# Cabinet Doors



## FHG1 (Jan 9, 2013)

Question to all …
I'm using 3/4" maple ply for cabinet doors and want to put a walnut frame around the doors. These are going be actively used doors and I don't want them to fall apart. So here's my question: Do I need to by one of those fancy router bits (v-groove or t&g) to joint the pieces together? I need a consensus on this one. Everybody seems to have a different idea about this.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

How thick of frame?


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Which style of door and which hinges will you be using?
Many questions on this as it's not easy to answer.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Make a mock up of what you like and test it out in your shop. Here's a 3/4 ply with European hinges without
a hardwood perimeter.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

I think more details on the shape of the doors.

Will you just use solid walnut to build a frame around the 3/4" maple plywood? If so you probably don't need to use a router but use biscuit inserts to align and help hold the walnut framing in place and glue. You could use either square but joints or miter joints at the corners.

If you are using a panel like those shows in the response above you will probably need to cope a joints in the walnut frames. There are sets of cope and stile router bits that work well but you must use them on a router table.

Finally how will the doors be mounted. On the surface of the a face frame, flush with a face frame or sort of a European style with no face frame. Some of that hardware can be expensive so that may affect your decision if you have a budget.


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## Mainboom (Jan 24, 2019)

If you have a dado stack you do not need a router bit. To join the pieces together. just dado your walnut on your inside edge to accept your plywood thickness.
With that said just going off what you gave for info. Your just making a flat panel front. Which 1 will not be very pleasing unless your painting them but why would you paint walnut ? 2 your dado in the walnut will only leave what an 1/8 inch each side of the dado if your using 4/4 walnut stock. (Might be less I didnt do the math). 
My point is from what info you gave you really need to think about what you want it to look like because once you put the frame around 3/4 ply with no bevel on the edge your frame will not be strong at all. If your using 3/4 ply and 6/4 walnut your door will be huge. So yea your gonna have to either bevel your table saw. To cut a bevel on the door face. Or buy a fancy router bit. I'd take this back to the drawing board. It's not seeming to me your numbers are gonna come out well in the end here. Or a biscuit joiner but that's sketchy with ply imo


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## Snipes (Apr 3, 2012)

Depends on frame style, but glue will b enough if you're just putting small band like 3/4 " around door


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

While I agree that knowing more about the doors would be useful, just going from what you asked I'd say just glue the plywood to the walnut frame. Biscuits might make it a little easier to keep everything aligned, but that would be a fairly stout door just glued together. Putting a groove in the edge to accept the ply (if the walnut is thick enough) can be easily done on a TS (dado set mentioned above).


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

I've made lots of raised panel doors with those 'fancy router bits'. They are expensive. The router bits do two things. They make the slot in the rails and stiles around the door perimeter, and they make any inside molded edge on them.

They also make the raised panel edge. If you are making framed doors you can use plywood but it usually is only about 1/4" thick as the groove made in the frame is about that thick. You can't use thick plywood as it is routed down thinner at the edges. You would need solid wood for that instance.









You can get away with just a table saw or simple router bit. Make a simpler square frame and route or cut with a table saw a 1/4" slot in the wood to accept the 1/4" plywood. You can also make a rabbet on the backside of the frame and glue the plywood onto it after the frame is put together.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Do you need a fancy router bit? No.
Do the fancy router bits have to be expensive? No.
I've had good luck with the Yonico sets from Amazon. Honestly, I could do it without but its not worth my time to try and rig something up.


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## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

For clarity; I assume that, because you asked about V-groove and T&G router bits, you are wanting to glue 3/4" walnut edges to your 3/4" plywood. You are *not* trying to build a floating panel door as Craftsman On The Lake pictured. If I have this correct, then no, you don't need router bits. However, either will do the job if that is your preference. You can do it easily on the table saw. For me, the easiest would be to cut a center groove in both the plywood edge and the walnut edge and then use a floating spline to glue them together. You could also cut a groove on one piece and a tongue on the other. Either would work fine with the plywood panel. If your center panel were made of solid wood, it would need to be floating as pictured above.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

"For me, the easiest would be to cut a center groove in both the plywood edge and the walnut edge and then use a floating spline to glue them together. "

Good idea bilyo.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Easier yet is to use 1/4 ply that will fit in a standard panel groove. Also, be sure to build a mock up as maple and walnut will look like hell when applied to a full kitchen.

M


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

They have been making cabinet doors for a few hundred years now. I would stick with with one of the known proven ways of making doors.


