Making Cabinet Doors with Rail and Stile router bit

I tried my hand at making a couple of cabinet doors this weekend and they came out OK for a first try. I don't have a Rail and Stile bit set (yet) so here's what I did, just to make a couple of protoypes to show SWMBO:

The frame was made from 3/4 poplar, the panel was 1/4 luan.

I used a round-over bit on the inside of the 2 3/4" frame, a cove bit on the outside and a 1/4" straight bit for the plywood panel.

I used miter joints at the corners and #10 biscuits to join them.

Things I learned:

1 - I need a new 1/4 straight bit 2 - My miter saw needs a bit of adjustment 3 - When you do an eyeball test with #0 biscuits and set the biscuit joiner to #0, then decide that you have room for #10 biscuits, you really should change the setting on the joiner or it's really hard to get the miters to close fully. #10 biscuits in a #0 slot are really tight! ;-) I guess that's why we dry fit first, isn't it?

OK, so if I decide that I'm really going to make 19 doors and 6 drawers, I need to improve my process. I'm considering using a Rail and Stile bit set but before I invest in a set, I have 2 main questions:

1 - Is a PC 690 (1 3/4 HP, single speed) router powerful enough to use with a Rail and Stile bit set? 2 - What's the trick to ensure a perfectly square cope on the end grain of the rails?

I've been checking out some videos and doing some reading on making cabinet doors, but I'm very open to all suggestions, including books or websites.

Thanks!

Reply to
DerbyDad03
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1) Surely ought to be... 2) As said before, use stock wide enough for several rails and cut them in one pass, then rip to width. Crosscut them square w/ the sled on the TS first, then run them along the fence on the shaper/router table.

Cut the slot w/ TS instead of router or if going to use a router get a slotting cutter, not a standard 1/4' bit. You have to be sure it matches your ply thickness correctly though; the undersized/metric stuff is a royal pita...

Again, make your sizes consistent to have only a couple or maybe three different sizes overall and make the pieces in bulk.

And, of course, then forget about the miters--when they're square they'll just fall together square w/ the least amount of pressure assembling.

For speed there, instead of clamps set up an assembly table w/ a rail against which to put one side and cross pieces between as many as you can have room for. Then a second rail on the opposite and just use wedges to apply pressure. Or, if you want to get fancy, make the oval cams and fasten them on one side/ends. Much faster than messing w/ clamps.

Reply to
dpb

On 12/12/2012 3:18 PM, dpb wrote: ...

And, of course, for simple tool cabinet doors/drawer fronts you can "go shaker" and forget the shaping entirely and also cut the end dadoes on the TS...you can dress up the outer edge after assembly or before and if you really, really want the inner edge rounded it can be done, too, just set up a stop to leave the ends for the joint to not have to do the coping cut for a matching cut/cope.

Reply to
dpb

came out OK for a first try. I don't have a Rail and Stile bit set (yet) s= o here's what I did, just to make a couple of protoypes to show SWMBO: The = frame was made from 3/4 poplar, the panel was 1/4 luan. I used a round-over= bit on the inside of the 2 3/4" frame, a cove bit on the outside and a 1/4= " straight bit for the plywood panel. I used miter joints at the corners an= d #10 biscuits to join them. Things I learned: 1 - I need a new 1/4 straigh= t bit 2 - My miter saw needs a bit of adjustment 3 - When you do an eyeball= test with #0 biscuits and set the biscuit joiner to #0, then decide that y= ou have room for #10 biscuits, you really should change the setting on the = joiner or it's really hard to get the miters to close fully. #10 biscuits i= n a #0 slot are really tight! ;-) I guess that's why we dry fit first, isn'= t it? OK, so if I decide that I'm really going to make 19 doors and 6 drawe= rs, I need to improve my process. I'm considering using a Rail and Stile bi= t set but before I invest in a set, I have 2 main questions: 1 - Is a PC 69=

0 (1 3/4 HP, single speed) router powerful enough to use with a Rail and St= ile bit set? 2 - What's the trick to ensure a perfectly square cope on the = end grain of the rails? I've been checking out some videos and doing some r= eading on making cabinet doors, but I'm very open to all suggestions, inclu= ding books or websites. Thanks!

Yes, mounted in a table that router will eaqsily spin the rail\sitile bits.= Could be a bit on the low side for a big panel but but sounds like you are= doing flat panels anyway.

You need to learn about a "Coping Sled" to cut the rail ends. You can build= them or buy them. I built one from a plan in a magazine a few years back a= nd it is my pride and joy. Thing is bullet proof and a real workhorse. If I= can locate the plans I'll post a link.

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

------------------------------------------------------- That's a basic 25,000 RPM machine.

Max diameter bit at that RPM is about 1" dia.

Bit manufacturers include the MAX RPM with every bit they sell.

