If you need to work on a door while it’s on edge, you could look around for a third hand, but there’s a better way.

David Epstein from West Hartford, Connecticut, has figured out how to make what we call “the quick buck”. It’s a door buck that he just made out of scrap materials he found laying around the job site one day. He’s made two of these to securely hold any typical door while he planes, paints, or does whatever else he has to do to it.

How to make the buck
The center piece is a 2-ft. scrap of 2×4; the two uprights are triangles of 3/4-in. plywood. Notice that the uprights are offset from one another. The door we made this for is 1-3/4-in. wide, so I made two line across the center of the 2×4 about 1-7/8-in. apart. the extra 1/8-in. is the account for the felt strips that I’ve fastened to the vertical edges of the plywood triangles to prevent the buck from scratching the door.

How to use the buck
Slide the door into the buck while the buck is at a slight angle. This leaves plenty of space for the door to enter. Then you simply twist the door buck until it’s perpendicular to the door. This cinches the door in place and holds it steady for you.

That’s a great way to hold this door, and you don’t even need a third hand anymore. Great tip, David. Thanks for sending that in.