Hello,
I making raised panel doors in mahogany. The panels will be about 18″ wide and 23″ tall. My rough stock is 9-10″ wide in various lenghts.
Question is this: Is it ok, for stability purposes, to glue up two wide boards or should I rip the parts to narrower sizes and then glue up? And if I rip the wide stock down, should I alternate the growth rings or glue them back together as they were?
Hope I’m making sense.
Thanks,
B
Replies
B,
Mahogany is a stable wood. Gluing two wide boards will work fine, and be more attractive than a bunch of narrow strips. Alternating the growth rings will be best, but not absolutely necessary, as the panels will be captured in the frame of the doors, and so restrained from warping. I recommend going for the best grain match across the joint, and if that means not opposing the curvature of the rings, so be it.
Do allow sufficient room in the depth of the grooves for the panels in your door frames for some seasonal movement. 18" wide panels, even in mahogany, will move 1/8" or more in width from winter to summer.
Ray
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