Cabinet door - sandwich hardboard between laminates?

[radhak]

I have to build doors to some book shelves that I had built long ago. I was thinking of doing it frame-and-panel, with hardwood frame and plywood panel, something like this :



I have some thin ply - thicker than 1/8 but not quite 1/4" (checked just now - measures 5.3mm or 0.2"), with one good side. I thought of covering the other side with some good looking laminate I already own - with the additional benefit of stiffening up the panel.

That made me think - I might as well glue laminate to both sides for consistency of looks; and of course that begs the question - if I have to apply laminate to both sides, can I just use hardboard for the middle instead of the thin ply? Have some unused hardboard lying around.

I know the strength might be reduced, but this is just some book-shelf door inside the house; will I need to worry about moisture problems? I might have to pay attention to adhesion too - hardboard backs are not too good with glue.

[cabinetman]

I have to build doors to some book shelves that I had built long ago. I was thinking of doing it frame-and-panel, with hardwood frame and plywood panel, something like this :



I have some thin ply - thicker than 1/8 but not quite 1/4" (checked just now - measures 5.3mm or 0.2"), with one good side. I thought of covering the other side with some good looking laminate I already own - with the additional benefit of stiffening up the panel.

That made me think - I might as well glue laminate to both sides for consistency of looks; and of course that begs the question - if I have to apply laminate to both sides, can I just use hardboard for the middle instead of the thin ply? Have some unused hardboard lying around.

I know the strength might be reduced, but this is just some book-shelf door inside the house; will I need to worry about moisture problems? I might have to pay attention to adhesion too - hardboard backs are not too good with glue.

Yes, you can use hardboard (Masonite) and laminate both sides.

.

[jdon]

I thought that in doors with real wood panels, the panel doesn't contribute much at all to the strength of the door, since it has to float within the frame, due to expansion/contraction.

Hardboard should be more dimensionally stable, so would it be possible to glue a panel to the frame, without worry about expansion, and actually make the door stronger than one with a wood panel? Just spitballin'...

[cabinetman]

I thought that in doors with real wood panels, the panel doesn't contribute much at all to the strength of the door, since it has to float within the frame, due to expansion/contraction.

Hardboard should be more dimensionally stable, so would it be possible to glue a panel to the frame, without worry about expansion, and actually make the door stronger than one with a wood panel? Just spitballin'...

That's true, and if the panel was just plywood, it could be glued. But, yellow or white glue doesn't stick to laminate that well. You could use a two part epoxy and have several "glue spots" at the rear of the panel.

.

[radhak]

I'll be going for the regular floating panel; be comfortable with what I've done before.

For the laminating - I used to use contact cement; now I see a lot of other options like liquid nails and similar products from Loctite etc. Will these be weaker bond than contact cement?

[cabinetman]

I'll be going for the regular floating panel; be comfortable with what I've done before.

For the laminating - I used to use contact cement; now I see a lot of other options like liquid nails and similar products from Loctite etc. Will these be weaker bond than contact cement?

I wouldn't use anything other than solvent based contact cement.

.

[conwaygolfer]

Have you considered using the bits for a raised panel door and then placing the panels in between? Might look nicer than plain rail and stile frame. Just a thought.

Conwaygolfer