Ben,
I believe your doors will appear quite heavy looking if you make them out of 5/4 stock. I would recommend you buy a set of regular door bits and make your doors from 4/4 stock. I would also recommend you get those bits with a 1/2” shank, especially since you will be working with cherry. That’s a lot to ask of a 1/4” shank bit.
I’m with runswithscissors, I’ve always planned my panels to 5/8” thick so I didn’t have to back cut the panels to fit in the groove. Stargazer also makes a great point about making sure your panel is smaller so it has room to expand and using the “space balls” to keep the panel centered and snug, but still alow the panel to move if it has to.
Be very, very careful using the raised panel bit in a router. A speed reduction for your router would work better, The tip speed of that size bit in a router is usually more than recommended by the manufacturer.
-- John @ http://www.thehuffordfurnituregroup.com
