Anyone built barn door hinges?

[paul dyar]

I am having trouble finding large hinges for barn doors I am planning to make some. Is it worth the effort to make them? The doors will be 6' wide 8' high. Planning to make the frame out of 2x6. Not sure about the sheathing yet.
Paul

 

[Jay4200]

I am having trouble finding large hinges for barn doors I am planning to make some. Is it worth the effort to make them? The doors will be 6' wide 8' high. Planning to make the frame out of 2x6. Not sure about the sheathing yet.
Paul

These guys say their hinges handle doors up to 2.5 Tons!

Hinges | Barn Door Hardware

Kinda overkill, and probably brutally expensive. Gate hinges from home depot would probably work fine and they are fairly cheap. I have to re-build the doors on my barn soon - please post your solution when you get it done.

JayC

 

[jbford]

make hanging-rolling doors. much easier and will last forever

(TSC has tracks and hangers)

of course they don't fold back so may be in the way.....

 

[studor]

Lots of ways around the problem -- make them roller as previously suggested, use gate hinges, use four large strap hinges per door (11 to 13 inches). For a six by eight door, any of those methods should support the weight unless you sheath it in lead
I used the uprights from a gate hinge drilled through posts on the barn side and carriage bolted 1/4 plate strips with the ends made into circles for the door side on some old barn doors that are 10 by 14 made out of 5/4 rough sawn pine -- they work fine:thumbsup:

 

[weldingisfun]

Haven't built hinges for barn doors, but have built plenty for gates. Used angle steel and steel pipe for the plates, square stock on occasion for stand off and round stock for the pins. Works like a charm.:thumbsup:

 

[smiley]

Flat stock, heated and rolled around a mandrel. I used the lag type gate hinge pins from the hardware store. I'll post a photo of my front door tomorrow with almost 3 ft ones.

 

[pat32rf]

I've always made mine out of either bedframe angle iron or 2" angle, depending on the door. You can make them as long as you need, 1/2" bolts for pivots....

 

[BHD]

I would use a rolling tack,

but if I was to make barn door hinges, I would make them like a gate hinge, in construction but with plates or straps, to fasten them

do a few EBAY searches, there were a number when I just looked,
barn hinges items - Get great deals on Antiques, Home Garden items on eBay.com!

might want to look up barn door and barn door hardware,

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Tractor Supply has hinge straps for the gate type hinges. If you want the strap style in both directions you can weld a pin to one part.
Hinge Strap Use 5⁄8 in. Hooks, Zinc Plated, 10 in. - 3540936 | Tractor Supply Company

Edit: more parts at TSC
http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-i...-in-pintle-for-10-in-and-12-in-straps-3549663
http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-i...hook-5-frasl-8-in-x-12-in-zinc-plated-3549639

Edit #2 Making your own is certainly an option. I've made my own gate hinge parts on occasion just to save a trip to town. I frequently make my own gate latches. On a hinge the pin should be fixed to one part and the other (rotating) part should be a longer bushing and not just a hole through a plate. If you want nice action add a grease zerk.

 

[spo307]

Lots of ways around the problem -- make them roller as previously suggested, use gate hinges, use four large strap hinges per door (11 to 13 inches). For a six by eight door, any of those methods should support the weight unless you sheath it in lead
I used the uprights from a gate hinge drilled through posts on the barn side and carriage bolted 1/4 plate strips with the ends made into circles for the door side on some old barn doors that are 10 by 14 made out of 5/4 rough sawn pine -- they work fine:thumbsup:

I built 5'x9' doors 5/4 tongue and groove pine, 3 hinges per door, 11" strap hinges heavy duty from home depot

 

[smiley]

The camera angle makes things look crooked, but they're not, I checked after looking at the photo. These strap hinges were off an old barn door so I can't claim credit for actually making them. I just reworked them to fancy them up a bit, by beating the rounded ends on and hammered the straps to give them a hand forged look. We handmade the door itself including cutting the logs and sawing the lumber (for the whole house). The window was out of a 100 year old church in Montreal and the Iris leaded glass center was made for us by my late brother in law. It's been working good for 35 years and I expect will be good for another 1000 or more.

 

[travis potter]

My work is on steel doors and frames on comercial blds and schools. When I built my work shop this year I used regular 4 1/2 in hinges on my 5 x 11 doors 2 x2 tubing for the frame 5 hinges per door. the doors seal better than sliding doors to keep the critters out. When I learn how I will post pic of the shop and doors.

 

[rtimgray]

I've built several doors that size or larger (up to about 12' tall) using 2x6s for the frame with metal sheathing and have just used 3 or 4 large T-hinges. I've always used the right sized wood screw (usually like 4 or 5 #12s in each part of the hinge) and I've never had a problem with the doors.

I did have a latch get torn off and the wind got one door and ripped it off once, but it pulled the hinge screws out of the post. Luckily didn't damage stuff too much, but it was a pain to put back up.

Good luck and take care.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Years ago, we built a shop and the owner wanted a 16' opening on the front with two 8' swinging doors. We built them like you are thinking - 2x6 framing, sheathed front and back with solid insulation in them. We built the hinges using DOM for the barrels and solid pins, 4" x 48" straps . We capped both ends of the DOM to prevent water from getting in, but they were still stiff. Just before we were about to scrap them and come up with a different design, I said "what if we add a zerk fitting on the top and bottom of each barrel. Worked like a charm.

 

[doramide7]

make hanging-rolling doors. much easier and will last forever

(TSC has tracks and hangers)

of course they don't fold back so may be in the way.....

Lots of ways around the problem -- make them roller as previously suggested, use gate hinges, use four large strap hinges per door (11 to 13 inches). For a six by eight door, any of those methods should support the weight unless you sheath it in lead
I used the uprights from a gate hinge drilled through posts on the barn side and carriage bolted 1/4 plate strips with the ends made into circles for the door side on some old barn doors that are 10 by 14 made out of 5/4 rough sawn pine -- they work fine


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[Justinbrt]

Check Craigslist. They often have antique hinges for sale from barns that were torn down or refurbished. You can also buy new if you want. Make sure the barn door hinges are rated for what you need them for. Better to get heavier duty hinges than what you need.

 

[orezok]

Check with your local welding or steel supplier. Most have heavy duty gate hinges in stock and generally cheaper than box stores.

 

[Ed of all trades]

If you decide to go to the local library and check out the blacksmith books, many have hinges in them.