effort. If I were to attempt the task, I would proceed as follows: Remove all metal from door. Pass over the door both sides with a metal detector that may need to be rented or borrowed. Remove any metal the detector finds. Paint the door with paint stripper and scrape off paint from both sides. With door on saw horses, use a circle saw to rip off the stiles. Repeat the process for the rails. The panels may produce some thinner pieces of usable material. The stiles and rails can then be re cut on a table saw and repurposed as needed. Good luck! We'd love to see the finished project. Do you have a question regarding antique and reclaimed wood? Submit it to us on Facebook or via the contact form in the sidebar, and we'll happily contact you or post an answer to your question on our blog.