Advice on doors

Feb 14, 2006 6 Replies

Just got a note from my daughter and she is working on an old kitchen cabinet, and the bottom doors each have one panel that is cracked. approach would be to try and get the doors apart, repair the panel and clean up the door joints and re assemble. I don't know if this is the right approach as there might be more damage from the cure than is currently present. Are there any products that can be applied to dissolve the old glue?



All suggestions are welcomed.



Thanks,



Cliff


I have had success with steam and heat guns.

An alternative would be to cut out the old panel without damaging the rail and stile of the door. Them use a rabbiting bit to remove the back side of the panel dado. Install a new panel and use small trim pieces to hold it in place.

This is commonly done to remove solid panels in upper cabinets and replace with glass.

Body filler, sand then paint. Really. I have an older home and fixed a really messed up entry door that way.

That only works if you're going to paint the door, of course. One of the doors in our kitchen, which was made in the early 1920s, is cracked all along one side. One of these days, I'm going to have to break down the entire door and replace the cracked piece, then strip and restain the door to match all the others in the house. That's going to be a serious pain in the backside.

I hear hot vinegar will dissolve old hide glue altjough I have not tried it personally....

Thanks to all for the comments. It looks like it will be putty and paint.

Cliff

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