Raised Panel Doors

[jackellis]

I've just built two using a table saw to raise the panels and a router table to cut the rails and stiles. They're for a shop cabinet so perfection is not critical but learning a thing or two in the process of building them is.

When assembled, the rails and stiles are not perfectly smooth at the joint - the difference is about 1/64th of an inch. I assume this is more typical than not and I just need to sand the joint smooth (which I will do when it is glued up.

More problematic is what to do about sanding the profile. Is this something done by hand? I suppose I could make a scraper but then I'd be concerned about tearout.

Once I have the panels prepped, I will apply a poly finish, then assemble and glue the door. No stain, just natural wood.

[JimD]

I use a sanding block if the profile is flat like you would cut with a table saw. Depending on how steady you hand was, you could have a bit of sanding to do. I have also used a finish sander for this but you have to be careful or you will alter the profile. Sanding block is much safer.

My doors always require some sanding at the joints to get the joint perfectly flat. Sometimes it is setup and sometimes it seems to be minor differences in the thickness of the wood I used.

My process is to sand the inside of the frame a little and the panel, finish the panel and inside of the frame, and then glueup and level out the joint and otherwise sand the frame. The final coat on the frame also goes on the panel. I do this to prevent an unfinished edge from showing if the panel shrinks.

Jim

[drumpriest]

Ideally they would be flat, but I've found that it's hard to achieve on my router table with the rail and stile bits. Too much flex in the router table and plate perhaps. My next ones I'm going to do A LOT of light passes to get to full depth to see if that helps. Lately I've been making my doors mortise and loose tenon, which aligns more easily for me.

[LinuxRandal]

Test fit your joints, and when you get one that is flush, run extra and keep it as a setup pattern for future use.