Monday, December 6, 2010

Make A Door Wedge







Use a homemade door wedge to hold your doors open.


As long as doors have existed, people have employed door stops to hold them open. Although door stops have evolved over time from a rock or brick to something as ornate as a decorative mini statue, the simplest wooden door wedge is still the most common. Make door wedges for every door in your house from one 2-by-4 inch stud in less than an hour.


Instructions


1. Secure a 2-by-4 stud to your work bench with a clamp. Line up the bottom edge of the 4-inch side of wood with a protractor. Mark a 20-degree angle on the stud with a pencil. Make a diagonal cut through the 4-inch side of the wood along the line with your saw.


2. Sand down all sides of the wedge with medium grit sandpaper. Concentrate especially on the cut side to prevent rough edges that could mark the floor or splinter off into someone's foot.


3. If you want your project to have a more finished look, stain the wood with a brush-on polyurethane sealer or wood stain. Allow one side to dry sufficiently before staining the other side.


4. Move the clamp further down the stud. Saw a perpendicular cut at the edge of the first angled cut to create another door wedge. Line the protractor up against the stud and measure a 20-degree angle for the next set of door wedges. Repeat the process, measuring and cutting until you have as many wedges as you need. Sand and then stain if desired.

Tags: 20-degree angle, 4-inch side, 4-inch side wood, door stops, door wedge, door wedges