# How to repair cracked kitchen cabinet door? Anyone with advice?



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

After two years one of my cabinet doors in the kitchen that I made has cracked. I suspect the unusually dry winter we're having might have something to do with it. I also suspect that even thought the doors panels are floating as they should in the frame this one probably caught the edge of the glue at the rail/style miter and the corner is glued in place not allowing it to shrink/expand properly with the environment.

Particulars:
Wood: Cherry
Finish: Natural poly, no stain

So, the question is: apart from making an entirely new door and waiting for it to brown up with age to match the others what is the best way to repair the crack so that it shows the least and will not split the filler later on.

My thoughts is maybe a carefully whittled sliver to fit in and glued into it.

Anyone come across this type of thing and have experience in repairing it? I thought I'd ask so maybe I can just do it once and not make it worse. Thanks


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## WhyMe (Feb 15, 2014)

Have you tried to slide a single edge razor blade in the front and back to see if you can free up the split piece?


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

yes that was the first thing I tried… then gave up. It's not budging and blade points are breaking off.


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## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

If you have a scrap of the cherry left, you might want to make some sawdust, mix it with wood glue, fill it and forget it.

And then you can get back to …

"The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful."


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

My first thought would be to slice off the front piece of the rail to see if you could remove the front slice. If you could get that free you could slide out the panel. When putting it back together you glue in a filler piece that is the same as the saw cut that was removed when you sliced it.

Make sure that the saw cut doesn't go through the visible portion of the stiles. The only visible portion of new cherry should be the very bottom of the door.

Using a sharp knife/blade to free up the the glue joint where the stile/rail intersection would be tough.

Good luck. But someone told me that if the wanted to age cherry a little faster would be to put it outside for a while and it will age faster that in the kitchen.


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## jinkyjock (Feb 2, 2014)

Thinking along the same lines as *Karson*.
But perhaps try to make some kind of small "Relief" incision in the back of the door,
between the rail/stile corner and the panel. 
And you can perhaps manipulate some room for panel to move back into position.
Then at least any repairs will be hidden from view and not on moulded side. 
All the best.
James.


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## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

I would cut out the backside of the dado in the rails and stiles enough to be able to remove the panel from the back of the door. After you remove the panel you can glue the piece back together and replace it in the door. You can cut new pieces to hold the panel in place and either nail or use screws to attach them to the door. That should leave the front of the door looking like the others and all your repairs are on the inside of the cabinet.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Along the thoughts of jinkyjock do a mortise plunge in the end at the intersection of the stile/rail where you could get a 1/4 inch chisle to try and pry the piece loose. Then patch with a square plug.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

I kind of like the idea(s) of removing the inner edge and either trying to squeeze the panel crack together and gluing it or if I have to completely remove the panel to fix or replace it. Great ideas everyone. Thanks!


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## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

I don't think you are going to be able to cut, slice, or anything else to free up that sliver without doing more damage to the door, in my opinion. If anything, put some glue in the crack and slide the main panel back to close the gap, if the panel will move at all. Hard to make the correct call without being able to actually see and feel it.
If it were mine, I would just mix up some lighter colored putty and fill it and color it in to match.
Cherry wood dust and glue won't match.


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

I would wait until the humidity increases to see if it closes up. I have a piece of furnature that has a crack in it in the winter but by the time spring comes you can't see the crack any more. "fixing" it when it is dry could result in something else getting cracked when the humidity returns to normal and the panel grows.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Gluing a sliver in the crack was my first thought BUT if that panel is glued and not floating, I'm afraid it will crack or split again. Hard as it will be, I vote to ignore it and see what spring brings.


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

I am thinking to bore a mortise in line with the panel on the edge of the door. This should break the glue bond. Then a careful tap tap with a dowel on the silver from the doors edge. Then just fill in the mortise


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

jumbojack for the win!


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

If you want to just make a somewhat temporary fix, try some wax filler. Should be able to match the color.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

Here's my take on the problem….

