Slab cabinet doors without battens?

I'm building some cabinets which need large slab hickory doors. I'm matching some existing cabinets so I must use the slab design. I know about the problems associated with expansion, distortion, etc. as my whole kitchen uses slabs. I've fought through the expansion issues using hinges that adjust enough to allow for seasonal differences. The existing doors use two battens on the backside for stability. It's a pain but "you know who" likes the design so that's what we're going to use.

Anyway, back to the problem at hand. The cabinets will be approximately 60 wide x 36 high. To maximize the size of the opening, I'm just using one partition down the center. This makes the doors about 28 x 36. I want to fold each door in the middle so they are manageable. The problem is, if I hinge each door in the middle, I can't install battens on the backside for stability. They will get in the way when I try to fold up the door. Do you think I need to stabilize a door which is about 14 x 36? I can use narrow pieces, alternating grain orientation, etc. to help stabilize. I will finish both side to prevent warping. I cannot use a breadboard design because it won't look good with the other pieces. Any other ways to prevent warp that keeps the backside flush? I haven't found any hinges that would accomodate the battens. I'm not opposed to some sort of steel reinforcement if that would do the trick.

Thanks

Reply to
Steve
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Not knowing your design, I would be tempted to use two doors per opening with no intermediate stile ... that way you could use battens if you anticipate a problem. This is quite common.

Whatever you decide upon, one thing to consider is to choose your grain orientation carefully, using pieces with the grain running as close to perpendicular to the face as you can find. IME, most likely to cause problems is flat sawn stock, least likely is quarter or rift sawn.

YMMV ...

Reply to
Swingman

Have you considered cutting and inserting a spline into the top and bottom edges of the doors? I did this once, instead of making breadboard ends, to keep a board flat (flatter than it would have been without it). You can only glue the center of the spline because it suffers the same cross grain problem as a breadboard edge, but it won't show on the front or the back and it will significantly help with cupping problems.

Reply to
Charley

I think the spline is a good idea. I'm particularly concerned about cupping. Maybe I could run a couple stopped dados across each door and then screw in a hardwood batten the depth of the dado (allowing for expansion of course)? With the right hinge I could probably even have the batten stand a little proud of the surface.

Thanks, Steve

Reply to
Steve

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