All,
I’m making a couple of doors for a cabinet, and my panels are a bit too short, and I’m all out of French quarter sawn oak. The doors will be 40″x18″ with 3/8″ thick resawn panels probably between 34-35″ long. If I used 2 1/2″ rails I’d need panels 36″ long I figure..I could cheat a bit because shrinkage won’t be an issue on the length. What I’m wondering is if I made the rials 3″ or 3″ on top and 4″ on the bottom rail would that look okay?…should I change the stiles from 2.5 to 3″ if the rails are wider?
thanks
Replies
Hiya BG .
Your answer depends on the style of cabinet if there is one that you are building . If the style is not significant then there is no reason 3" - 4" rails should not be used .
The wider the rail the longer the glue joint and stronger door frame in general. The stiles will still look fine if you make them 2 1/2" - 3" , and not detract from the looks or structural integrity of the door frames .
Many doors are made with wider rails than stiles as a common method , look at man doors as well as cabinet doors , it will be just fine .
good luck dusty
olddusty,
No, the style is quite simple, A&C as much as I understand that style. About the only style elements will be a bevel on the top edge and bottom base.
I did the rewsawing this morning and that went fairly well. I had to rip the board in four 4" pieces that I will now glue up and square up before I make a final decision on the R&S size. thanks
BG ,
Now that we know A&C is the style , for what it's worth and to go along with that style I would make the stiles and rails all the same size , in this case 3" if that will work out for your panel .I'm working on a set of doors in the Craftsman style of Rift Sawn Oak they have 3" stiles and rails .
Usually this style door will not have a center rail and one panel on top of the other , rather a center stile with a split panel seems to fit the theme more so .
good luck dusty
Oldusty,
I'm going to shoot for the 3" all the way around...and fall back to 3 1/2" on the bottom rail if the if need be because of the length. thanks
BG,
It is most common for stiles to match the top rail in width, often bottom rails are somewhat wider to give more visual weight to the bottom of the door. In this case, I'd think you can get by with 3" stiles and top rl, and 3 1/2 or 4" wide bot rl.
Ray
Ray,
Thanks, that's good to know. I have to use three hole 2x1.5 long butt hinges to accomodate the thickness of the doors (3/4"). Would you use three hinges on these doors?
BG, three 2" butt hinges will not be too many for a 40" tall door.
Incidentally, if you use good long tenons (thru tenons wouldn't be overkill, imo, on a door this size) and get the frames flat in the first place, I'd not worry about 3/8" thick panels causing a 3" frame to twist. Let the panels relax for at least a couple days after resawing, then flatten and dress them to thickness. Although divided panels wouldn't look bad in an arts and crafts style cabinet; a square one at top and the rest of the length in a rectangle below.
Regards,
Ray
Ray,
I'm gonna leave lots of time after glue-up before I plane, etc...I've gotten impatient in the past and ended up with stripes in my panels because the moisture from the glue was still in the wood when I flattened.
I rechecked everything today, including the waste barrel, and I just don't have enough wood to do another rail, unless I drop them back to 2" and that may just not look right.
When I first brought the lumber home and did a rough cut, I picked the flatest boards and put them aside for the stiles...I'm trying to avoid that one corner that just won't lay flat...we'll see. My working mantra is good fiting joints, no excessive stress...the woodworking gods think screw the fat guy.
BG,
Hey I ain't that fat, but the gods will have their way fer sure.
A good door stop across the top of the opening, and letting the case bottom project upwards 1/4" or so past the frame, for a stop at the bottom, and you can tie even a crooked door down with a turnbutton at the needful corner- or both corners- of the left hand door, and a lock or cupboard turn (knob with a finger on the inside) in the middle of the right hand door, and as Richard would say, Bob's yer uncle.
Ray
"as Richard would say, Bob's yer uncle," or, more sardonically:
snip, snip, and Bob's yer auntie. Slainte.
Richard Jones Furniture
Richard,
OUCH! (in falsetto)
Ray
Have you considered adding a third rail in the middle so each door has 2 panels?
QC,
That is a good thought...not sure I have enough wood left..after I glue up and square up I'll decide. Cutting the panel in half length wise may help to reduce any bowing stress that I can't removing with planing.
If I added a third hinge to these doors would I place it at the middle cross piece?
I'm not sure about cabinet doors, but in the architectural door business, the first dimension is always the WIDTH and the second dimension is always the LENGTH. If this holds true for these doors, then your door is much wider than tall. In that case, you could use a center mullion and have two panels in keeping with the A&C work of those before us.
If in fact your door is 18" wide and 40" tall, then............nevermind.
"Roger Staubach for President"
doorboy,
Being self taught and working alone all the time I'm pretty weak on the proper terminology, sorry. In my case the doors are 40" long
I set the panel width to golden section of the door width. I often use the resulting width all around. In this case:
.618 X 18 = 11-1/8" That makes the rails (18 - 11-1/8)/2 = 3-1/2"
That said, as a door, I think its a mistake to make a 3' long panel. I'd split it up. Its liable to rack the door. As wainscotting it would be no problem and by no means atypical.
One last thought: I can't stand A&C. To some extent it was brought about to specifically abandon architectural and artistic "rules" like the one above. If you want to make authentic A&C you should probably size the panel to your stock or whatever you table saw is set to. The more I see it, the more it just looks like Warhol to me. I get it and I'm not falling for it. Its just a soup can.
Adam
Adam,
Ahhh...so that's the way you apply the gloden section...thanks, it's good to know.
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