My question concerns how to size kitchen cabinet door rails and stiles. I like the look of top cabinet doors with 2-1/2″ stiles and top rail with a 3-1/2″ bottom rail, but the small doors over the fridge look strange using these dimensions. And I am afraid the large pantry doors would look weak with the same dimensions. Soooo—do you change the rails and stiles proportionately with the size of the doors?—or do the rails and stiles stay the same regardless of the size of the doors—for instance bottom cabinet doors vs top cabinet doors? The doors are going to be walnut flat panel doors with cock beading around the inside of the rails and stiles.
SJ
Replies
Anybody have a rule of thumb about this?
SJ ,
More times than not the top rail will be the same size as the stiles.
But not always , I'm running some doors that will have 2 1/2" stiles and 3 1/4" top and bottom rails , these are longish in shape .
Usually the whole set is made the same but ,,,,,, every now and then like over the refer and sometimes a small drawer face needs to be dimensioned down a tad till it looks right .
dusty
There really aren't any rules. The size of the stiles and rails are often a big contributor to the "look" and that is an individual choice. Most cabinet manufacturers use the same size throughout and they like to save lumber. Many only use 2" regardless of door size. As the rails and stiles get wider, the possibility of them shrinking and swelling increases. I don't think wider necessarily contributes any strength. The door will be hung on one stile. I've installed lots of pantry cabinets with tall doors with only 2" stiles and rails. They just use extra hinges and mag catches top and bottom. If your joinery is solid, the doors should be fine. If the wider stiles cause movement, the joint could be effected. Center rails would be a good choice on tall doors.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
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