Sliding doors in plywood dados

[davco]

Is it asking for trouble to have sliding doors ride directly in dado tracks directly in the plywood or would it be better to line the dadoes with some commercial track product?

[jteneyck]

Is it asking for trouble to have sliding doors ride directly in dado tracks directly in the plywood or would it be better to line the dadoes with some commercial track product?

You are going to be looking at those ugly plywood dados, even if the doors slide OK.  For that reason alone, I'd cut the dado wider and deeper and inlay a piece of hardwood, then cut the dado the door will slide in in that.  But if you decide to do it as you asked about, then I'd be sure the bottom of the door has a hardwood piece that slides in the dado.

[K. L. McReynolds]

I tried that once. with oak faced AB ply.  Hidden so I did not have to see the raw ply. Over time, the ply swelled and the doors became hard to slide.

[fredhargis]

I'm getting ready to do that very thing (sliding doors) for some shop cabinets, and I will be milling mine out of maple for the reasons cited above.

[AHill]

If you're talking about residential sliding doors for a home, then yes, I think you'll have some issues. While plywood is relatively stable, it's still prone to absorbing moisture, then you'll have mildew and mold and whatever on the plywood tracks. If it's for furniture or indoor cabinets, it'll be less prone to have issues, but I'd at least put several coats of sealant or acrylic on the contact areas.

[Willyou]

Based on experience, I suggest that you don't do it. You will find that the dado will, after a while, accumulate dirt and gunk and become sticky and unusable. And, those grooves are hard to clean. I have found that the best way to make small sliding doors is the reverse of the door riding in a groove. Build a raised "rail" that a groove in the bottom edge of the door will ride on. Yes, the raised "rail" is a bit of a nuisance but it is easy to clean and the door will operate smoothly without issue for a long time. Make it out of HDPE (high density polyethyline) and it will work even better.