Hi everyone.
I’m new to the forum, and am trying to decide how to make some flat panel doors for a set of kitchen cabinets. I’m using quarter sawn white oak, with 3/4″ frames. I would like to resaw and bookmatch the panels, but I’m concerned that the final 1/4″ thickness would be too thin for solid wood. Another option would be to resaw and plane the material down thinner, and use it to veneer a 1/4″ plywood panel. I have never done this and don’t know how thin the veneer would need to be. Can anyone give me some help/advice??
Smitty
Replies
Another option is to go to an industrial yard and buy a 1/4" sheet of QSWO. They make it with a fiber core, sized exactly so it will fit in a 1/4" dado.
The problem is that it's expensive (about $80 the last time I bought it), and the figure is usually not quite as pronounced as you could find on solid stock (i.e. the rays).
When I have used it, I forget about waste, and cut the panel stock for the best matches.
Smitty,
I just resawed and glued up a qtr. sawn maple panel with a final thickness of 3/16"...I am amazed at its strength and how easy the glue up was. That said, I gave this panel lots to time to warp or twist because introducing those issues into a cabinet door would be just miserable.
I've used QSWO ply before, 3/8" thick, and it came out quite nice giving a nice solid feel to the door. For kitchen cabinets more solid might be desirable.
Hi Smitty. You could look into the possibility of making a raised panel door with the raised portion to the interior. Lee Valley makes a nice Shaker style bit for this exact purpose. I have not made a flat panel door with the panel 1/4" thick but when you make a raised panel door the tongue portion is usually around 1/4" thick. Thinking of the weakest link in the chain thing. Peter
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