Solid slab Cabinet door Question

[Mike Mc Namara]

Hi, I am building some kitchen cabinets and vanities out of rustic Hickory, The doors are made up of narrow boards with a v-groove T&G the field panels have a tongue and at the top and bottom of each door there is a grooved Rail. The problem is , I am afraid the boards will expand more width wise than the rails will length wise. any Ideas?

[Chip Lindley]

Hi Mike,
Unless your hickory is bone-dry and your house is quite humid, it is more likely that the V-groove panels will shrink a bit rather than expand. Hardwood usually loses moisture content indoors in a controlled environment.

~~Chip~~

[pat warner]

Allow at least~3/16"/ft of width to slip & slide in deep rail slots. Y-dimension: No allowance necessary.

[John TenEyck]

The only way to really know what the wood is going to do is to measure the moisture content of the wood now. Then you have to know what the humidity max. and min. in your house will be over the course of the year. With that info. you can calculate how much the door will expand and contract from where it is now. Check out Bruce Hoadley's book starting on page 116 for how to do the calculations. http://books.google.com/books?id=5HBH2ibu-ZwC&pg=PA124#v=onepage&q&f=false

[J.R. Rutter]

Glue outer verticals to top and bottom rails. Use small spacers between the inner staves and let them float.