Making Solid Panel Cabinet Doors

Extra tall so you can trim their ends after gluing.

Making solid panel cabinet doors.

While there are many options for door making the standard is frame and panel doors. Most cabinet doors still use a form of contoured design in which frames and panels are constructed so that the cabinet faces are dimensional rather than flat. This is done by either gluing up a panel to the width and length you need or by using a solid piece that has been specially milled for you. Probably the most inexpensive and versatile style of a cabinet door is the slab.

Cabinet shops that turn out raised panel doors rely on heavy duty shapers and cutters or at the very least a router table setup that includes a range of expensive bits. These are doors with a frame made most of the time from hardwood and a panel made of anything from solid wood to plywood to mdf. This raised panel design such as is found in shaker style cabinets gives a very traditional look. Make a list of the parts of your diy shaker cabinet doors before you begin.

However flat panel doors otherwise known as slab cabinet doors are increasing in popularity largely because they lend a modern. Here s a classic way to put together a strong good looking door without making any unsightly holes. Use solid wood for a door when you make a panel door. They can be finished with paint stain followed by polyurethane or any other finish you deem appropriate.

I recently was asked to make a built in cabinet for a remodel to match a client s shaker style doors which featured flat panels and beveled stiles and rails. And there s more than one way to make cabinet doors. However you need to know that this is usually cost prohibitive. Door construction in cope and stick door construction the cabinet door frame is held together by a joint between the edge of the stiles the vertical members of the frame.

If you re getting into cabinet making you ll most likely have to make cabinet doors eventually. Lay out the dimensions of the door on your choice of sheet material. In this video i am copying the dimensions of an old cabinet door in order to replace one that is missing in the kitchen. While slab style cabinet doors can be built from plywood or melamine with the edges banded it is relatively simple to build slab doors from solid wood.

It s a good idea to make your doors 1 8 in. To prove that you don t need expensive cutters to make handsome doors we made the beautiful raised panel doors above using only three common router bits.