Shimming loose panels?

[Dukester]

Making my first raised panel doors for an armoire, and upon cleaning and trimming up the bevelled edges, I thinned them down much too loose. Before I trimmed them, they slid in with minimal friction (may have been too tight), but now they slide in so fast that they looked like a guillotine coming down as I slid them in. I am sure they are too loose now, they rattle inside their frames. If they are this loose in May humidity, they will be awful in January dry.

Can I shim the edges at all with thin strips of the same material to tighten it up? Is there a better way? No, I am not going to make new panels.

-- Cheers! Duke

[Bob]

Duke,

Several things you can do:

1. After panels are inserted and the rails and stiles are glued and cured, center the panels then pin them top and bottom - center only - from the back side. Use small headless brads (5/8" long) to insure they do not go thru to the front. Panels can expand and contract sideways and remain centered. Just be sure to finish the panels first before installing them into their frames so when they do contract, you won't see bare wood around the edges of the panels.

1. Use "Space Balls" or equivalent to insert in the grooves to keep the panels centered and rattle free. Must have at least 1/8 to 3/16"" clearance to allow room for the Space Balls. Other materials can be used but I like using these since they do not deform and stay compressed like some other materials (silicon, poly tubing, etc.). See this site S.

[TeamCasa]

Put a little caulking in the groove, one small dab in the top, the bottom and one on each side. I would use painters caulk.

Dave

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[Charlie Self]

The only change I'd suggest here is to run a small bead of caulk, on a plastic or glass surface, and let it dry. Then cut pieces about 1/8" to 1/4" long (custom fit them).

That way, if you're as sloppy as I am, you don't have to worry about caulk on the workpieces.

Charlie Self "Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen." Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

[Leon]

I went to their site and I wonder what an "M" quantity is. $25 per M.

[Charlie Self]

Leon asks:

Charlie Self "Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen." Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

[Eric Tonks]

It is an old term, old businesses such as the lumber and the printing industry use the roman numeral "M" which means "thousand". In lumber it means thousands of board feet, or pieces. In the printing industry it means thousand sheets of paper or thousand printed items. I assume the "spaceballs" are using their relationship to wood or lumber to mean thousand.

Most people now know of the more modern metric "k" meaning thousand, as used in the electronics and computer industry. So $25.00 per M means the same as $25.00 per k.

[Wayne K.]

You can also cut space balls with a utility knife to get a custom fit as required. Wayne,