Curves raised panel doors.

[Dave Bureau]

Curved raised panel doors. Anyone out there ever make them? I want to build a bathroom vanity and saw some curved doors i liked on a store bought unit. Could you make the panels with a vertical panel bit? Any other ways of making these doors?
Dave

[glenn bradley]

If by curved you mean 'arched' or 'cathedral' there are templates available:

http://www.rockler.com/search_results.cfm?filter=arch+template

If you mean curved as in protruding forward out of the cabinet; that sounds cool but I'm not your guy.

[Dave Bureau]

Curved meaning protruding out as a slight curve or even slight s shape.

[Dan Gill]

If you mean the panel profile is a curve, (in other words, the curve is along the 3/4-inch edge) you just need the right router bit and a router table, or a shaper with the right bit.

[glenn bradley]

"Curved meaning protruding out as a slight curve"

Ah, that is an interesting look but alas, I am no help to you.

[Tim Sproul]

Try looking up coopered doors. Casks and barrels.....same idea.

Krenov is a BIG proponent for coopered doors.

Generally, you build up the doors from slats. Krenov, in general, likes to apply a veneer to coopered doors. Veneering the coopered door allows you to maintain the look of a single piece of wood while having a coopered door.

[Carl Eyman]

I think that is what they'd be called. If I had to try it, I think I'd raise the panel before I glued it up. For instance, layout the pieces you are going to glue together for your panel. Don't edge glue them. With a water soluble glue glue a piece of paper to the back of the panel. Raise your panel. I don't think I'd try it on a table saw. I'd do it with a horizontal panel raising bit. Then remove the paper from the back by steaming, soaking, or sanding and bevel the mating edges of each piece with a plane or on the jointer and glue up the panel. You'll probably have to plane or sand the surface to give it the final curve you want. It will probably look like a polygon - a section of an octagon, for instance. Norm made the curved top for a wooden trunk much the same way once. He didn't glue paper on the back, but I've done that for somewhat different reasons and it worked well.

I'm glad it is you and not me, though.

[Doug Shepard]

There's a poster on the Knots forum that has exactly what you're looking for including how-to pics. Cant put a link to another forum here, but if you go on Knots and use their Advanced Search option for posts from "Mumda" in the Gallery folder you should be able to find it pretty easily.

[Jamie Buxton]

I've built curved raised panel doors. They're about ten times as much work as flat ones. The issue is that we have lots of tools in our shops to make wood flat and straight, but few to make wood curved. That means that making curved doors is jig city. Here's a list of ones I made and used:

Three router jigs to make the rails. One cut the inside face, another the outside face, and a third cut the dado to hold the panel.

A fixture to hold the curved rail while I machined a mortise in the end. I used floating tenons to fasten the rails to the stiles.

Clamping jigs to help glue the coopered planks together while the glue cured.

A fixture to hold the glued-up panel while I trimmed it square. I also used it to hold the panel while I planed and sanded the front face smooth.

A fixture to hold the panel while I planed and sanded the inside smooth.

A fixture to hold the panel while I ran it past a vertical panel-raising bit in a router table.

There may be a few others I've forgotten.

[Dave Bureau]

Doug:
Thanks for the link. that is what i'm looking for. it's tought to see the photos though because they are small and i have to scroll left and right, up and down. Is there a way to fix that?

jamie: yes i know it will be a lot of work but the results will be worth it. Anyone can make flat panels. But i want to make things that not alot of people want to do. Its more rewarding for me. Thanks for the info.