Carpentry and Woodworking - How Can I...

straighten out a door on a wardrobe? By this I mean that my wife bought an antique wardrobe with twin doors (5'H x 17"W x 3/4" thick, solid walnut, I think) and one of them is bowed out at the top and bottom causing it to not close right or latch in the center. I am trying to figure out how to straighten it after taking it off. I was thinking of setting it up on a couple of supports on each end and putting something heavy in the middle to make it bow back straight. The only thing I haven't figured out is, what to do to make it pliable so it will hold it's shape when & if it takes the pressure and bends into shape. Well, what do all you experts say...is this possible or is there another way to do this? I would really appreciate any and all suggestions as I am at a loss to figure out how to fix this. Thanks everyone from Joe in Texas.

PS: If it will help, I can post pictures.

I've straightened bowed doors and table tops by laying them on a workbench with the bow up and supported on each end with some 1/2" or 3/4" boards. Lay another board across the door at the high point of the door and put enough weight on it to bow it in the opposite way. I use cans of paint and/or a piece of railroad track that I sometimes use for an anvil.

Leave it sit for a couple of days, remove the weight and see if it's straightened out. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it straightens out but bows again in a few days or weeks.

The only other suggestion I have would be to take it to an antique furniture restorer. They may have other tricks up their sleeve. :)

The cause of this a lot of times is that the wood is finish on the outside only. This causes the inside to dry out more that the outside, warping the wood. You might add a little steam to the equation. Or simply put a pan of water in the closet for a couple weeks. Once it returns to shape, seal the inside of the door with polyurathane or wood sealer of some sort.