I have been asked to create a custom cabinet for our Music Minister. She wants the unit to function as a general storage space with an adjoining closet. I have laid out the unit in DesignCAD to the dimensions allowed. I love frame and panel doors and was planning on using cope and stick to make the doors. However, after reading lots of the great material at FineWoodworking.com I am now doubting my choice. I am also concerned that the panels are too small to use an ogee 2-1/4″ LD panel bit. There are 5 doors on the unit. 4 doors of equal size (42-1/8″ x 28-5/8″) and 1 long narrow door (83-3/4″ x 23-1/8″) for the closet. Each door uses 4 panels, so I 16 panels that are 17-3/8″ x 10-1/2″ and 4 panels that are 17-3/8″ x 7-7/8″.
The question is am I better off using a plywood panel rather than a solid wood panel with an ogee profile? And two, am I asking for trouble doing these doors as cope and stick. The rails and styles are 2-1/2″ wide.
Thanks for the help!
Douglas Jones
Replies
Hi,
I'm sorry I'm so slow in replying. This one got lost somehow.
There's no problem with a solid panel. Provided you allow for wood movement, don't glue the panel in place, and pre-finish it. It can be a nice look with a solid raised panel instead of a flat plywood panel.
The easy thing though is to go ahead and make up one panel and see if it does look too thin for the profile. That's easy and will save you time if you decide to go with the plywood.
As for cope and stick, it's a cheap method for building doors. If you strengthen the joints with some screws or even dowels, the doors will last much longer. Have fun.
Gary Rogowski
http://www.northwestwoodworking.com
Thanks, Gary! No problem on the time. I am still in the planning stages. Best idea that I have heard yet is to create a test panel! That makes lots of sense.I will look into adding fasteners or dowels to the cope & stick joints for some reinforcement.Thanks for the help!Doug
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