Hi,
I have a question I would appreciate some feedback and opinions on. I’m currently building a large cabinet system with 6 fairly significantly sized cabinet doors. The cabinet system is 8 ‘ x 8’ and includes three separte upper cabinets with two doors per cabinet box. Dimensions of each cabinet door is 65 3/4″ tall x 15″ wide. The Poplar rails and stiles are sized to 15/16″ thick and the door panels will be fixed in placed approximately in the centre of the rails and stiles. The door panel will be 3/8″ MDF and glued in place. The door top rails are 2 5/8″ in width, mid rails to be positioned 24″ down from the bottom of the top rail will also be 2 5/8″ wide. Bottom rails will be 3 1/4″. Stiles are 65 3/4″ in length and the hinge side stile will also be 2 5/8″ in width with the opposing stile sized (handle side of the door) to 2″. Two (2) doors per cabinet box.
My question is: If the door panels are to be glued in place (3/4″ deep into the rail and stiles for stability) do I need to include in the construction of the doors deeper tenons for the rails than just 3/4″ given I am gluing the panels in place? I have done shorter doors (42″) in the past and not had any issue with warping or maintaining the flatness of the doors. I choose the material for the rails and stiles so as to help minimize warping (i.e using rift or quarter sawn material when I can locate it). That said I have not built a set of doors this large before. Adding to my concern is the cabinet will be installed in a much dryer climate (desert type climate) than I am currently constructing them in, which is in my shop located on the west coast.
I have no issue with constructing the doors to include deeper mortise and tenons for the rails and stiles as I am retired and I am doing this for a family member and just want it to be well built and problem free for the foreseeable future. They already have commerical kitchen cabinet doors that are warping either due to poor initial construction or their adjacency to the gas stove – either way not good having just redone the kitchen a few years ago. As a result I have been invited to build their mudroom/pantry cabinet system.
Anyways that is my situation that I would greatly appreciate any comments, advice or feedback on.
Thank you in advance,
Best regards
Ray
Replies
https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/232699/011262052.pdf
This article by Andrew Hunter may help you.
If the MDF doors fit snugly and are glued around the entire perimeter, there is no need to extend the rail tenons beyond 3/4 inch.
Here are a couple other ideas for your consideration.
Unless the doors are subject to harsh use, 1/4 inch MDF panels would be adequate rather than 3/8 inch ones and would result in lighter doors.
In commercial kitchen cabinets, a typical approach would be to use two 3-foot high doors stacked together and joined with a couple steel plates, rather than a single 6-foot high door. Any door will warp somewhat, so the two-door approach allows you to mitigate the appearance of any warpage. In your case, I'd wait until the doors have acclimatized to their new desert home before deciding how to orient them and joining them together.
At the beginning of post #2, I should have said . . . If the MDF "panels" fit snugly . . .
What are MDF panels? do they get veneered? Is this the same as particle board?
Thank you Joeyboy for your comments and suggestions. They are helpful and give me something to think about for sure (i.e. splitting the door length into 2 separate sections)
Appreciate the link roy.unit8c. I did read that article in my quest for more information. I would definitely have to do something similar if the doors were all wood panels but I thought it may be posible to avoid tbis approach to stiffening tbe doors by using MDF panels and glue them in.
Thank you both for your time and advice.
Best regards
I agree on that size door 3/8" panels are going to make them heavy.
The issue with 1/4" MDF (which can range from 5-6mm) is most rail/stile/panel raising bit sets make a 1/4" groove so the MDF will be loose.
Adjustable bits or conversion kits are available.