Replies

1. 
   esch5995 | Nov 08, 2021 06:59am | #1

   I don't feel you need to worry about strength so much, but a raised panel does offer the advantage of being able to attach fasteners to it if you intend to hang tools on them. It's been awhile since I've looked at Mike's cabinet so I don't remember if he uses door storage or not and if so how it is attached.

   My bigger concern is your plan to have the wood milled ahead at the yard. Planing solid wood down to 10mm removes alot of wood and lumber dealers just hog the wood off as quickly as possible with little regard to moisture balancing and and acclimation time throughout the process. I am concerned you are setting yourself up for some serious wood movement issues like cupping and warping. I hope I'm wrong since it seems like you have already purchased your wood.

1. 
   leonard_s | Nov 08, 2021 07:12am | #2

   Thank you for the reply. I don't think I explained myself fully. The carcass is 20mm beech but I actually have 2 options for the front panels, I was going to buy 10mm birch plywood for the front or I have some nice spalted beech that has some funky twisting that I think I could tame with my hand plane to about 12mm and have a 2mm rebate all round, its been in my shed for about a year so it's probably moved all it going to.

2. 
   DRBWWing | Nov 08, 2021 10:13am | #3

   Since the doors are always open, I took the doors off of mine and mounted them either side of the main cabinet.

   
1. 
   _mj_ | Nov 08, 2021 01:40pm | #5

   Pretty sweet setup RobertE... I could never afford to give up the wall space behind the doors!

3. 
   Deleted | Nov 08, 2021 01:05pm | #4

   “[Deleted]”

4. 
   nickbrak | Nov 08, 2021 06:11pm | #6

   Recessed panels are used in cabinet doors all the time. Most of those kind of panels are usually called glass. (Sorry, snarky comment). But really, recessed panels construction are fine, and for sure go look at how glass panels are installed. Glass and wood panels are interchangeable for cabinet doors. Very typically, The panels in the frame are not glued in and thus provide little/no support whatsoever. My opinion is build/install with whatever tools/bits you have access too. If the frame is built solid, and the panel allows for a bit wood movement, you can’t go wrong with the installation method of the panel.
   A glass panel can be held in place by a few well placed nails, a wood panel can too.

   Good luck with the build!!! Have fun learning!!!

1. 
   James87 | Nov 09, 2021 06:52am | #7

   "Recessed panels are used in cabinet doors all the time. Most of those kind of panels are usually called glass. (Sorry, snarky comment). But really, recessed panels construction are fine, and for sure go look at how glass panels are installed. Glass and wood panels are interchangeable for cabinet doors. Very typically, The panels in the frame are not glued in and thus provide little/no support whatsoever. My opinion is build/install with whatever tools/bits you have access too. If the frame is built solid, and the panel allows for a bit wood movement, you can’t go wrong with the installation method of the panel.
   A glass panel can be held in place by a few well placed nails, a wood panel can too.

   Good luck with the build!!! Have fun learning!!!"

   this was helpful, thanks.

   https://www.indigocard.review/

5. 
   spog_uk | Nov 09, 2021 09:03am | #8

   My own hand tool cabinet has dovetailed pine frames, about 5" deep, in ~5/8" material (planed down from "1x" 3/4" stock) and rammed with tools -- essentially similar to RobertEJr's picture above, although possibly a little deeper and with the doors still hanging using full-length piano hinge (though the cabinet is resting on a base). The panels are 3/4" Baltic birch ply, that is seated and nailed into a rebate such that it sits flush with the front of the door frames when the cabinet is closed (OK, I veneered the outside face of the panels with some random iroko I had, but that's insignificant from the point of view of the structure). Far from making the doors weaker, these panels add significant strength, and the stability of the ply means that wood movement is less of a concern when attaching all the racks and cleats and so on to the inside of it.

   Edit to add: perhaps a slightly different way to look at it is that you are building a "tool wall" on a piece of plywood. The frame around it provides a convenient way to move that tool wall, ie when you close the cabinet. I mentioned that mine is now resting on a base, but for some years before that it was hanging straight on the wall. At that stage, I had a 2x4 bolted to the wall underneath running the length of the thing when open (and it's pretty much always open), to stop the doors sagging on the hinges, which may prove to be your biggest nemesis here, depending how much you pack it.