Cabinet door redo-Inserting tin panels into raised panel ?

[Jason Yeager]

Hello,

I know someone who desires to remove approximately a 10" by 12" section of the raised panel on their cabinet doors and replace it with a decorative tin accent. I was hoping to get any suggestions on the cleanest/best/fastest way to do this.

To clarify, I was planning on cutting out a rectangle appox. .5" smaller than the above dimension with a jigsaw (allowing for 1/4" on all sides extra), then routing a decorative profile on the outside, and a shallow 1/4" rebate on the inside of the door to fit the tin panel into from the back. I had considered using hot glue to attach the tin panel.

My two concerns are that the router will amplify the uneveness of the jigsaw cut and the router will be unable to produce a sqaure profille on the exterior of the door...i.e. the corners will be rounded.

Any suggestion or ideas would be incredible

Thanks!!!

[Jamie Buxton]

To machine a really clean hole in the panel, use a plunge router with a template guide, and a shop-built template. You'll still have rounded corners to chisel out, but that isn't difficult.

To make the template for a rectangular hole, I use a table saw. I start with a rectangle of MDF (MDF machines very easily, which is good in templates). I crank the saw blade all the way down, place the template stock against the rip fence, hold it very firmly, and crank the blade up, plunging up through the stock. Plunging a table saw blade like this sounds scary, because if the stock gets loose you're going to have kickback. But I've been doing it for years and have never had trouble with it. Until you're comfortable with the method, you might do well to clamp a stop to the table to prevent the kickback.

With this scheme and four cuts, you can cut a perfectly rectangular hole in the template. Don't worry if the cuts continue on past the perimeter of the hole. The template guide will ride over them.

[Jason Yeager]

Thanks!

Couple more questions....They decided not to cut the panel out but to recess the tin accent into the panel. What do you think would be the best way to remove appox. 1/4" of the material from the face on the door in order to drop the panel into? I was thinking of using the plunge router with a depth stop and just running it through the area until most of the material is cleard out.

Thanks again.

[Jamie Buxton]

Thanks!

Couple more questions....They decided not to cut the panel out but to recess the tin accent into the panel. What do you think would be the best way to remove appox. 1/4" of the material from the face on the door in order to drop the panel into? I was thinking of using the plunge router with a depth stop and just running it through the area until most of the material is cleard out.

Thanks again.

Yes, you can do that, and I've done similar things. There are a couple things to look out for. First, you need to cut the perimeter of the recess cleanly. The method I outlined above will do it. Second, you can't do all the work going from outside to the middle. Your router must be sitting on uncut wood. You can excavate from the middle to the outside, or from one side to the other.

[Peter Quinn]

Forget every thing you've heard...make a templete with (4) strips of 3/4" MDF and pocket hole screws. Size the interior dimensions to match your tin plates. Think rails and styles. I wouldn't risk your fingers making plunge cuts with a table saw unless there was a compelling reason. You can make a templete frame with biscuits too. Set your router up with a top bearing mortising bit, probably 3/4".

I'd make a base out of hardwood to hold the router which spans double the width of the outside of the templete. Attach your plunge router to this base (drill a hole in the center first) and route out the edges first, then clear out the field. I'd probably set up a trim router with the smallest top bearing bit I could find to clean up the corners then chop them square with the template still clamped to the door.

Did that make sense? Hope it helps.

[Doug Shepard]

Do Jamie's template suggestion but make a shop made plate from 3/4" ply to mount the router to. Make it big enough that it spans the template opening and you wont have to worry about having it rest on uncut wood.

[Matt Meiser]

Make sure that panel is really wood. I cut out the RP on two of our cabinet doors and replaced with glass. I was suprised to learn that they were veneered particle board. Then I noticed that one at my old office above the coffee pot was delaminating and had a bubble, presumably from the heat/steam. I was completely removing the panel so it didn't matter but it sounds like it might for you.

[Jason Yeager]

Wow,

Thanks guys! Sounds like both systems could work great, although I admit that I am hesitant to plunge cut on the table saw. I appreciate your insight and suggestions. I guess if I had one of those festool saws with the rail, I'd be all set.....better talk to the wife......ha ha ha.

[Jamie Buxton]

Wow,

Thanks guys! Sounds like both systems could work great, although I admit that I am hesitant to plunge cut on the table saw. I appreciate your insight and suggestions. I guess if I had one of those festool saws with the rail, I'd be all set.....better talk to the wife......ha ha ha.

If you're talking Festool, they sell a version of the template which I described.http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProdID=492610&ID=4 The price is a little different from the cost of a scrap chunk of MDF...

Here's another way to do the template thing....

Make a template whose outside is a rectangle. (That is, no plunge cutting.) Screw it to the face of the door panel. Use screws which don't go through the panel. Use a plunge router equipped with a template guide to cut around the outside of the template. Be sure to move the router in the direction which makes the router hug the template. Be careful to not over-run the ends of each side. Remove the template and hog out the middle of the recess with the router. Chisel out the corners.