OK, so for those of you who have been extremely helpful regarding my kitche n door project, first off I offer my thanks for all the advice so far. That said, the design has changed and I need some more help.
Last night I made a full-size prototype of a cabinet door so that SWMBO and I could get a visual. Using stub tenon joints, I centered the 1/4" MDF pan el in the frame. I hung the door on an upper cabinet with Command Strips (l ove those things!), stepped back and said to myself "Hmm...the reveal aroun d the panel seems too narrow."
I then called SWMBO into the kitchen and asked for her opinion, without tel ling her what I thought. Her first comment was "Can the panel be set back i nto frame a little farther?"
So it now looks that the fairly simple setup used to center the grooves and tenons needs to be scrapped. My questions are these:
1 - How far back can I recess the 1/4" MDF panel in the 3/4" poplar frame a nd still have enough strength to use a simple stub tenon joint? Is 1/8" eno ugh frame stock on the inside of the door? Is there a better method to buil d the doors, keeping in mind that I don't have a mortising jig, tenoning ji g, etc. Just a fairly basic shop - table saw, router table, band saw.2 - If I can get enough reveal using a stub tenon joint, does the process i nvolve nothing more than extra set up time? In other words, instead of flip ping the stock end to end to center the groove, I'll have to run the stock through at 2 different fence settings - unless I get a 1/4" kerf blade. For the tenons, once again it would be a matter of cutting one cheek at one da do blade height and then cutting the other at a different height. If I use the table saw, it's still just a matter of sneaking up on the fit, correct? Of course, the other option is to use a T&G bit and the (new) router table which would mean a one step setup for the groove then one more for tenons.
As always, thanks for any advice you can offer and thanks for putting up wi th what are probably very basic questions as I learn more about these metho ds.