Making Raised Panel Doors

In this article we ll be building the frame for an interior door from wood.

Making raised panel doors.

The frame parts can be plain but most often they are decorated with a profile on the front edge where they meet the panel. The panel may be flat or raised. The good news is that with patience practice and a modern router bit set you can make great looking raised panel doors for your next project. Making doors with a shaper is a great idea if there are more than a couple of doors required.

Raised panel doors are an example of frame and panel construction a method developed hundreds of years ago to combat the effects of moisture on solid wood used in cabinetry and furniture making. This prevents tear out around the mortise. Cabinets usually need a door or two and deciding on the style of the door can be make or break the appearance of the piece. In a frame and panel construction a large panel is fitted into a groove in the interior edge of a more dimensionally stable frame made of narrow.

As with any woodworking project however your first concern must always be safety. A raised panel resides in a frame that is composed of two stiles uprights and two rails horizontal members. Learn a new way to make beautiful raised panel doors. If you intend to strengthen the cope and stick joints with loose tenons or dowels cut the mortises after routing the profiles.

Raised panels take more work and arched raised panels require the most work. Full size home doors are a project we can all find a place for but they can be intimidating. Use straight grained stock for stiles and rails to best resist warping. There are lots of different choices and lots of different hardware considerations but one door style that makers come back to time and time again is the frame and panel door and particularly the raised panel door.

There s a lot of lumber and a lot of weight plus they re bigger. Arched panels may be simple arches or a cathedral design. In part two we ll build the interior panel and and finish it. How to build a door.

The look of sophistication and craftsmanship raised panel doors provide is if my email is any indication both beautiful to the viewer and intimidating to new woodworkers. Flat panels are the easiest to construct and install. Making a raised panel door safety instructions creating raised panel doors is a fun and rewarding woodworking project. We ll show you the best tips techniques and tools to make doors quickly and easily without expensive panel raising bits.

Frame and panel doors consist of the rails the top and bottom pieces the stiles the side pieces and the panel. First you cut the parts for the rails stiles and panels to size.