Help!

[Bruce Cohen]

I'm in the process of making cabinet doors (only 2 thankfully) and along with a glass insert, I want to add "praire" style mutins.

I know that the inside of the door frames have to be routed to accept the glass, but I'm not really sure just how to go about adding the mutins. They have to be on the outer side of the glass and the door frames are 3/4 stock.

I believe there's a easier way than routing groves inside the door frames to hold the mutins, it's the math that messing me up. I assume there exists something simpler and just as nifty looking.

All responses will be apprecited, including links to sites on how to do this. I belong to Fine Woodworking's pay to use site and still can't find the info. I really want to get this finished (its part of a desk for my daughter (20)before I die of old age or before she finishes college.

Bruce

[DonHo]

There is an article in the April/May 2006 Wood mag about how to add "fake" mutins to glass doors by glueing to the outside of the glass. As a matter of fact, I'm in the process of trying this on a display case I'm making for my daughter. They look good in the pictures in the article, I hope they look as good in person.

DonHo

[Lonnie in Orlando]

Bruce:

Not sure what you mean about the "math".

I recently made muntins for new windows to replicate the 9-over-1 windows in the original part of our house. I attached fake muntins to the inside and to the outside of the windows so that they will look "real" from either side. I made the junction between the muntins and the sash tight, but, since I painted the windows, any gap could be filled. I assume that your cabinets will have a clear finish.

The profile of the edge of your muntins should match the profile of the rails and stiles. Your prairie doors and muntins will probably have a square edge profile, so the process should be fairly simple.

This is fairly close to the method in the Wood Mag artical that DonHo noted.

GLASS:
Rabbet the back of the door to accept the glass. Secure the glass with wood strips that are flush with the rails.
1/8" glass is lighter than 1/4".

MUNTINS:
> Plane stock to the thickness of the WIDTH of the muntins.
> Rip the stock into strips wider than the THICKNESS of the muntins.
> Plane the strips to final thickness. Equal to the distance from glass to surface of the rails.
> Cut the muntins longer than necessary.
> Half-lap the muntins for a tight fit. Define which piece (horizontal or vertical) will have the full length showing. Gang them together when dadoing to produce equal fits. I made dado by multiple passes with a WWII.
> Dry fit the half laps.
> Your muntins can butt up to the rails and stiles, or you can cut them into an arrow point to set into pointed recesses in the rails/stiles. If you use pointed ends, cut the recesses into the rails and stiles before fitting the muntins. I prefer butted.
> Lay the dry-fit muntin assembly onto the door with glass.
> Cut the square ends or pointed ends to tightly fit against the rails/stiles.
> Glue the half laps with super glue. Glue on a flat table protected with wax paper. Hold flat to the table. Use an accellerator if necessary.
> Attach the muntins to the glass with PolySeamSeal. Use plywood cauls on both sides of the opening.
> I like the look of muntins on the inside, too. You can see them from the front - looks more like true divided lights.

If you are doing a profile on the muntins to match a profile on the rails, do as above, but with narrower muntins. Make profile molding. Cut the muntins to fit the doors. Place the muntins on the door glass. Protect the glass with wax paper. Fit the moldings then glue to the muntins with super glue. Attach with PolySeamSeal.

- Lonnie

[newood2]

What is mutin or muntin, is it the same thing as grille?

Howie

[gwyneth]

There is a brilliantly simple method and router jig in "The Woodworkers Guide to Making and Using Jigs, Fixtures, and Setups" by David Schiff and Kenneth S. Burton, 1992, Rodale.

[Bruce Cohen]

Thanks for your collective help.

I think what Lonnie's described will work best, but I'm in the process of creating a couple of drawings of what I want (need) to do and that post will contain some, hopefully, more info.

Bruce

[cabinetman]

Bruce

There are a few easy ways to do what you want. You could make a center stile for the door. Assemble the door and rout out for the glass on the back edge of the two openings. Or, make a fake center stile and glue in to the opening. It would be as thick as the distance from the face of the glass to the face of the rest of the pieces.

For holding in the glass, you could use a wood strip all around, tacked in. Or, you could just use a small bead of GE Silicone II. Or, you could use glaziers points. Or, you could use plastic clips that screw into the rails and stiles and press on to the back of the glass, like something similar to these.
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