Making Panel Doors Move

I cut my plywood panel down using my jig saw but a table saw or circular or miter saw works fine too depending on the size you need.

Making panel doors move.

It s as simple as picking up a 4 ft 1 2 m x 8 ft 2 4 m sheet of 1 2 in 1 3 cm plywood and cutting it to correct dimensions. This should allow about 1 8 of room for the panel to move within the frame for wood movement and some wiggle room when you glue it up. If you like you can use your scrap plywood to cut stiles a center panel or other accents to give your handcrafted door a little extra visual appeal. So on to today s entry.

Finally i will plan on posting a step every day or two as i make the present door as opposed to posting one single long description from start to finish. Typical six panel doors have a distinctive look with standard size usually measuring 32 by 80 inches. Other panel options include glass mirror metal or even ceramic. Updating a flat panel core door with some trim and bead board to give it a more updated look.

Using the straightforward process detailed here you can crank out great looking doors for many applications including furniture cabinets and built ins. They have two 8 by 10 inch panels at the top with four larger 10 by 24 inch. Frames use 3 4 thick stock with 1 4 panels in various materials and veneers a general purpose saw blade will do the job although. For that reason the panel is typically captured in grooves plowed along the inside edges of the stiles and rails so it can float and move.

Link to the craftsman door trim project. Try making your own door. There are lots of different choices and lots of different hardware considerations but one door style that makers come back to time and time again is the frame and panel door and particularly the raised panel door. My present project will need four frame and panel assmeblies 3 for doors and one that will be a drawer front.