If you plan on doing raised panel doors which use about a 3" Dia bit.

Operating that bit at 25,000 RPM is a disaster waiting to happen.

You will need a 3+HP machine operating at 7-8,000 RPM.

No raised panel doors, PC690 should handle it.

Make flat panel doors and you can do everything on a T/S, no router needed.

Have fun.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

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Well, I gotta admit that not one site I've visited, and I just went through about 6, all from different sources, offers that advice. Every thing I've read says to use a sled or a push block to keep the rails square with the fence.

I'm not saying that your suggestion doesn't have merit, I'm just saying that I haven't come across a cabinet door building site - video, text or PDF - that suggests that method.

If I'm using a rail and stile bit, why do I need to cut the slot on a table saw or slot cutter? I only used the 1/4" bit because, as I said, I don't have a rail and stile bit yet.

That ain't gonna happen. I'm making doors for stick built cabinets so I have to match what is already there. There's at least 5 different widths and 6 different heights.

That's a thought. I recently picked up three flat doors that someone was throwing out, figuring I would at some time need tables for something. I could glue up a bunch of doors if I laid the "tables" end to end across my basement.

BTW...just ran across this free router e-book. Lots of tip and techniques.

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

I have a related question. I have a Dewalt 2 1/4 HP router (Model 618) which will do 8000 RPM (and faster, of course).

Can I use it in a table with a 3" diameter bit to cut a "raised panel" in Cherry wood? I only need to make 2-4 panels, so I hope this is workable. I assume my "luck" will be better if I only cut 1/8" or less at a time. Is that about right?

Bill

Reply to
Bill

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You lookin' for how to do it quickly, weren't you? I'm tellin' ya'...

It's trivial; use scaling of cutting fewer individual pieces in more detail.

I've been doing this for some 50 yr now...the "trick" was in the original handout on making windows/doors/etc. that Delta/Rockwell used to distribute (like up to the '60s into the '70s) w/ their shapers reprinted from an industrial arts text...

If you don't plan ahead and have to have all the multiple sizes, do the best you can to make as many sets of the same as you can at a given time but even if it's only the top and bottom rails, cutting them at the same time ensures they're the same length.

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Reply to
dpb

---------------------------------------------------------- What is the MAX RPM spec'd by the bit mfg?

Shallow passes are the only way to go with a large bit.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

On 12/12/2012 6:38 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote: ...

And, if one thinks that all there is to be learned is on the web...

There was/is a whole industry of production woodworking _long_ before internet was even imagined. There's a "veritable plethora" of production techniques that were developed before fully automated 4-sided shapers, etc., and mill shops were mostly handwork instead of CNC programming.

I was fortunate to have had an instructor when still in HS who had such experience and then to have been in VA before the last of the mills was automated and to work w/ some old codgers down there...

There is a lot of stuff on the web, granted, but virtually everything I've seen is new guys basically inventing on their own or copying one-of-a-kind stick-by-stick techniques and almost all know nothing of anything other than a router.

What I outlined turns it from doing a single rail/stile at a time into making a set for at least a full door at a time if not for multiple doors.

I just finished last year the windows for the barn -- 20 of them suckers

4-lite each. 5/4x8 rough stock so did 4 bottom rails and 5 tops at a time on the length/end cuts, 4 side rails and 7 muntins.

These are full length tenons w/ coping cut (stub cutter on shaper) so one starts w/ the length, cut the base tenon w/ double-blade setup on the TS w/ a tenon jig, then the coping cut. Follow w/ rip the stiles, cut the mortises, then stick the inner edge.

The muntins are also cut to length in a piece of full-width stock and the coping cut made across the end as described against the shaper fence--since it's already square, there's nothing to deal with to keep them that way. Then one sticks the two outer edges, rips those two (again the TS fence doesn't have to move as one continues) off and sticks the other edge of each and then sticking is cut on the two remaining outside edges and process repeats.

Far, far faster and especially more repeatable than cutting out a piece at a time as every demo I've seen on the web would have you do...

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Reply to
dpb

Take it to heart, OP! :)

Reply to
Swingman

+1
Reply to
Swingman

Here in an example of what I was looking at:

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the safety and tips tab at the bottom, this note in general max speeds of 8k-12K RMP for bits that are 2 1/2 -3 1/2 inches in diameter.

Reply to
Bill

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One last comment...

Just 'cuz stuff isn't on the web doesn't mean much--it is very new medium and very little if any that I've seen has anything other than a single, one-at-a-time approach.

Years ago, industrial production before mill shops were CNC programming and 4-sided shapers, they were manual operations such as this. In fact, my old Rockwell/Delta Model 13 planer came from such a mill where they had an array of 27 of them--9 rows of 3 w/ four operators for each row. Roughly prepared stock came in and they were preset for three passes to final thickness and then it went to a series of lines that worked basically as I described. I got this one when they upgraded these to

18" and cut the lines from 9 to 5 in one of the first (somewhat feeble) attempts to reduce manpower costs. That was in early 70s.

