Q:

Michael Fortune says that when making curved doors, you should first glue together the flexible plywood plies that make up the door’s core and then, in a separate step, glue the face veneers to the core(“Curved Panels Made Easy,” FWW #210, p. 69). However, wouldn’t it save time to glue up the core and the face veneers all at once?

Michael Kaplin, Santa Fe, NM

A:

You would save time by gluing up the core and face veneers at the same time, but the resulting door would not be as attractive as one glued up in stages. In order for the door to look like it was made from solid wood, its edges must be covered with a thin solid-wood banding, and that banding must go on before the face veneers.

If you glue up the core and face veneers at the same time, then you’ll be forced to add the banding afterward, and you’ll see the gluelines on the front of the door. However, if you glue up the core by itself, you can add the banding next and then cover it with the face veneers in a third step. The door front and back will be seamless, and even the glueline on the door’s edge will disappear when you lightly chamfer the corner.

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