It looks like a split caused by panel shrikage,,,with the caveat that the split doesn't seem to quite follow the grain.

Use a razor blade to cut the finish on both sides of the panel as that's likely the adhesion points.

On the back of the panel, use a a knife edge to see if you can pry the errant piece back to closure. If you can, then all you have to do is work some glue into the crack with a$ 1.50 erasing shield.use the knife edge to hold it in place while the glue dries.

If you can't, then the next step gets a little more damaging. Drill a 3/16ish hole on the back of the panel at the lower end of the split at ? 5/8" from the edge (just a guess) so that you can take a piece of wire clothes hanger with a tiny 90 degree bend in it (maybe 1/8") and work it in, and then rotate it and see if you can force the errant piece back in place. If you can, then glue it as described before, let it dry, and fill the hole to hide the evidence.

The idea is that the 90 degree bend ends up between the bottom of the dado for the panel and the panel edge, and turning it will force the errant piece back to where it belongs.

I can see it working, but more importantly can you see what I mean?

My best thoughts.

Eric


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

All good ideas. And Yes I understand Realtown. I do plan on taking the door off, and trying to work it from the back pulling it back together, gluing it. and in the process freeing it from the frame so that it doesn't happen again. I am going to wait a bit as it's -5 degrees here this morning!


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## Garbanzolasvegas (Jan 15, 2015)




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## ric53 (Mar 29, 2014)

I would route out the back of the cope & stick in order to remove the panel, repair it and put it back using new pieces of cherry. All your repairs would be hidden until you open the door. I have done this several times and have had good success. I also like jumbojack's fix. I never thought of doing that but if you don't mind the small dowel being exposed this sounds like a very good idea. Now, all that being said, I would wait until the humidity returns and see if it closes. If it does you can either decide to live with it or use one of the other repair solutions. I'm not a big fan of sawdust & glue.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I would drill a hole in the edge of the stile all the way to panel dado, then see if you can break the glue bond by inserting a dowel and tapping it free.


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## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

Drilling through the stile is a crap shoot. Look at the *outside edge detail*, where do you start the hole? below the detail, then try to angle it through 2" and hope you hit the right spot? And if it doesn't work you now have a hole in the side to fix as well.

I would try alternative fixes first. Maybe try some heat to soften the glue and break it loose.


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## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

Regardless which method you use to fix this, I would avoid any putty or wax fillers especially with cherry. You might get a good color match today, but cherry will continue to darken. It won't take long before your patch will be lighter than the wood and will stick out like a sore thumb.

The one advantage to removing the panel as I suggested is that you can then make sure the panel floats freely and this problem should not re-occur.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

you drill it from the back fellas, 99.9% of the time any filler ain't gonna show enuf to worry only the most OCD fella. unless they crawl into the cabinet when it's closed.

wtf else are you considering…..

Eric


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## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

Take the door off and turn it upside down and drop it on the top rail this should release the panel because it is likely stuck to the frame joint glue and then set it on its side with the side that has the crack in the panel and drop it and see if the crack will close if it does open it a little and use CA glue for the repair .
be careful that the panel does not attach itself to the frame again .
Have seen this before and fixed it this way .

Klaus


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## bruc101 (Sep 13, 2008)

Put some vinegar in a syringe and shoot a little in the corner everyday for a few days and see if that will soften the glue up. 
I've done that more than one time with good results.


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## yushida (Feb 22, 2015)

> My first thought would be to slice off the front piece of the rail to see if you could remove the front slice. If you could get that free you could slide out the panel. When putting it back together you glue in a filler piece that is the same as the saw cut that was removed when you sliced it.
> 
> Make sure that the saw cut doesn t go through the visible portion of the stiles. The only visible portion of new cherry should be the very bottom of the door.
> 
> ...


Hey Korsan, you very cool. My bedroom door would be more beautiful and no cracks. Thanks for sharing this! Very Useful!


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