Cabinet door panels

[Jack Roberts]

How wide do you all cut the pieces for gluing up a cabinet door panel? I normally do 3 inches but curious what you do ?

Jack

[Peter Quinn]

wide as possible, two board when possible, book matched if possible.

[Steve Clardy]

Ditto on the as wide as possible

[Tom Hintz]

I also try to keep the number of pieces in a panel glue-up to a minimum, bookmatched is ideal but more common these days is multiple pieces. When I have more than two I try to match up grain appearance as close as I can, maybe put a single narrower or wider board in the middle. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules on this, just whatever makes the most sense or pleases you the most. Good joinery is always important, afer that you can make yourself feel good about it!

[Brian Peters]

depends on the species I would say no more than 5" for glueups any larger than that and it becomes less stable, the larger the glueup the larger the width of stock usually for me

[J.R. Rutter]

Ditto Peter et al on wide staves using kiln dried wood.

Usually slip matched here.

[Steve Jenkins]

as wide as possible. If I can use one board for each I will. I made a mahogany entertainment center about 16 years ago with the main door panels 18" wide. I had two 19" boards that were book matched and used them for the panels( one for each). Came out looking great and no problems.

[frank shic]

just because home depot cabinets use panels glued up with 3" staves, doesn't mean that you have to or should! ;)

[David DeCristoforo]

The number of pieces has no bearing on wood movement. A one piece 12" wide panel will expand and contract the same as one made up of 4 3" wide boards. So that is a "non issue". Sometimes it is recommended that wide panels be made up narrow strips with every other strip "reversed" to help keep the panel flat. But since panels in doors are captured in frames which keeps them flat, this is also a "non issue". So the only really good reason to make door panels out of narrow strips would be if you had no wide pieces. So I am with the "as wide as possible" crowd. A one piece panel if possible or as few pieces as necessary to make up the needed width.

[Jack Roberts]

Thank you all for your opinions, I think from now on I will use wider boards.

[Frank Drew]

as wide as possible. If I can use one board for each I will.

This is my thinking, too; I've seen a picture of walnut paneled passage doors with very wide panels made from a single highly figured board, the three panels ascending in the door as they grew in the tree. Couldn't be beat.