Constructing a raised panel door

A raised panel door is not as hard as you think to build but you do need the right tools. I tried before to build but not having the correct tools and patience was the cause of failure.

First, you need to select wood that is free of knots with exception of the panel. Having a knot or two there can be quite appealing.

Measuring where you want the door can be tricky the first time so you need to first decide what hinges you will use as this can determine where you door must rest in relation to the vertical cabinet facing. For example, if you use recessed hinges that abut against the side, it will have less of an over lap than if it is against the side of the face.

Before moving on, let’s cover some terminology.

· Stile- This is the vertical boards that are on the left and right of the panel. They have groves that allow the panel to fit in them.

· Rail- This is the horizontal board that are on the top and bottom of the panel. It has groves for the panel but also for the stiles.

· Panel- This is the center which requires it to fit in the groves of the stile and rails.

Start with planks of wood. In my example, I will be building a tall and narrow raised panel door which will all come from one plank.

Above: 11 ½ by 8’ pine

Cut the wood so that you have your stiles the same height as your door.

Your rails will need to be the width of the desired door minus the width of the two stiles, plus 1/4 inch.

So in my case, the stiles are 2 inches each. I want the door to be 8 ¾ inches wide. The stiles are 2 inches each. That is 8 ¾ minus 4 inches (the two stiles) plus 1/4 inch which leave the requirement of 5 inch rails.

The height of the panel is then 5 inches (minus ¼ inches) less than the height of the door. Since the door needs to be 87 3/4 inches high, and I the rails are going to be 2 ½ inches wide, that would require 83 inches tall panel. So, my panel needs to be 83 x 5 ¼.

Above: The 5 raw pieces cut have been cut

Since this lumber has some imperfections, I need to plane. Also, I do not want the raised part of the panel to be raised too much above the flat surface of the door.

I run through the planner with a bit more planned from the center panel.

Above: Notice the marks from the lumber company and general roughness

The stiles are sent through the planner at the same time while the panel has a bit more surface removed

Above: Raised panel bit on left. The right is used to remove the bottom part of the panel so that it will fit in the groves of the stiles and rails

Above: The raised panel bit does its job

Above: I then use the other router bit to make the panel edges thin enough to fit in the groves of the stiles and rails as mentioned

Above: The rail and stile bit that I use will do both. First we will set it to do the stiles of the boards and then the bit will be raised to then do the rails

Above: Cutting the stiles and rails are done first

Above: The panel fitting in the stiles

Above: Notice I really let the stiles be longer so that when I cut them later, they will be even with the edge of the rails. Glue the rails to the stiles and the rails to the panel but NOT the panels to the stiles as they need to contract and expand

The ogee bit will then get applied to the front edges of the door

Above: I gave it a sanding after I cut the ends of the stiles even with the rails

Above: The Dremmel helped get the surfaces of the stiles and rails to be smooth before sanding the entire door

Left: I stained with a red oak stain and staining pad

Right: After the stain dries and another sanding and restraining use polyurethane on the dry smooth surfaces

The door in the above steps is to the far left. I ran out of hinges!

Thanks for allowing me to share!