Raised Panel Doors

[Glenn Vaughn]

I am about to start the doors for the kitchen cabinet project. The wood is Kentucky Coffetree which has dramatic grain. I have been thinking of how to get the best look for the doors. My idea is to glue-up panels large enough to include the rails and stiles then cut the rails and stiles off. This would result in the grain pattern continuing into the rails and stiles. Is this a good or bad idea? The only part that would require special care is the placement of the dowels in the glue-up to ensure they are not where cutting or routing will be done.

[Tom Hintz]

The only problem with your plan that I can see is that by the time you machine the rails and stiles, the grain pattern is going to be offset from the panel because of the overlap at the joints in the frame. On most of these bits that adds up to about one inch overall. Sometimes having the grain off a little looks worse than it being off by a bunch.
I suppose you could take a slice off of each side of the middle of the panel but that might mess up the grain somewhere else.

[Neal Clayton]

wierd grain patterns, that look nice, are 99 times out of 100 synonymous with 'unstable'.

they warp, twist, and cup in strange ways. an issue on a cabinet door? maybe not, depending on the size of the doors. maybe you can overcome the tendency to move with mortise/tenon joints if the doors are small enough.

but for larger doors, people use quarter sawn rails/stiles for a reason. reason being, they stay straight. panels don't matter as much, obviously, since the structure of the door won't let a panel twist or cup, but they do need to remain flat...

there is an aesthetic consideration too. quarter sawn rails/stiles give a sense of symmetry, in otherwise inconsistent material (wood in general, regardless of species) that can play odd tricks on the eye. it's very possible to build a door that looks crooked, but isn't, which you typically don't want ;).

[Eiji Fuller]

what Neal said. :D

[John Keeton]

Be aware, too, that KY coffee tree is known for windshakes - separation in the growth rings. This can occur out of the blue, even after a piece is finished. For that reason, I would avoid flat sawn pieces, and stick with quarter sawn - or pick a more stable wood.