Raised Panel Doors and Drawer Fronts

[jreid]

OK I'm going to try my hand at some raised panel doors and drawer fronts for the built-in entertainment center I am building in my basement. The cabinet will be painted white for anyone interested.

I ordered a raised-panel bit set from Timberline Cutting which appears to be a homeowner's version (read as affordable) of the Amana Tools. I have a delta shaper and am very anxious to get started.

One thing I have noticed on raised panel drawer fronts is that the rails are usually about an inch or so reduced compared to the stiles. Is this because of the height of a drawer front is so much smaller than the width and this reduction balances the weight of the rails with the stiles? My concern is that I have two doors, side-by-side, in the middle of my cabinet and two sets of two drawers on either side. The top rail of the top drawers will line up with the top rail of the doors. The bottom rail of the bottom drawers will line up with the bottom rail of the doors. If I make the rails of the drawers smaller, it seems that this will accentuate the fact that the rails of the drawers are smaller and cause some balance problem there.

FYI. The doors will be about 18x26 (w x h) each and the drawer fronts will be about 21x12.5 (w x h) each. There will be about 3/4 inch of cabinet facing visible between the stiles of the doors and drawers. I will be using Euro hinges on the doors.

Please provide any thoughts you might have.

[Tom R]

Interesting (and tough) question, - - there's no real right or wrong answer, - - but first, I would say yes, - - the rails on the drawers are of a thinner profile because of minimal drawer height.

Seems to me with 12 1/2" high drawers you don't need to 'cheat' the rails, - - I would just go ahead and make them the same width as the stiles, - - mainly because I agree with what you say about the 'imbalance', - - but usually when I run into what might be a potential 'visual' problem, - - I draw it both ways on paper, - - and then decide.

[jreid]

Tom,

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking. The height of the drawers is bigger than what I have seen in person and on-line in a real raised panel. From the only evidence I have seen,the rails are reduced on drawers that, more than likely, reside on top of doors or next to other drawers with reduced rails in kitchen cabinets.

I agree with drawing it out and I will (Thanks for reminding me. It has helped greatly in the past). I was wondering if maybe I should reduce the bottom rail of the top drawer and the top rail of the bottom drawer to reduce the combined weight of the two being so close together. I'll let you know what AutoCAD visualizes for me.

Thanks for the input.

If anyone else wants to offer, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Dragon]

It has to do with the actual raised panel part of the drawer front. I have seen many on smaller drawers where the raised part ends up being very narrow and it throws the drawer front way out of balance. So people cheat the rails to try to bring it back in and give the panel more space.

This is basically a pick your poison type situation. My personal solution is to design cabinetry so that you don't have to cheat anything and the raised section isn't any narrower than the rails and stiles. If a smaller drawer front is necessary I'll design it so that a flatstock front is an option.

[jreid]

Dragon,

So as a rule of thumb, do I understand that you don't want the raised portion of the panel to be thinner than the rails (or stiles in a tall skinny door)?

If that is the case, I think I'll be OK and keep the rails the same size.

Is there a rule of thumb you use to size the stiles? I've poked around the house and at HD and Lowes and it seems anywhere from 2" to 2.5" is used regardless of the door size.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Jeff

[jreid]

Dragon,

My bit set came in today and I built a test door from scraps. I searched and found some info on the oldham-usa.com site about sizing things up. I followed their directions and cut the rails and stiles 2-3/8" width. I then ran the rails and stiles. I then went to figure out the panel size and then it hit me.

If your bits cut a 3/8" groove, making the stiles and rails 2-3/8" means

1. Your rails are 2 x 2" shorter than your door width. Easy to figure.
2. Your panel size is 2 x 2" shorter in height and width. Again, easy.

I guess sometimes things click when you just do it. Guess Nike figured that out too.

Anyway, Timberline bits (made by Amana) are a great set. I paid about $110 for these and they are worth every cent. I tried some Chinese bit set from ebay and they were junk.

Thanks all,

Jeff

[Dragon]

Don't forget the space balls!

Space balls are spacers that allow the raised panel to float within the frame. This allows for expansion and contraction.

And yes, for me personally I don't like seeing the raised portion of the panel narrower than the stiles/rails. It just seems like bad planning in my opinion.

There isnt really a set size for stiles and rails, they can be what you want. I have seen them anywhere from 1 to 5 inches. It all depends on the application and 'look' that you are going for.

[jreid]

Thanks for the reminder about space balls Dragon. I'd seen them in my investigations but wasn't sure about them. I ordered a pack of 100 last week.

After I assembled my doors and drawer fronts this past weekend with 2 space balls on each side, I saw the beauty of them. I could not imagine trying to keep everything centered and allow for expansion/contraction without them.

FWIW: I cut my panels 1/4" (1/8" on each side) less than the measured size to allow for the 1/4" space balls on each side. That seemed to work well.

Thanks to all for your input.

Jeff

[Dragon]

It looks like you are well on your way.