Making Frame And Panel Doors

The style i picked is a simple frame and panel with the frame made from solid maple.

Making frame and panel doors.

Frames use 3 4 thick stock with 1 4 panels in various materials and veneers. The panel may be flat or raised. The basic idea is to capture a floating panel within a sturdy frame as opposed to techniques used in making a slab solid wood cabinet door or drawer front the door is constructed of several solid wood pieces running in a vertical or horizontal direction with exposed endgrains. I don t know if this will be worthwhile to anyone but as i m making some panel doors for a project right now i thought i d take some pictures along the way and share the steps i happen to use.

This yields a stronger more stable door frame which has less tendency to warp or distort over time. I build mine by laminating two pieces of 3 4 thick stock. Simple frame and panel doors in 30 minutes frame and panel doors add class to any project but they don t have to add a lot of assembly time. I m not by any means suggesting that my way is the best way.

Clamps clamps and more clamps. The door frame is built using loose tenons or dominoes with a panel that floats in a groove in the frame. Interior doors are usually 1 3 8 thick. Flat panels are the easiest to construct and install.

Raised panels take more work and arched raised panels require the most work. The process at least. Here are all of the rough cut parts for the eleven doors i ll need. Using the straightforward process detailed here you can crank out great looking doors for many applications including furniture cabinets and built ins.

Making a frame and panel door.