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## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

I personally use router bits for the rail, stiles and panels. You could dado cut a 1/4" slot in the rails and use a round over router bit for the design shape, cut the tenons on the stiles to fit the 1/4" dado cut on the rails. Then use 1/4" plywood sheets for the panels. This is the way my kitchen cabinets were done by a local cabinet maker, 20 years ago.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> Question to all …
> I m using 3/4" maple ply for cabinet doors and want to put a walnut frame around the doors. These are going be actively used doors and I don t want them to fall apart. So here s my question: Do I need to by one of those fancy router bits (v-groove or t&g) to joint the pieces together? I need a consensus on this one. Everybody seems to have a different idea about this.
> 
> - FHG1


My only question is why are you going to use 3/4" ply for a door panel? 1/4" or at most 1/2" will be the norm. Using a door is different than using a walkboard for a scaffold. There will not be a 250# Man, and another 100# of tools crossing it at any time, or if there is, you use doors a lot different than I do.

If someone insisted I use 3/4" ply for a panel I would use 6/4 walnut stock, and cut a 3/4" rabbet/rebate on the back inner edge, and use stick and cope to build the panel around that massive plywood, but I'd try to talk them out of 3/4" ply on the door panel. For the box, ok, not the door panel though.

"They have been making cabinet doors for a few hundred years now. I would stick with with one of the known proven ways of making doors."

Truer words never spoken.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

therealSteveN

I could be wrong but is sounds like he trying to make a flat slab door with a walnut border. 3/4 thick thought out.

It's be nice if the OP would participate in his own thread. Second post someone asked a question and gets no response.


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## BlueRidgeDog (Jan 2, 2019)

Assume you are simply edge banding plywood doors? If so, just glue it. If you are putting on something thicker, then I am lost on the use of 3/4" plywood.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> Assume you are simply edge banding plywood doors? If so, just glue it. If you are putting on something thicker, then I am lost on the use of 3/4" plywood.
> 
> - BlueRidgeDog


It would be nice if FHG1 could give a better idea/description of what he's trying to accomplish. At this point we are only making wild guesses at a possible solution.


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## FHG1 (Jan 9, 2013)

Sorry Folks …. Been sick since I last posted this question. These are going to be on-lay doors, solid maple ply, with walnut framing around the outside. These are not going to be panel doors.

Thanks for your understanding in advance. Wheelchair illnesses really suck.

t.


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

A 3/4" frame with 3/4" plywood panel isn't going to look very good, for all the reasons mentioned above. You'd be better off using 1/2" plywood and rabbeting it into a 3/8" groove in the walnut frame. You can cut the rabbet at the table saw or with a router.


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## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

> Sorry Folks …. Been sick since I last posted this question. These are going to be on-lay doors, solid maple ply, with walnut framing around the outside. These are not going to be panel doors.
> 
> Thanks for your understanding in advance. Wheelchair illnesses really suck.
> 
> ...


Sorry for your illness. Hope you are better now. Since you are edge banding your maple with walnut, I would use either T&G router bit or use a loose spline glued into grooves in both pieces. IMO, edge gluing to a flat plywood edge would not be as strong and might not withstand rough use.


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## ArtMann (Mar 1, 2016)

Solid wood expands and contracts at a different rate than plywood. If you glue the two materials together edge to edge, that may cause trouble.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> Sorry Folks …. Been sick since I last posted this question. These are going to be on-lay doors, solid maple ply, with walnut framing around the outside. These are not going to be panel doors.
> 
> Thanks for your understanding in advance. Wheelchair illnesses really suck.
> 
> ...


Sorry sir, I never heard of on-lay doors. I have heard of over-lay doors meaning the door are larger the the cabinet opening and over-lay the face frame or in case of framless they door lays a specific distance on the cabinet box.

Now I'm think you you want to take a piece of 3/4 plywood and edge band it with 3/4 thick by some width of walnut. I would be nice if you tell what size the walnut edge band you want. Someone mentioned 3/4×3/4 but I don't see what you ever gave a dimension the walnut other that 3/4 thick. We need to know the width too.

I'm thinking when a door is finished the door will be totally flat on both side. SLAB DOOR


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## MikeDilday (Feb 21, 2017)

If you are going to make a 5 piece frame and insert door you will need a cope and stick router bit set. I have seen doors where the 1/4 plywood is behind the frame but it is visible on the sides, top and bottom of the door.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

On lay = overlay in Britain ...


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> On lay = overlay in Britain ...
> 
> - Madmark2


He says he from NY

Thanks for the lesson.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I done it with dados and tenons, router bits and I like the router bits the best. The bit set I use is a matched set so I set the height once for all three bits. When change bits no adjustment is needed everything is good to go. The one thing you have to do is put a rubber grommet in the bottom of the collet. On the 30th I am giving a demo on making a cabinet from start to finish with a raised panel door at the local woodworking store. The picture above is a set of cabinets my brother in law helped me make in three days for his daughter's boat. It has flat panel doors. The frame is 3/4" thick with 1/4" panel.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

> How thick of frame?
> 
> - CWWoodworking


This^


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> How thick of frame?
> 
> - CWWoodworking
> 
> ...


He said in the very first post 3/4". He never said how wide. I tend to think he means edge band and not a frame.

The OP still need to be more clear, a photo or and drawing. Something more that he's posted so far.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

My apologies, meant how wide.


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## Joness (Mar 22, 2019)

How thick of frame?


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