Raised Panel Post

[George Bokros]

This feeds off my post about the Infinity Lock Miter bit.

I am thinking about making the post as a raised panel on all four sides. I would use a mini raised panel and rail and stile set. The post will only be a total of 4 1/4" wide. I would use 1" wide stiles and 1 1/2" wide rails. The post would be ~42" tall. Doing the math with 1" wide stiles and 1 1/2" wide rails the raised panel would be 2 1/4" wide and 39" tall. I would use the lock miter to attach the sides together to form the post.

Thoughts and opinions on a raised panel post 42" tall with a raised panel 2 1/4" wide and 39" tall... I am wondering if it would look odd / funny?? I do not want to buy $200 in router bits to make this and find out it looks funky.

Thanks

[David Eisenhauer]

I don't know what the cutter profile looks like, but it seems that the raised, flat portion (called the field? I think) of the panel may end up being fairly small. At least on my shaper there is a finite height I can make raised panel drawer fronts before the panel looks too weird. I assume you have that part figured out though. How will the four sides (raised panels) be joined?

[Mark Bolton]

Assuming your going to make the panels and the lock miter them after you've glued into a panel?

Milling very narrow pieces may prove a challenge.

If so, your lock miter will be a one shot deal.

[Mel Fulks]

Yes, I think skinny raised panels look odd. When ever a company that makes wall paneling loses a job to a much lower bid
the result is a bunch of them instead of carefully thought out trim. Narrow deep flutes with with the proper small space
between them or ,or stopped coves on the corners, or just a good moulding treatment would be better. Newels are one of
the features that often reflect a specific style of house, so I would choose a design with that in mind too.

[George Bokros]

Assuming your going to make the panels and the lock miter them after you've glued into a panel?

Milling very narrow pieces may prove a challenge.

If so, your lock miter will be a one shot deal.

I am planning to cut the lock miter before assembly of the panel and rail / stiles.

[George Bokros]

I don't know what the cutter profile looks like, but it seems that the raised, flat portion (called the field? I think) of the panel may end up being fairly small.

How will the four sides (raised panels) be joined?

I estimate based on the raised panel set the field would be 1" wide.

Rails and stiles will be done with a rail and stile set so it would be glue and stub tennons.

Thinking about this I do not think it would lookgood, got to come up with some other idea. Thinking of adding some molding wrapped around the corners but it will be dangerous to cut a miter on the length of the molding (I would do it with a 45* chamfer bit on the router table), I am estimating the molding would be about 3/4" to 1" wide, a little closer to a spinning router bit than I care to be.

[Max Neu]

Have you considered just doing a flat panel? I would also just biscuit the miters for alignment. Since you will be long grain to long grain, your joint will be plenty strong enough.

[Mark Bolton]

I am planning to cut the lock miter before assembly of the panel and rail / stiles.

That may be very difficult with a 1" stile.

[David L Morse]

Are you sure you need a miter joint for this? Instead of mitering two 1" wide stiles together to make a corner post could you use a single 1" x 1" piece and profile two adjacent sides? The rail and stile bit sets I've seen reference from the face so this should work. If you need clearance on the inside corner just cut a rabbet there before running the stile profiles.

[Mark Bolton]

Are you sure you need a miter joint for this? Instead of mitering two 1" wide stiles together to make a corner post could you use a single 1" x 1" piece and profile two adjacent sides? The rail and stile bit sets I've seen reference from the face so this should work. If you need clearance on the inside corner just cut a rabbet there before running the stile profiles.

So simple, so smart. Its shamefull it took a few replies. Nice..

[Max Neu]

So simple, so smart. Its shamefull it took a few replies. Nice..
That will work as long as you don't mind having face grain on one side, and edge grain on the other side. If you are painting it, then it won't matter.

[George Bokros]

Are you sure you need a miter joint for this? Instead of mitering two 1" wide stiles together to make a corner post could you use a single 1" x 1" piece and profile two adjacent sides? The rail and stile bit sets I've seen reference from the face so this should work. If you need clearance on the inside corner just cut a rabbet there before running the stile profiles.

Hadn't though of this idea. The only thing is the grain pattern is different edge grain to face grain so the post will not have the same appearance on all faces which I am trying to achieve by eliminating the glue up lines that show.

Good suggestion though.

[George Bokros]

That will work as long as you don't mind having face grain on one side, and edge grain on the other side. If you are painting it, then it won't matter.

If I were painting it the joint lines of a glue up would not matter .

[David L Morse]

That will work as long as you don't mind having face grain on one side, and edge grain on the other side.
If you cut your stock so that the outside to inside diagonal is perpendicular to the grain (as seen from the end) then both faces will have a similar and somewhat symmetrical grain pattern, almost like a book match.

[Mark Bolton]

That will work as long as you don't mind having face grain on one side, and edge grain on the other side. If you are painting it, then it won't matter.

I can try to follow you but on this one its a struggle. Itd be like an argument against solids for legs which would likely only apply to QS.

[Max Neu]

If you cut your stock so that the outside to inside diagonal is perpendicular to the grain (as seen from the end) then both faces will have a similar and somewhat symmetrical grain pattern, almost like a book match.
Ok, I follow you now.I originally thought you were just cutting a 1" rip from a 1" thick piece of stock.

[Ken Grant]

This feeds off my post about the Infinity Lock Miter bit.

I am thinking about making the post as a raised panel on all four sides. I would use a mini raised panel and rail and stile set. The post will only be a total of 4 1/4" wide. I would use 1" wide stiles and 1 1/2" wide rails. The post would be ~42" tall. Doing the math with 1" wide stiles and 1 1/2" wide rails the raised panel would be 2 1/4" wide and 39" tall. I would use the lock miter to attach the sides together to form the post.

Thoughts and opinions on a raised panel post 42" tall with a raised panel 2 1/4" wide and 39" tall... I am wondering if it would look odd / funny?? I do not want to buy $200 in router bits to make this and find out it looks funky.

Thanks

I am a trim carpenter, and we build newels in most of the houses we trim. In my opinion, 4 1/4" is too narrow for a post with that much detail. I actually like a flat panel with an inset panel moulding. That, along with the right cap and boot makes for a nice looking post. As someone said earlier, the newel should fit in with the rest of the house. Google 'newel post' and look at the pictures that come up. You will figure out what looks right pretty fast. Just my $.02

[Jim Andrew]

I built the stair parts for my nephew, and used raised panel posts, although they were about 5" wide, and put a pair of 2x4's down into the floor to make the basic post to slide them over. I just raised the cutter so the bevel on the panel was small enough to make the panel look right. And the top and bottom rails, I turned the grain so it was all long wise with the post, so the whole post would shrink and swell together, and it would not matter if I got a little glue into the corner with the panel.

[Mark Bolton]

I built the stair parts for my nephew, and used raised panel posts, although they were about 5" wide, and put a pair of 2x4's down into the floor to make the basic post to slide them over. I just raised the cutter so the bevel on the panel was small enough to make the panel look right. And the top and bottom rails, I turned the grain so it was all long wise with the post, so the whole post would shrink and swell together, and it would not matter if I got a little glue into the corner with the panel.

You mean you milled your rails with the sticking on the end grain and copes on the long grain?

In a 5" wide panel assembly wood movement would be about as close to zero as you would need.