I am trying to match an existing design in a kitchen which used simple 3/4″ thick MDF doors manufactured to look like a raised panel door. I need to make 4 replacement doors for a new fridge and oven unit, which required 2 new cabinets to suit the new appliances
I can see that the existing doors appear to be routed with a simple ogee bit using a template to guide the inner and outer edges of the groove (3/8″ deep x 1″ wide across the flat) cut into the face of the panel.
I am wondering how the outside 4 corners of the groove are formed? The existing doors have a sharp 90 degree angle at each of the 4 corners, with no round over which would be normal using a template with a guide bushing. Do you hand carve each corner to clean the edges into the corner after routing? Would you need a chisel with a profile to follow the curves of the ogee?
I am curious how these are manufactered in a factory. Do they use a mould of a raised panel and press the MDF into shape?
Any suggestions on how to handle this would be appreciated.
Thanks Larry Bednar
Replies
A manufacturing facility would use a CNC router to create a faux raised panel door from a solid sheet of material. Basically, it's a super high-speed straight router bit attached to a robotic arm that can cut on the x,y,and z axis. So anything that can be programmed into a computer CAD program can come out the other end of a machine. To that end, you couldn't reproduce it with basic wood shop tools (well, maybe a carving knife and a steady hand).
If I were you, I'd make the new doors with standard frame and panel joinery and try to get the profiles on the rails and stiles as close as you can with router bits. Here's an article that describes one easy method:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=29197
Write back if you need more leads on articles or if you have additional questions.
- Matt
Thanks for the info. I thought that may be the only solution.
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