Center panels for shaker style cabinet doors
Hello, so I know this question has been asked a lot, and I would like your advice as to what you guys do when making shaker style cabinet doors. I have as kitchen job I’m just getting started and it will be a knotty alder with a darker stain. Originally I had planned on doing a 1/4″ mdf veneer center panel. But I know how light the doors feel when opening and closing them. Then I started to consider doing the solid panel and reversing the cove to make the fronts flat. But then you have the expansion and contraction that comes with the solid wood. I will stain the panels before I glue up the door, but I’m still worried if the panel contracts you will see the finishing line on the door. At least that’s what happened in my kitchen when the raised panels started to shrink. Then I have also read some people using 3/8″ mdf veneer to get the more solid feel. I did like that option, however I was wondering how to go about doing that. Do you get a 3/8″ cutter, or cut the back of the panel. And if you cut the back of the panel will you see that it is mdf? Thanks for any advice you guys can give me.
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In my opinion, solid panels would be more reflective of quality work. Do a web search on "frame and panel" construction. There are several ways to do it depending on what the finished look to be. I like to groove the inner edge of the frame and then rabbet the panel edges to fit allowing for some expansion/contraction. You can position the panel within the frame to make it either recessed or flush or centered by the way you rabbet either the front edge, back edge, or both. Remember that as kitchen cabinets, they are most always going to be in a climate controlled environment. So, wood movement should be minimal. Pre-finish the panels if you are concerned about them contracting and showing a finish line.
The best quality cabinets all use solid panels, just prefinish the panels and use spaceballs or the equivalent to minimize movement. I do recommend a Shaker style panel versus a cove though it just looks better on the backside, not like you put the panels in backwards.
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