# Making my own beadboard



## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

Hi everyone, I'm a new woodworker and a new member or lumberjocks. I'm looking for any information on making my own custom beadboard (wainscoting). I am making my first attempt at custom kitchen cabinet doors and I need to match the width of 125 year old custom built-in beadboard cabinet. I can't find any board on the market that is the same width and have come to the realization I will need to make it myself to match. I just purchased a Freud 99-472 beadboard router bit and a Freud 20-301 radus V-groove router bit but I'm unsure how to do the set up to start using them and if there is any recommendation on the order I should make the cuts. Anyone know of any guides that might be available on how to do this? Thanks.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Based on you question about guides, do you have a router table?


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

Yes, I have a small craftsman router table. I figured that I would cut the tounges and grooves on the router table. Just not sure if I should cut those first or if the v-groove should be cut first. I suppose I could just run some prototype pieces and see what works best…


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

Definitely use some cheap wood to run some trial and error test on. Also, be sure to avoid a climbing cut!


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

I'd forget the table and go with a straight end. On the table saw cut out about five or so strips to act as spacers so you cut once against the fence. Then lay down a spacer and cut again….and again. Did they even make bead board back then?


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

I mis-spoke, the main house is 125 y/o the kitchen was an addition, probably in the late 30s or early 40s (guessing from the way the windows were constructed). I found out the base of my porter cable router(6.5 in.) is too big for my craftsman router table (6 in.). Any good router table suggestions??


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## gizmodyne (Mar 15, 2007)

Hi,

You should check out my cabinet series
I have made beadboard several times.

I will try to upload a picture later today of the plans. You have to have a way of joining the edges of the wood. You either do it tongue and groove(t&g) or shiplap. Traditional was made t & g.

Traditional beadboard was made with each board having two v's so that they look like two boards.

Let's say you want each beadboard to look 2" wide when measured from center to center. That requires a 4 1/2" board. 4" for the two "beadboards" plus 1/2 for the tongue.

1. Make 3/4" x 4.5" x your length stock.
2. Cut groove using 1/2" slot cutting bit.
3. Lower bit and cut tongue on other edge
4. Cut the middle v-groove. You want one directly in the middle (not counting tongue ) which is easy enough. Set the router fence 2" away from the center of the bit and run it with the groove towards the fence.. Depth of cut is around 3/16" - 1/4" 
5. The easy one again is on the groove side: the bit needs to be centered on the edge of the groove side. So 1/2 of the bit is hidden by the fence.

For the other cuts you have a more complicated situation. You are going to cut the halves of the v separate. When the (t &g) come together they make a v.

6. Next you have to cut the tongue side "1/2 groove". You move the fence back 1/2" to account for the tongue and then run again with tongue facing fence.

Some tips. 1.
You can set up a second fence and trap the piece for the middle cut. Otherwise the router will want to push the wood at you and you will get a crazy curved line down the middle.
2. Make way more stock than you need. This is a lot of setup and you don't want to have to make more as I will be doing soon.

Let me know if you have questions.

I will be making some more beadboard this month and will try to video it.


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

Actually your project is what I saw that made me consider making my own beadboard. Thanks for the detail, I believe this will help. The boards I'm trying to match are about 1 1/2" wide, so I should start with a 3/4" x 3 1/2" x whatever length board. I guess I'll be shopping for a beefier router table and a router fence tonight…I like excuses to buy more tools.


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## gizmodyne (Mar 15, 2007)

Hi again.

You can just make a cheap router table by screwing your router directly to a piece of melamine or buy a rockler router plate and rout it into a melamine top. For a fence just use a straight piece of melamine. No need to get fancy.


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

This is the style of door I want to make. They will be painted though.


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https://flic.kr/p/697273108


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## gizmodyne (Mar 15, 2007)

If you are going to paint it, why not just make a panel out of mdf and run faux beads in it. That would save you a ton of time.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Also you could probably do one on MDF without a router table. Just your router and a good edge guide.


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

I had made a prototype with MDF rails and stiles and used 1/4" beadboard wainscoting (from Home Depot) backed with 1/2" plywood for the panel. It just kind of felt like a cabinet door you would buy from Wal-mart or something. I think I want to do this more as a learning experiance for me, plus I can paint over my mistakes. I hear poplar takes paint well. Is that true?
If I learn enough some day I can quit my real job and have the freedom to pick the 70-80 hours a week I work just like those of you that do this for a living!


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## doyoulikegumwood (Jun 21, 2007)

mike popler would be an excelnt choice if you are going to paint it another wood i like to use for painting is gum wood but it is hard to find proprly dried, but popler is the easyest to find and it hold paint very well


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

I'm thinking that gum wood must be what we call Sweetgum around here. I've never seen it sold anywhere, but there is a lot of it growing near where I live. It has "spikey" seed pods and star shaped leaves.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Poplar is a great chioce for the stiles and rails. Stiles are the vertical pieces, and rails are the horizontal pieces of the door frame.

If you use a cope and stick set with you router table, once you get one set up, making the frames will be simple. Don't attempt to do this free hand. Cope and stick is the term used for the joinery in cabinet door frames. They will create the 1/4" slot for the panel in the process.

Remember when gluing up the doors, don't glue the panels. Just a drop of glue at the center of each panel edge will keep the panel from ratteling, while still allowing for expansion and contraction. Or you can use space balls, which are designed to accomplish the same thing.

As far as the panels go, the 1/4" sheets you got at Home Depot is a good choice for the panels.

You say you backed them with 1/2" plywood, but the results were less than desireable. This could be due to the "clunkyness" created by the 1/2" material.

There is no need to add anything to the panels, as 1/4" thick panels are quite common in kitchen cabinet doors.

Hope this helps.


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## kregsan (Jun 29, 2007)

Started working on a router table yesterday. Picke up a Rousseau "deluxe" router baseplate at the local Woodcraft store and started working on laminating a top to install it into.


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## doyoulikegumwood (Jun 21, 2007)

thats the stuff kregsan like i sied its hard to come buy cuz its hard to dry out to furnature grade was just a sugjestion i get it dirt cheap from a moldong maker in town how he gets it i have no clue but it holds paint so well i thought id throw it out thier. that and im a fan if you cant tell from the name lol.


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