Saw some great looking doors yesterday, in a dressing closet. Want to do the same for myself.
Doors were flat panels, 3/4″ thick, core unknown, veneered with maple on back side, a maple/cherry pattern on face side, and edge banded. Hinges were euro cup type.
Door size was approximately 30 wide x 64 high, and they were hung in pairs. See the attached sketch. The large diamond in the center was the cherry, the rest is maple.
Would you do this in MDF, edge band it, then glue and bag-press the veneers to the faces? What would be your method of cutting and joining the maple and cherry sections on the front faces?
Replies
Bob,
The Albert Hall live album is one of my favorites. Didn't know you also are a woodworker.
You could use mdf, but it'd be quite heavy at that size, and euro-hinges often move out of alignment. I'd use ply. Then veneer whichever method you prefer. To cut that pattern, overlap the veneers and make one cut with a metal straightedge.Refit and glue.
Thanks. What would be your spec for the plywood? ApplePly or baltic birch? Luan-core? There are so many choices.
What you're looking for is flatness and stability. All those plys will work. Veneer both sides to prevent warp,like an A/C grade.
I think it would be difficult to get a VC core ply to remain flat in doors of that size. Despite its weight, I would be inclined to use MDF. And yes, I would veneer the backside as well. It may be more effort than you want to invest, but I think it would be nifty if you did the same pattern (or even a slight variation) for the back as you did on the front.
As for the hinges, Jackplane is right about the Euro hinges needing periodic tightening, but I use them anyway because they are so easy to adjust. Grass and Blum both have recommendations for the number of hinges to be used (for different size doors) in their catalogs. Plan on at least 4 hinges, but check out the mfg. specs.
Finally, if it proves difficult to get a tight, sharp edge between the two veneers, how about an 1/8" inlay at the line -- set in a dado ploughed by your router?
One poster recommended overlaying the two veneers and cutting them at the same time. That method works well, especially if you use carpet tape to adhere the two sheets together securely prior to cutting.
I attached a photo of a panel I made for a yacht project (made a carload of these things, actually). The process in this case was to cut pieces of plexiglas to the dimensions of the two triangles -- the eight segments are repeats of four each of two triangles. After cutting the triangles, the mating edges are sanded using a straightedge as a guide and then slightly back-beveled to provide a glue channel. The substrate is sandee ply.
Bill Arnold
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
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