paneled cabinet doors
#5
I have to make some cabinet doors that will have veneered panels. The panels will be 1/4" plywood with a commercial walnut burl veneer. The panel will get some shellac and clear coat. The rails and stiles are red oak that are going to get a combination of shellac, penetrating stain, gel stain and clear. It is easy to prefinish the panels before assembly. I was wondering about the rails and stiles. I want to be able to sand them once assembled to correct any slight misalignment. Do you think one or two coats of clear on the panels will be enough to be able to wipe off any stain that gets on them and then finish with clear over everything? Or would it be better to make them like a glass door and assemble the rails and stiles, finish then put the panels in with a stop on the back to hold them?
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#6
(04-30-2020, 12:12 PM)CEPenworks Wrote: I have to make some cabinet doors that will have veneered panels. The panels will be 1/4" plywood with a commercial walnut burl veneer. The panel will get some shellac and clear coat. The rails and stiles are red oak that are going to get a combination of shellac, penetrating stain, gel stain and clear. It is easy to prefinish the panels before assembly. I was wondering about the rails and stiles. I want to be able to sand them once assembled to correct any slight misalignment. Do you think one or two coats of clear on the panels will be enough to be able to wipe off any stain that gets on them and then finish with clear over everything? Or would it be better to make them like a glass door and assemble the rails and stiles, finish then put the panels in with a stop on the back to hold them?

Notwithstanding the handles on kitchen cabinets, they often get closed by fingers/hands on the rails  or stiles.  So a pretty durable finish would be recommended. 

I don't think red oak is going to look very good against walnut burl.  Can't you get walnut for the rails and stiles?

Here are some walnut/walnut burl cabinet doors.  I could not find an image of red oak and walnut burl.

[Image: arist-mini-burl-1-288.jpg]
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#7
I think the clear coat will work fine, but you might want to test a piece first and how well the stain you choose wipes off. Even so, I think I would do the glass pane trick you mentioned, with maybe one exception: I would glue those panels in. So I'd probably rabbet for the panels, assemble the door and flush it up, then glue those panels and the stops in. You would need to leave some unfinished area for that to work....but it will strengthen those doors considerably, and they would never rattle.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#8
I agree with Cooler re: wood choice.  Walnut goes well with either maple or white oak.  But, it's a matter of taste just thought I'd input that.

Regarding the panels, if you use a water based stain on the frame you should be alright.  Any wb stain that gets on the prefinished panel should easily wipe off.   Very easy to test this. 

Also , you can clamp up without panels & pre-stain the rails/stiles.

You could go with the glass panel method, but that sure adds a lot of extra work.
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