Flush or Proud raised panel?

[newood2]

Using 3/4" maple for the door frame and the panel, I can undercut the back of the panel to make it flush with frame(front), or I can omit the undercut and make the panel proud(about 5/32" higher) of the frame.
What I want is to have the raised panel flush without the underutting. Then I would have to use 5/8" panel. I can't get that thickness anywhere except a mill, and they wouldn't even consider doing that small amount.
Question is, have anyone used a planer to downsize 3/4" to 5/8".
I bought a Delta 22-580 but I have not set it up yet.
Is it very difficult to setup.

Howie

[gary]

Not difficult to setup at all - it's likely to be spot on right out of the box.

I'd run the stock through the planer before glue up. Easier to plane according to grain direction that way.

As a safety reminder, take small passes with your panel raising bits and always do the end grain first. Keep your bit speed slow and plan your hand positions to keep them out of that bit.

[drumpriest]

What Gary said. I usually cut a rabbet on the back of mine so that I don't have to plane down the stock so much, but a friend of mine swears by the 5/8" panel method. I'm not personally a fan of the protruding panel.

[mpauly]

Planing off an 1/8" should be no problem, just run several passes like others have said, measure after each pass and sneak up on the final dimension. It's when I have to plane off more than 1/4" that I really wish I had a big band saw so I didn't waste so much wood.

Hope you have a DC......it creates a lot of shavings.

Michael

[Tequila]

I have cut down stock like that with that exact planer. One nice feature is that it has a depth lock that allows you to match the finished thickness for a bunch of stock with one setting.