sliding doors

[akane]

Things have been busy here. My little northern pines from last year are growing with the female probably pushing 3', the male didn't eat as consistently over winter, and a desert king and corn also need an enclosure size upgrade. I was wondering how people install sliding enclosure doors? Are there premade strips that can be bought to set the glass into? Particularly if I already have panes of glass in mind with specific length and thickness? Our carpentry skills and tools are quite basic but for general rectangle shapes that hold enough weight that is sufficient. I am getting tired of being limited to large hinged doors or top opening cages though. Otherwise I might set the panes in a wood frame and do drop down doors for the smaller 30-36" long stacks. It still doesn't work for my 6-8' long bull and pine enclosures that are on or near the floor.

[kudzu]

Yes, there are pre-made tracks. Just run a search for sliding cabinet door track & you'll find many options.

[akane]

Can you run a plastic track through a table saw for exact sizes? I saw instructions to cut some with a handheld fine tooth saw. Even if I bought a saw though I'm not accomplishing it. Bad wrist from going off a horse and bad back for repetitive motion from recent infection and soft tissue surgery. Eventually my husband gets around to such things but eventually is the week after I need it done or months to years if it's not life and death. There also do seem to be hardwood tracks but that's more cost just for some wood to seal.

My glass panels all seem to be 1/8th inch width with 20-30" length except I have a broken 90 gallon aquarium with up to 48x24" panels. I haven't checked the thickness of that but I'm assuming I'd have to look at door tracks rather than small furniture items.

[eminart]

Originally Posted by akane

Can you run a plastic track through a table saw for exact sizes?

Are you talking about for length? If so, yes. They can be cut with any kind of saw, hand or power. You can probably even cut them with a sharp utility knife, if you're careful.

I have the same tracks that Herpin' Man linked, but I think I bought mine from Amazon.

[Herpin' Man]

This is what I use:
4 Foot Plastic Sliding Door Track - Rockler Woodworking Tools
Easy to cut with a table saw, easy to use. I recommend using tempered glass with a pencil edge for smooth operation.

[Andy_G]

Most of the plastic tracks are very soft to cut so I doubt you'll encounter much problem.