Frame & Panel Question

[nelsone]

Here's a quick question for you. I'm making frame and panel doors with flat panels. My plan was to use 1/4" ply for the panels, but my rail & stile bit cuts a wider slot than the ply thickness. Here's a pic to show what I'm talking about.

What would you do? Are there rail & stile bits that will cut a narrower slot? Should I remove the back of the slot and tack a strip back in place to hold the panel?

Please let me know your thoughts!

 

[mshel]

Ed,

You could either run the groove on the table saw or use a spiral upcut on your router table to make the groove. Table saw is cheaper but you will have to make multiple cuts to get the groove the right size. Typically you can roughly center the blade on the stile , rail and after making the first pass, turn the board around and run it through again, thus centering the groove in the board edge. If your panels are 1/4", two passes with a regular kerf blade will do it.

MIke

 

[nelsone]

Mike, great idea! But...there's always a but, isn't there? I will then have issues with the cope of the rail fitting in the stile. I guess I could handsaw the tenons down, but that's going to take a lot of time and I don't have that luxeury! I think I may try planning a board down to the depth of the dado and ripping veneers to scab on the back side of the dado. In theory, it should work!:eusa_pray

 

[cpowell]

Mike, great idea! But...there's always a but, isn't there? I will then have issues with the cope of the rail fitting in the stile. I guess I could handsaw the tenons down, but that's going to take a lot of time and I don't have that luxeury! I think I may try planning a board down to the depth of the dado and ripping veneers to scab on the back side of the dado. In theory, it should work!:eusa_pray

It'll work just fine. If the back side of the panels will not be visible I would just glue the veneer strips to the ply, wait an hour or two (if yellow glue) then glue up the frame/panels. You can make the strips narrower than the dado depth so they are not visible. I am assuming the difference in thickness is small, like 1/16th or so.

Chuck

 

[jglord]

Whiteside Machine has recently released a door making set specifically designed flat panel doors. The profile bit cuts a groove 7/32" wide and the cope cutter produces a matching profile.
The set is in stock at the Raleigh Woodcraft. It is listed as a Shaker Style door set and I'm sure the Charlotte store can get it for you.
Whiteside also has ogee and bead bits sets available sized for plywood. Follow this link to Whiteside's catalog and scroll down and select "Stile and Rail" under cabinet doors. The plywood panel option is listed near the bottom of the catalog page.

 

[nelsone]

Thanks John! Just ordered the set!

 

[Sabre2]

I see you already ordered a set made for ply, but I'll throw my $.02.

I make my panels by resawing 3/4 stock then plane down to 1/4. Test fit, if too tight I sand the edges and test again until I get a good sliding fit and edge glue the panel. This saves wood and gives you a book matched panel.


Gary

 

[nelsone]

Kudos to Woodcraft!

John, thanks for pointing me to the Whiteside set!

I decided to order the set through Woodcraft here in Charlotte. A couple days later I get a call telling me that, although Whiteside has never backordered an order submitted by Woodcraft, the set went on backorder and wouldn't be available until the middle of June!8-O

Well, the project I'm working on is supposed to be installed by the middle of June, so the BO wasn't acceptable. To make the story short, Dennis at Woodcraft put together a standard set and included the conversion kit at the cost of the set only, shipped it out, and one day later I had the set I need!:eusa_danc

It really means a lot when customer service is above and beyond what is required! Thank you Dennis and Woodcraft!

 

[Nativespec]

You could put some masking tape over the end and edges to fill the void.

 

[MikeH]

Re: Kudos to Woodcraft!

John, thanks for pointing me to the Whiteside set!

I decided to order the set through Woodcraft here in Charlotte. A couple days later I get a call telling me that, although Whiteside has never backordered an order submitted by Woodcraft, the set went on backorder and wouldn't be available until the middle of June!8-O

Well, the project I'm working on is supposed to be installed by the middle of June, so the BO wasn't acceptable. To make the story short, Dennis at Woodcraft put together a standard set and included the conversion kit at the cost of the set only, shipped it out, and one day later I had the set I need!:eusa_danc

It really means a lot when customer service is above and beyond what is required! Thank you Dennis and Woodcraft!

Ed,
That is awesome. Customer service like that is what sets companies apart. Very impressive.

 

[rhett]

Here's a quick question for you. I'm making frame and panel doors with flat panels. My plan was to use 1/4" ply for the panels, but my rail & stile bit cuts a wider slot than the ply thickness. Here's a pic to show what I'm talking about.

What would you do? Are there rail & stile bits that will cut a narrower slot? Should I remove the back of the slot and tack a strip back in place to hold the panel?

Please let me know your thoughts!

The problem is not the bit set, it is the panel material. If you use an MDF core 1/4, it will be 1/4+ as opposed to using the standard 1/4 ply which is closer to 3/16. When making flat panels with an MDF core, I routinely have to rabbit the panel to fit the groove.

 

[nelsone]

Hi Rhett, I just had a chance to check this post. I appreciate the info on the MDF, but I have to use the ply because the piece is being stained. I'll keep teh MDF info in mind though! Already received the bit set for 1/4 ply.