Continuing work on the barn doors. I cut new upper reinforcements from basswood since I didn’t like the texture of the plywood edges. I marred the basswood pieces to make them look like old wood.
I added all the nail detailing I needed to finish the overall look and then installed the pieces.
As noted previously, I will be making a rail that will extend past the end of the building on either side. I saw this setup in real life at a wedding locale — Proven Ground Farm. The real life version has a round metal pipe that houses the top part of the hardware attached to the barn. My best guess is there are rollers inside the pipe.
I’m using rectangular plastic tubing to have a larger surface to attach to the barn itself. The first order of business was to cut a track opening. I sandwiched the tube between two boards and taped everything together. I clamped the boards to my cutting table.
Using a sharp X-Acto blade and a metal ruler, I made a tiny channel in the tube.
I left the tube long so I would have enough leverage to hold onto it. After the channels were in place, I cut the tubes to fit. Each tube has a channel that is closed on one end and open on the other.
Bill sent me some zinc metal sheet awhile back. He likes working with it to make interesting minis. I haven’t worked with metal a lot, but this is a fine time to start! I cut four strips 5/16″ wide by 2″ long. I wanted some extra length since I was making things up on the fly.
I bent the zinc over the tops of the barn doors, two per door. I marked and cut the excess, using nail clippers to smooth the corners.
I marked the brackets for tiny brads on each side. The nails are on order and I have to paint the hardware anyway, so the slight delay won’t be for too long. I drilled a hole in each top center. This will hold a ball-top sewing pin, cut to fit.
These will serve as the rollers inside the tubing.
Next up, painting the plastic, hardware and installing the doors.
