Shaker Cabinet Seams Question

[Josh Baldwin]

Hey guys I'm building some shaker cabinets for the new house. The rails and stiles will be made from maple with mdf or plywood inserts and everything will be painted white.

The question I have is what's the best method to fill the seams where the rails and stiles meet? I guess ideally the seams will be very tight and the primer/paint will make them look seamless, but I'm not totally sure that will be the case. And no matter what will the seams crack over time? Originally I was just going to leave defined seams/joints, but now I think we like the look without seams.

Thanks for the help.

[roger wiegand]

There shouldn't be gaps to fill. Unlike mitered corners that invariably open and close with the seasons, the straight M&T type joint of a Shaker cabinet door won't move unless the rails are unusually wide. The perfectly smooth look on commercial cabinets is achieved by vacuum forming a foil/plastic film over the surface of the wood. To my eye that looks like, well, plastic rather than a wood cabinet. The Shakers would have made their joints tight, but not hidden them.

[Jim Becker]

Good joinery doesn't need filling and it's normal if the line is still visible under paint in a hand-crafted product. Fillers can cause more issues with visibility than then sometimes solve, too. If you get a door that just doesn't go together right...remake it from scratch.

[Josh Baldwin]

There shouldn't be gaps to fill. Unlike mitered corners that invariably open and close with the seasons, the straight M&T type joint of a Shaker cabinet door won't move unless the rails are unusually wide. The perfectly smooth look on commercial cabinets is achieved by vacuum forming a foil/plastic film over the surface of the wood. To my eye that looks like, well, plastic rather than a wood cabinet. The Shakers would have made their joints tight, but not hidden them.

Ok good to know, now I don't have to worry about it so much. The rails and stiles will only be about 2.5" wide. Do you think I should go with plywood centers or mdf? I've read tons of conflicting info on the subject. Thanks for the help.

[Josh Baldwin]

Good joinery doesn't need filling and it's normal if the line is still visible under paint in a hand-crafted product. Fillers can cause more issues with visibility than then sometimes solve, too. If you get a door that just doesn't go together right...remake it from scratch.

Awesome, good to know Jim. I'll just make sure they're all a good fit from the get go and proceed from there. Any thoughts on plywood vs mdf for center panel? Everyone seems to have a different idea on the subject. Thanks as always for all your help.

[Jim Becker]

I have used both plywood and MDF for door panels in my kitchen. Despite paying attention during finishing, the MDF didn't perform as well over time as the plywood. So I'd use BB plywood for this task if I were to make more in the future.

[roger wiegand]

My preference is also BB, mostly because I hate cutting MDF. For "real" Shaker I use solid wood with the cove on the edge facing the inside of the cabinet.