Building cherry flat panel door

[davco]

Building cherry flat panel door

9"x30" door, 3/4" thick

Would solid cherry stock be ok or would it twist?

Would it be better to use some kind of cherry veneered product?

[Martin S.]

Try to find quarter sawn cherry for the rails and stiles. It will be more stable.

The panels can be made with flat sawn, as long as they float.

[Gary G™]

I’ve used cherry for this.
If it’s flat, it typically stays flat.

[jteneyck]

Building cherry flat panel door

9"x30" door, 3/4" thick

Would solid cherry stock be ok or would it twist?

Would it be better to use some kind of cherry veneered product?

Do you mean a slab door?  If so, it's likely to warp unless you use quarter sawn.  It might be ok at only 9" wide, though.  

IMHO, quarter sawn cherry isn't very attractive.  

John

[Admiral]

I've built any number of such doors and have used flat sawn cherry for the panels, generally glued book matched resawn, 1/2" thick with rabbets to 1/4" on edges to float in dados in rails and stiles.  Have not had any problems.  One thing, don't let them sit around in the shop for month(s) before assembly, assemble in the same week, and you'll be ok.  Most recent work of this ilk finished in August:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/9433588@N0.../lightbox/

[davco]

It's a slab door, no rails and stiles

[Gary G™]

It's a slab door, no rails and stiles

I originally thought frame and panel.
For a slab, it can be problematic.
My FIL and I did some cabinet doors this way.
A few had to be redone but most were fine.

[Bob Vaughan]

The wood needs to be dry enough for the ambient where it is used.  Species won't matter that much.  Some species are more stable than others.  Cherry is about middle of the road.
Defects in the wood such as knots, distorted grain, pith channel, can also make such construction risky.
Finish on both sides helps.

[AHill]

All in one slab and dried, it shouldn't warp or cup that much, unless it's going to be in an environment that has drastic changes in humidity and temperature. Biggest concern is your shop environment vs. the installed location. Flat in your workshop may not be flat once you move it into its final location. As far as expansion and contraction goes, even flat sawn should expand and contract that much.

[davco]

The original doors in this older kitchen seem to have veneers on each face of the door with ~3/32" thick veneers on each side over some substrate, maybe MDF? All stained with a darker cherry stain, the veneers and face frames look like actual cherry.

Was thinking of mimicking this solution, to gain greater stability. Thoughts?