frame and panel by hand

[Raymond Stanley]

If I want to make a frame-and-panel by hand-only, how important is it to make the panel perfect square? Do folks shoot the large panels, or just cut them carefully?
Thanks!
Ray

[Raymond Stanley]

...and what about drawer bottoms? Do people shoot those or just careful saw cuts?

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi Raymond. To both of your questions, yes, square. As to how perfect, well, I'm not that much of a perfectionist. But they are pretty darn square. Depending on what the project is, and how I am feeling that day, some are sawn square, but most likely are shot.

Also, as regards raised panels, Just as with power tools, do the cross-grain work forst, then long-grain.

Depending on the wood, I sometimes leave the width a touch wide and following shaping the end-grain part of the panel joint to width to avoid break-out.

Take care, Mike
who really is now going back to the shop...

[Ken Bryant]

Square... well, this depends. What the panel needs to be is the SAME SHAPE AS THE FRAME, and a little big bigger. Presumably the frame is the piece that has to fit with other pieces on other sides...and some of us find that, while square was what we had in mind, for one reason or another square isn't exactly what we end up with. So be sure you mark the panel directly from the (dry-fitted) frame, rather than assuming it needs to be exactly square. Then enlarge that marked square/rectangle/trapezoid/whatever by the amount needed to make the "tongue".