Thickness for Cabinet Door Panels

[BigguyZ]

I'm in the middle of a rennovation that I'm doing with my brother. while the cabinet for the kitchen were able to be refinished and are fine, the doors were pretty beat up. So my brother has asked me to build new doors. What I'm wondering is what thickness plywood should I use for the panels?

I'll be using 1" (3/4 actually) dimensioned oak from Menards. So would I go with a 1/4" ply panel? Seems kinds cheap/ flimsey. Or would I go with a 1/2" ply panel? Or should I look around to see if anyone carries 3/8"?

Usually when I've made doors for these projects I've just rabbeted the back and set the wood or glass panel from the back, but I'd like these to be proper frame and panel doors...

Thanks!
Travis

[Pappy]

Assuming you are talking about flat panel doors, the panel 'floats' in the frame to allow free movement of the wood in the frame. 1/4" ply for the panels works fine.

[cabinetman]

You could rabbet the back and glue in a 1/4" plywood panel. That will keep the door square and make for a very rigid frame. If a 1/4" plywood panel is used (for a flat panel) instead of a 3/4" solid wood panel (for a raised panel), it doesn't have to float in the groove...it can be glued/tacked.

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[Cochese]

It's only a personal opinion, but I'm not a fan of 1/4" for the panel. It works just fine, but I don't like the thinness. My preference would be 1/2" rabbeted in the back for a pure flat panel, or a 3/4" for a raised panel.

[JimD]

If you have a router table (or are willing to build one), I like to use cope and stick bits in a router to make doors. This cuts the joints you use to make the doors and also puts a moulded edge around the panels. You choose the profile. I usually get bits from MLCS.

The other simple way to make up a bunch of doors is to use a dado set or even a couple cuts on a table saw blade to plow a groove around the panels and then cut the ends of the horizontal pieces to make a tenon to fit the groove. You can make all the cuts on a table saw. The router table/cope and stick is faster but this way takes less equipment.

Raised panels look a lot different than flat panels. A plain edge around the panel looks different than a moulded edge. Depends on what you want it to look like.

Jim

[ironhat]

You could rabbet the back and glue in a 1/4" plywood panel. That will keep the door square and make for a very rigid frame. If a 1/4" plywood panel is used (for a flat panel) instead of a 3/4" solid wood panel (for a raised panel), it doesn't have to float in the groove...it can be glued/tacked.

Hey c.man, school me here. Doesn't gluing the panel into the frame just ask for splitting of the panel? I've heard of placing a dab of glue at the top and bottom of the panel in the groove or a brad will work. Is this so or am I off base.

[JimD]

If you make a panel of solid wood you should not glue it in place. Wood expands mostly across grain but some in length too due to humidity changes. With a plywood panel, there is nothing to worry about. Plywood does not move (at least enough to worry about).

Jim

[Cochese]

I like space balls (ludicrous speed!) to keep my panels centered, no glue at all.

[dbhost]

I like space balls (ludicrous speed!) to keep my panels centered, no glue at all.

Love em too... What I want to know is when will then be now?

Oh yeah, sorry got sidtracked by SpaceBalls....

1/4" ply works great, and is relatively light weight. Certainly not as attractive as 3/4" rasied panels, but I figure you already knew that.

[cabinetman]

There are issues with solid wood panels concerning movement. There's also the labor of jointing the sections to be glued, selecting suitable looking pieces to glue up, clamping up, and sanding flat. Those panels may not joint up tight, or stay flat. Glue lines are sometimes noticeable.

An alternative to solid wood for a raised panel would be to use 3/4" plywood and adding a solid wood edge. The procedure will facilitate long grain on all the edges. This will eliminate endgrain at the top and bottom of the panel. The same details can be run on the edges. Aesthetically speaking, an interesting panel can be created with using a different wood specie on the edge.

Using plywood for the major field of the panel permits other advantages. If you don't have or use a rail and stile (cope and stick) bit set to make the rails and stiles, you could simply cut the rails and stiles, machine any profile you want, miter the corners, and rabbet the back edge to receive the panel. This fabrication will permit a full back with no reveals if desired. The panel can be glued in, the mitered corners can be glued, and you wind up with an easy to finish, very stable door with no movement issues. Or, the panel can be machined to be used in a cope and stick process, and be glued into the groove.

A glued panel will also strengthen the stiles that carry the hinges, reducing the twisting forces that a floating panel permits.

I've done this using the same specie for the edging of the plywood, different and/or contrasting wood and the results are excellent. If you have many doors, or large doors, using a hardwood veneer faced plywood for the panels can provide a very uniform grain and color result.

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[Cochese]

Oh yeah - if you're going to paint, try MDF.