Space Ball Use??

[Gilbert Vega]

I'm fixing to make up some raised panels for the kitchen cabinets. The bit I'm using (Whiteside) cuts a 3/8" groove for the panels to sit in. I have some Space Balls that are approx. 1/4". Even when slightly compressed that would only leave about a 3/16" recess for the panels. That seems a bit short. Would it be better to cut the balls in half or to use small dabs of silicone (around two dabs per side??

Any thoughts?? Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

You don't want any of that silicone anywhere near your project--it can provide nasty contamination for all your future finishing and not just on this project. I can't advise you on the space balls, however, as I have never used them.

[frank shic]

it does seem a little tight, but as long as you clamp them up well, you shouldn't have a problem. i used them on a desk project recently and they worked very well. expansion gaps can run anywhere between 1/16" and 1/8".

[Gary Keedwell]

Space balls do come in 1/4" and 3/16" sizes.
Here is a link that has FAQ's.
http://www.blackbridgeonline.com/index.html

Gary

[Gilbert Vega]

Thanks for the input. I went ahead an ordered the smaller spaceballs.

[Gary Keedwell]

No problem, hope they work out for you. I did my kitchen with them. Works great.
Gary

[Ed Peters]

hundreds of raised panel doors and many linear feet of raised panel wainscoting without the benefit of space balls, I can honestly say that I find them absolutely unneccessary.

Ed

[frank shic]

hundreds of raised panel doors and many linear feet of raised panel wainscoting without the benefit of space balls, I can honestly say that I find them absolutely unneccessary.

Ed

do you use something else, ed? how much of an expansion gap are you leaving? i would love to cut another step out of the process!

[Gary Keedwell]

hundreds of raised panel doors and many linear feet of raised panel wainscoting without the benefit of space balls, I can honestly say that I find them absolutely unneccessary.

Ed
A couple of times I put a finish on my panel before I assembled them, and didn't use the space balls. Sometimes it is just as easy to take a minute to slip them in there to keep the panel centered.
Whatever works. They are rather inexpensive and if you buy in bulk it is something that seems to last forever.
Gary

[Josiah Bartlett]

I just use short pieces of hardware store 1/4" self-adhesive weatherstrip foam. A roll of it is less than a buck and you only need a few small pieces to do the same thing as the space balls.

[Greg Dykes]

Spaceballs are meant to be compressed up to 50% of thier normal size. Most every chart shows using a 5/32" space on each side, top and bottom when using the 1/4" balls. I am using them now on my kitchen doors and that dimension has worked great for me. I like the way they even out the panel between the rails and stiles.

[John Gregory]

i have used space balls for 5 years now with no problems. Panel never rattles with humidity changes, panels stay centered. I like them. Are they absolutely needed, probably not, but that can be said for many tools in our workshops.

[Ed Peters]

do you use something else, ed? how much of an expansion gap are you leaving? i would love to cut another step out of the process!
Depends on the time of year that the project is assembled in. Summer and early fall (high humidity) I leave just over a sixteenth clearance on the width of the panel, nothing on the length. Late fall, winter and spring (low humidity) I leave about an eighth on the width of the panel, nothing on the length. Experience, not science. To date, no joints have exploded.

Ed