Making Panel Doors Move

If you like you can use your scrap plywood to cut stiles a center panel or other accents to give your handcrafted door a little extra visual appeal.

Making panel doors move.

Try making your own door. For that reason the panel is typically captured in grooves plowed along the inside edges of the stiles and rails so it can float and move. It s as simple as picking up a 4 ft 1 2 m x 8 ft 2 4 m sheet of 1 2 in 1 3 cm plywood and cutting it to correct dimensions. This should allow about 1 8 of room for the panel to move within the frame for wood movement and some wiggle room when you glue it up.

Cabinets usually need a door or two and deciding on the style of the door can be make or break the appearance of the piece. Finally i will plan on posting a step every day or two as i make the present door as opposed to posting one single long description from start to finish. Frame and panel doors add class to any project but they don t have to add a lot of assembly time. So on to today s entry.

My present project will need four frame and panel assmeblies 3 for doors and one that will be a drawer front. I cut my plywood panel down using my jig saw but a table saw or circular or miter saw works fine too depending on the size you need. Frames use 3 4 thick stock with 1 4 panels in various materials and veneers a general purpose saw blade will do the job although. Link to the craftsman door trim project.

Using the straightforward process detailed here you can crank out great looking doors for many applications including furniture cabinets and built ins. They have two 8 by 10 inch panels at the top with four larger 10 by 24 inch. Typical six panel doors have a distinctive look with standard size usually measuring 32 by 80 inches. Wooden door panels usually are flat or have raised center fields possibly with carvings.