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How many of you guys are doing Cathedral and Arched doors? I am starting a cabinetry class next month that runs through the Fall and that is one thing I want to concentrate on. -
I have made a few Cathedral doors and many plain straight sided panel doors both raised and flat. I have made two Cathedral doors with glass panels and 8 with cathedral raised panel doors. My cathedral raised panels were all MDF - painted. My straight sided have included softwood, oak, and maple.
I think the Rockler article is pretty good but they are clearly trying to sell you stuff. I think you need a cope and stick bit or set and a router table at a minimum. I have made doors this way with the table saw used to raise the panels. I like to use a panel raising bit - I have always used a horizontal one - more and they are necessary for cathedral doors. I used a flexible drawing aide to do the cathedral doors. I wanted to make the cabinets to fit the space so I would not want to be limited to patterns. I made my own coping sled out of 1/2 inch baltic birch plywood and a few other scraps plus a hold-down clamp. I do not think you need space balls. Often the panel will be a little warped or the frame will be and rattling is not an issue. If the fit is loose, you can put in small wooden shims to hold the panel in place.
None of the stuff that Rockler wants to sell you is bad but you don't need all of it to do a good job.
I have a reversable cope and stick bit and a stacked bit. I like the stacked a lot better. The coping sled with a 1/2 inch plywood bed makes height adjustment between the cope and stick cut slight using my MLCS bit.
Good Luck!
JimComment
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I pretty much agree with Jim. I bought a template set on sale from The Woodworker's Choice (TWC) before they went out of business. The tips from Rockler are good, especially about making scrap stiles to avoid ruining the arched rail.
Something seemed different about their procedure, though. They showed the sticking cut of the arched rail with the template attached, and seemingly offset. Perhaps that's specific to the Rockler bit set.
Otherwise, the general technique is to flush trim to the pattern template, remove the template, and then run the sticking cut. They also should be using a starting pin.
I didn't use a coping sled. I just screwed a drawer pull to a wide (approx 8") square of MDF and used it as a push/backer block. It worked just fine.BrianComment
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