Anyone Good With Hundred Year Old Sliding Door Mechanism

[ome]

Hi everyone,
I have a bit of a sticking door problem.
Door is big, 6' wide and 7' high and 2" thick wood.
Mounted on top is the sliding harware mounted on the top of the frame and the top of the door.
A 5" wheel rides on top of a long bar
The door is on track, as far as I can see, but its really difficult to move, and happenned all of a sudden with out anyone noticing except now.
Any ideas and the proper lube would be appreciated,
Thanks in advance,
om

 

[TOOLMASTER]

seized bearing maybe..dead mouse under a wheel?

 

[francist]

Hi Ome, is this an interior pocket door perhaps?

First thing I would check is that there is clearance underneath the door. Sometimes a small pebble off a shoe gets lodged between the door and floor making it unbelievably hard to open. This can easily happen with no warning.

Most of the harware of that vintage I've worked on is pretty good, bronze wheels on the better stuff and cast iron or steel on the less expensive. All have some method of toeing the leading edge up or down but most of the mechanisms are pretty simple. Most times there is no real bearing per se, the wheel just spins freely on the axle. I suppose the axle could fail, although I have never seen that even on heavily used doors.

As far as lubrication, any oil would work if you can get to the moving parts. You'll need to see why it's binding first though.

-frank

 

[Brain Coral]

OM,

It sounds like one wheel has jumped the track, or wheel or axle failure. If it was a lubrication issue, it would have been a gradual decline, not sudden. As much as one would be loathe to do, I think that you must perform some surgery on the plaster/drywall to expose the mechanism to figure out what's going on.

Good luck

Brian

 

[ome]

Hi Ome, is this an interior pocket door perhaps?

First thing I would check is that there is clearance underneath the door. Sometimes a small pebble off a shoe gets lodged between the door and floor making it unbelievably hard to open. This can easily happen with no warning.

Most of the harware of that vintage I've worked on is pretty good, bronze wheels on the better stuff and cast iron or steel on the less expensive. All have some method of toeing the leading edge up or down but most of the mechanisms are pretty simple. Most times there is no real bearing per se, the wheel just spins freely on the axle. I suppose the axle could fail, although I have never seen that even on heavily used doors.

As far as lubrication, any oil would work if you can get to the moving parts. You'll need to see why it's binding first though.

-frank

Thanks Frank,
Yes, you are correct, and I forgot to mention, it is a pocket door.
There is a pretty rusty screw toed to the end of the hardware at the edge where the door opens.
I imagine this is the screw you referred to.
I will try to clear out the bottom, that has happened before
Thanks
Om

 

[ome]

OM,

It sounds like one wheel has jumped the track, or wheel or axle failure. If it was a lubrication issue, it would have been a gradual decline, not sudden. As much as one would be loathe to do, I think that you must perform some surgery on the plaster/drywall to expose the mechanism to figure out what's going on.

Good luck

Brian

Thanks Brian,
I can see the hardware and track and wheel from the space between the top of the door and the track.
If I can't, then I would do the surgery, good old plaster, and trying to match the finish

 

[Grumpy Gator]

Any pocket door I have ever worked on has a way to detach the door from the wheels that ride on the top track. Just remove the door stop molding on the top of the frame and look for a small latch on top of the door.Undo that latch and swing the door out of the opening to get to the other wheel.Repeat the processes and take the door off then you can see if something is blocking the track. No need to cut the plaster that way.
With a door that big a helper is the way to go.
*G*

 

[ome]

Any pocket door I have ever worked on has a way to detach the door from the wheels that ride on the top track. Just remove the door stop molding on the top of the frame and look for a small latch on top of the door.Undo that latch and swing the door out of the opening to get to the other wheel.Repeat the processes and take the door off then you can see if something is blocking the track. No need to cut the plaster that way.
*G*

Thanks alot Grumpygator,
Damn, that's a lot easier getting structurlite and plaster and some lathe.
I will just need a hand, this door is to heavy for me to handle
Thanks again
om

 

[Grumpy Gator]

After you undo the latch you might have to lift the door up to slide the wheels out of the slot they sit in I use the back side of a hacksaw blade to do this .

This is a picture of a new one yours might be different.
Do not unscrew the nut because that is how you adjust the door for plumb and level.
*G*

 

[francist]

Here's a couple different styles, both from doors about the same size and same vintage (circa 1914). Slightly different methods of securing to the door, but they both unhook wih a bit of fiddling.

-frank