I’m building a Hepplewhite Mahogany Bookcase which calls for a lower cabinet panelled door. It is not a raised panel, rather flat with corner inserts and a beaded molding around the perimeter of the panel.
I’ve attached an illustration of the planned door assembled. Also, next to it, I’ve shown an exploded view of the pieces.
I’m having trouble with the design for expansion/contraction. I don’t want to make the panel with a plywood base which is veneered. I would like to use a solid mahogany panel. I can provide a gap for expansion/contraction which is covered by the small applied bead. However, the corner pieces cause a problem. I can’t leave a gap for these pieces which are inset into the panel.
Do I need to make the corner shape a part of the rails, rather than an applied insert which sockets into the panel? Rather have the corners cut out of the panel with the rails extended down at the corners.
Tim
Replies
Hi Tim.
I was hoping Bob would get to your question but I think he's away from the shop this week so I'm going to take a stab at this.
I think your best bet is to glue the corner block to the stiles and rails and let the solid panel move independently underneath it. You could also make the corner block integrated in the rail or stile, but that might be overkill and a tricky operation.
Basically, treat the corner block the same way you are treating the applied bead and you shouldn't have any problems.
Matt
Matt, thank you very much for the informative reply..... I ended up doing exactly as you stated, having the corner blocks (with 3/8 long tongues) glued to the rails and stiles. I provided a 1/16" gap or so for the flat panel to float. So the corner block is not tight up against the panel.
You may be able to see some of this in the attached pictures.
Thanks,
Tim
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