Cabinet Door Construction Tips.

[Phil LaPointe]

Hello All,

I was hoping to pick some brains for advice on construction methods for a style of contemporary cabinet doors that I am planning to build for my kitchen.

The Basic Idea (http://www.cardellkitchens.com/full.htm) (It's the Newport II, about halfway down)

My thought was to use maple VC for the horizontal center panel, and solid maple for the vertical grain stiles (for ease of construction and stiffness). These would be clamped and glued with a tongue and groove joint, eased at the connecting edges to create definition between the opposing grains, and either iron on OR v-groove edge banded with solid lumber to acheive a seamless edge for the top and bottom.
I had also considered using all maple vc plywood and edge banding the whole thing. Is this how you would do it? Should I be concerned about warping (I have some 18"x90" doors) Should I consider MDF core?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge.

[Mark Singer]

This door is pretty easy to make. It can be made on the tablesaw with a good blade. You don't need a dado blade, The veneer core is less likely to warp. It needs to be edge bound with solid. I perfer all solid wood. Since you are cutting it into small pieces it is less likely to warp. The vertical rails should have about a 1/4" groove. The slats a 1/4" groove. You should glue the top , bottom and maybe the center slat and let the rest float for expansion. You can lap joint them or T and G

[J.R. Rutter]

I would stay away from plywood core and use MDF or particleboard core instead. These have a better chance of staying flat. Architectural standards do not allow ply core for this reason. Other than that, just check the moisture content on the maple to be sure it isn't too wet or too dry.

[David DeCristoforo]

Some considerations:

If you make the "panels" out of plywood, you will have to band the "top" and "bottom" edges. Then, you will have to fir your "stiles" exactly to length because it will be "risky" to try to sand them flush with the edge banding.

If you make the "panels" out of solid stock, you will have an issue with expansion and/or contraction. The taller the door or drawer front, the more of an issue it will be.

Making the entire door out of plywood is not a "bad" idea as long as you have the capability to edge band the panels properly. Also, the "v" groove will expose the plywood core.

Another option is to use lumber core plywood for the "panels" and leave the edge unbanded.

I have made similar doors using 3/4" ply for the "panels" and 7/8" thick solid stock for the stiles. The stiles have a bevel on the inside edge instead of a "v" groove, to create the "detail" I edge banded the top and bottom edges of the panels before attaching the stiles. Another consideration with this method is that there is little room for error, at least in the height of the doors, because any trimming will "bite" the edge banding.

[Chip Lindley]

I have never worked with VC plywood. Others will have to advise you on its flatness properties. I do know for a fact that face-veneered MDF usually stays flat if it starts out flat. Your *bread boarded* panels will rely on the vertical solid wood stiles to keep them flat.

I would score the veneered panels on both sides, before cutting on the tablesaw to avoid the heartbreak of splintered veneer, even with an excellent veneer blade! You may find that cleaner veneer edges may be had by using a router to make the finished edge. Clean edges will make or break your veneer paneled doors. A shallow (3/32 to 1/8) V-groove may be added at the joint to add visual detail, PLUS hide any slight tear out of the veneer edge.

I would use 3/8 deep grooves to hold 3/4x1/4 thick hardboard splines running the length of the panels. If you stop the grooves short of ends to conceal the splines, you loose valuable connecting strength. I would finish the ends with pieces of hardwood spline as an added detail.

The doors will only be as flat/straight as the wood you choose for the stiles. Choose straight grained wood, and take great pains in milling your stiles perfectly flat! Especially for the longest doors.

Edge banding with solid V-stock would be best if you can mill the groove consistently. Otherwise applied veneer will work well, since its corners are protected by the stiles.

Good Luck whatever course you choose!! HappyNewYear!!

[Joe Chritz]

Other than the V-groove it is a basic flat slab door which can be built a number of ways. Generally they are built with edgebanding machines costing in the 6 figure range but the same can be done with some clamps and a lot more time.

I would mock one up but I expect you could put a shallow V at the seam and not have a problem with decent plywood but the chances of the cores showing is a possibility. Perhaps a plywood edge banding set would work. Set up the stiles a fuzz thicker and run the profile and glue it up. Pre band the top and bottom of the panel (with 1/4" thick solid not tape) and trim to length.

The rest of the advice about picking good stock for the stiles is something to really pay attention to. That and have a good solid, flat surface to glue them up on. MDF or veneer core should both be fine.

Joe

[fRED mCnEILL]

One of the ways I have found to cut plywood without splinters is the first score the plywood by raising the blade about 1/32 up and running the plywood backwards over the saw. Then raise the blade and fisinsh the cut in the normal way. It takes a bit longer but their is NO splintering at all.

This method mimmics the scoring blade on a commercial saw.

Fred Mc.