Figured wood for door rail/stiles?

[Jim Kappel]

So I'm stuck.... I have some Walnut for the doors of my armoire. Problem is they have are kind of figured and a few boards have a little bow to them. Will making doors out of this wood pose a problem? I'm guessing yes but I can't get the wife to let me spend another $75 more on wood. I figure some nice straight grained wood would be much flatter.

I can't joint the faces as they are already 3/4". The panel isn't going to straighten these out is it?

Thoughts?

Jim

[glenn bradley]

Hmmm, you answered my first question (your material is at final thickness) and I think you know the answer to your's. Using anything but the straightest and most stable woods for door frames is just asking for trouble. When I find myself in your situation I compare the amount of time and money I have spent so far, against spending a little more, or being constantly reminded that I didn't every time I look at a door that won't close correctly ;-)

[John Keeton]

Jim, while there are a few places in a carcass where one might "get by" with a slight bow, a door is not one of them. You will regret any attempt at building a door with anything but the straightest wood available - quarter sawn if possible. I would add that IMO figure in rails and stiles is usually distracting, in addition to being prone to movement.

[Jim Becker]

My personal preference is rift/QS or other straight grain for rails and stiles, particularly if the door panel field has any figure at all.

[Mike Henderson]

If you really want the figure, resaw them and laminate them to some stable stock of the same species. Otherwise, go for more stable stock for doors.

Mike

[Peter Quinn]

My approach would be to save, repurpose the warped figured stock, get new more appropriate stock for the doors. IME a door panel will not straighten bad rails and stiles, certainly not enough to properly fit a door to a case, and maybe not for very long. Accept your situation and move forward accordingly.

[John Stan]

I agree with everyone above. Figure in stiles detracts from the panels, using any sort of wood with a bow is likely to result in a door that does not hang properly. If this is the case, you will be forever be looking at the door and wishing you had used straight grained wood. Every book I have ever seen is very consistent in recommending straight grained wood for doors.

[Chip Lindley]

I would elaborate on what Mike suggested! IF you are really *BENT* on using your *already bought* stock, resawing may enable you to use it. My thought might be to resaw the 3/4" boards and sandwich more walnut, OR a contrasting light colored 1/8" piece between the two dark halves.

Flipping one of the resawed halves with the bow out, will cause the glue-up to remain stable if the bowed sides are a mirror image of each other. This is done to make stable, straight stiles/rails for entrance and interior doors.

Buying wood already thicknessed to 3/4" gives you NO wiggle room for surface jointing. WYSIWYG! Sounds like its time you consider your own jointer and planer to prepare stock exactly as you need, rather than what a supplier offers. In the short term you can argue to the wife that $75 for more wood is wayyy cheaper than a jointer and planer! Heh Heh!

Just a thought!

[Frank Drew]

I agree with everyone else; I prefer the look of straight-grained framing material with its added benefit of often being more stable. Using a frame member that's already not straight is asking for trouble down the line; using a bowed stile on the hinge side could possibly work, especially if you use three hinges, but it's still a risk -- if your carcase has a face frame it could be stressed by the bowed door frame member.

The very few times I used an iffy piece of material it complicated the rest of the project and made me regret it. The worst is using bowed plywood -- that will always mess you up.

[Rod Sheridan]

Jim, you've received excellent advice to cut your losses now and proceed with straight grained, flat, parallel stock.

As strictly an opinion, I find 3/4" too thin for rail and stile doors, I usually use stock that's 24mm ( about 15/16") since it's easily divisible by 8mm, which is a standard cutter and chisel size.

Stock preparation is crucial for success with doors, you need to purchase rough stock, selected for grain pattern, and then joint and plane it to dimension. If you don't have a jointer and planer, you may be able to have your wood supplier perform that for you. It's what I used to do before I purchased a jointer and planer.

Regards, Rod.

[Jim Kappel]

Thanks everyone! I ended up heading to Rockler to get the straightest grained Walnut I could find. Turned out working much better. The boards are straight and true.

Onward...
Jim

[Mike Wilkins]

What everyone else said. Figured grain on stiles/rails detracts from the overall harmony of the look. Check the latest issue of Fine Woodworking magazine for the article on using figure in your projects. Figure on rails/stiles along with the figure of the panel makes my eyes cross. Rift or quarter sawn for the frame gives a more balances look. Save the figure for the panel and avoid the inevitable warping and twisting that will happen on the stiles.