So, I'm curious as to the best way to do reverse panel shaker cabinet doors AND drawer fronts. I'll be cutting the stiles and rails with a 22 degree router bit out of 3/4" maple and will have a 3/8" edge/reveal on the front before the slot for the panel. That much of the plan is pretty solid.
I'll be gluing up the same maple to make the maple panels. I don't want them to age differently over time, so I'm not going to use maple veneer plywood for the panels.
I want the cabinet doors to be reverse panel, but I'm not sure how thick. Should I run them through a planer to get them to 3/8" so they will be flush with the back of the stiles and rails or should I leave them proud on the backside.
I'm pretty sure I will have to plane the drawer fronts down to 3/8" so they will sit flush against the front of the boxes. Is this what is normally done?
I'm sure there are variations, but what would be considered the more high end method to follow?
If I'm understanding you correctly you would need a coping and sticking set to do that. If the stiles had a 22 degree angle in the profile you would need a coping bit with the same angle to run the ends of the rails. The panel is just a simple matter of making it the same thickness as the groove in the stiles. Personally I prefer plywood for a door of that type. When you surface wood that thin there is not enough glue surface area where you glue the panels together there is a chance it could come unglued after a couple years. Also if you use plywood you can glue the panels in the doors making the door stronger.
I already built some samples with maple plywood panels. I just rabbeted the edge of those panels and they're flat on the back. No problem for drawer fronts, a little ugly for the cabinet doors. I could probably live with that, but the main problem with that approach is the veneered ply doesn't match the hardwood and they don't look the same after we put on the poly.
I may have to hunt down the right plywood. Lowe's has 1/2" maple veneer, but it doesn't match my maple hardwood stiles and rails. The "fine" lumber store only carries maple veneer ply in 3/4", so that's not going to work.
Well, when I make those, I only leave 1/4" reveal in the front edges of the rails and stiles. That way, I can use a 1/2" thick panel. My preference. But it is my experience that if you make good glue joints on your panels, you will be good with them at 3/8". You are absolutely correct about the visual difference between ply panels and solid panels. I would encourage you to go with solid, if you are so inclined. The wood is prettier, and there is more depth to it, both physically and visually.
If you want it reversible you will need to make the appearance the same on both side like what is done with a house entry door. In order to do that with that router bit set the thickness of your stiles and rails would have to be precisely the same thickness so you could run the wood through a router table from both sides making the angle on both sides. If you are going to use a raised panel you could size the thickness of the panel so you could run the raised panel profile on both sides.
I could be wrong but I thought the OP wants a raised panel with the back side (flat face) on the front and the raised portion on the back of the door. I don't know what else he could be trying to say with the phrase "reverse panel". I guess we won't know for sure unless he checks back in.
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