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Reply to
dpb

OK, I'm learning and I appreciate the time you've spent explaining the process.

I'm confused by some verbage...

"Then one sticks the two outer edges, rips those two (again the TS fence doesn't have to move as one continues) off and sticks the other edge of each and then sticking is cut on the two remaining outside edges and process repeats. "

I'm not getting that. I don't know what you mean by "sticks the two outer edges, rips those two ..."

I guess I don't know what "sticks" means.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

He didn't say not to use a push block or a miter gauge/sled. He said use wide stock, cut it square to begin with, and rip the wide stock to size after coping. The push block is to cut down on end chipping, but it's not really needed if ripping to size after coping.

What he said not only has merit, it's how it is done unless you've never made cabinet doors.

If you are using plywood, you need a slot cutter that suits the plywood, and none of it is 1/4" anymore. If you are doing solid panels, you cut the panels to suit the slot so it's a non-issue.

If you go to all the trouble of buying expensive cutters and making the effort to cut cope and sticking, then plywood is pretty lame, and looks like jr. high school shop, and raised panels are the way to go. Plywood panels are OK for workshop/laundry cabinets but then coping is also not a biggie. If you insist though, you can buy undersized slot cutters for your cabinet set.

Doesn't matter, each door has at least two rails and two stiles. If you cut one board that's wide enough for two the correct length, you are guaranteed to have two perfectly matching pieces. If your doors are not all the same because the openings are a bit off, then you would be best off making overlay doors and still cutting all the doors the same. Trying to install panels into a bunch of doors all different sizes would suck. Even with inset doors, I think I would make them all to the largest size opening, and trim each door to fit. I think it would be easier to build new face frames that *are* the same size than custom fit a slew of doors individually. Think overlay doors.

BTW, when building face frames, it is also wise to rip the stiles and rails from correct length boards just as when building doors. This helps insure all the door and drawer openings are the same, then making doors and drawers is less traumatic.

site? Here's a link to MCLS that sells cheap bits, and this is a good reference and the bits available for rail and stile:

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more concisely:

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never used any of their bits though, so I'm not saying they are good or bad, but it's a nice reference anyway.

Reply to
Jack

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Old-timer verbiage for shaping the edge, sorry...muntins, rails and stiles were often referred to as "sticks" as a generic catchall for the pieces. Hence, shaping them was "sticking".

So, in this case for muntins (which are, as you know, quite narrow so shaping them if rip to width first is a pretty tricky operation) if you start w/ a wide piece of stock you can shape the two outside edges easily. Then, set up the TS to rip them to width and you only have the one second edge to shape a small piece on. Now your base stock is back with two square edges so you still have a decent-sized block to work with for two more operations. And, having coped the end of the blank before starting, that operation is already done rather than having to do it on each and every one. For the 4-lite windows there were three sticks per each--one vertical and two horizontal. That would have been

60 pieces times two ends each as individuals whereas it was only six pieces for the horizontals and four for the verticals doing them on the 8" blanks.

I've tried in the past to find the aforementioned Delta publication on the web but have been unsuccessful and Delta doesn't have it any longer as a supported part number (even before the abysmal downturn since the P-C debacle wherein afaict they have no support whatsoever for older equipment online :( ). Delta is now off my approved vendor list entirely, sadly.

The copy I have on hand isn't very good any longer; I'll try to scan it and see if it is even readable. If so, I'll try to post it to the OWWM publications section...it's valuable and I've not seen anything on the web that really addresses these kinds of small production issues at all.

I regret I no longer have the industrial arts text that I had in HS, either--it wasn't great but was better than much I find now. I do not know the text from which the Delta pub was taken, unfortunately, and it doesn't say other than indirectly one can infer it was borrowed from some publisher and the pictures reshot w/ Rockwell equipment and then printed for them for their use. As noted, it used to be shipped w/ the shapers routinely but like everything else when manufacturers start penny-pinching bad things happen...

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Reply to
dpb

Says who? Since when are shaker panels lame? Have you seen the quartersawn book-matched veneer plywood panels that are available, now? They are gorgeous and look better than most solid joined panels I've seen.

I guess it's all a matter of taste, but I can't stomach those ugly oak, raised panel cabinet doors that are in most kitchens. There's no structural reason a panel has to be as thick as the door frame. I don't know why that caught on but it's definitely a dated look.

Reply to
-MIKE-

get a wide piece. put the correct profile on the 2 outside edges. rip those pieces off resulting in a narrower piece. repeat until the piece left is thinner than your target size.

Reply to
chaniarts

Hell yeah ... I like my homemade humble plywood panel doors:

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Reply to
Swingman

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