Fitting raised or solid panels

[tim]

How tight a fit should a raised panel be in the groove of a rail or stile.

It seems to me to be critical to prevent rattle in the future or splitting of the rail edge.

The problem is (as far as I see it) that a tight test fit on a piece of stock onto which an edge has been raised does not necessarily replicate the level of fit when the whole panel is subsequently assembled.

Cheers

Tim

 

[engineer one]

tim, looking at the mdf doors i recently made, i had to massage the
groove to fit the flat panel, and i think in part this is one of the problems
almost all different pieces of flat or raised panel will differ slightly.

if you are using man made boards in a man made door, then movement is
less of a problem, but in proper wood doors, movement will happen so
you need to think about using some kind of compressable locater, to ensure no rattles.

i'm not sure that the width of the groove has any impact except on
assembling the door stiles, but it will show when you have not finished it
before assembly to ensure that movement will not show an unfinished
piece of wood.

not sure if this is the answer you want
paul :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

Tim,

I find panels tend to be tighter in a frame than the groove width / panel thickness should indicate (as I think you are saying) owing, no doubt, to a variety of possible causes. Hence, I tend to leave my panels a little looser than perhaps ideal. You can buy in the USA things called "space balls" (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page ... okietest=1) to stop rattle etc. and I guess a bit of foam weatherstrip might do the same job - although foam does lose it's squash-ability after a while so this may not be a great solution.

 

[Philly]

Tim
I find a reasonably tight fit (I.e. like a good mortise and tenon) is needed. To loose and the thing rattles forever, too close and you'll never get it together at glue up time.
Having the panels at a similar moisture content to the customers house will make all the difference long term.
Hope this is of help
Philly
Who is having his Navarra delivered Monday 8)

 

[woodbloke]

How tight a fit should a raised panel be in the groove of a rail or stile

On a raised and fielded panel you can apply just a dab of glue, top and bottom in the centre of panel width to allow it to expand and contract either side of the glued points, the fit along the grain can be a fraction loose - Rob

 

[tim]

Thanks guys

I have seen those space balls advertised Chris and thought what a good idea but I'm not going to get hold of any in time.

I had a thought last night about running a bead of 50% movement silicon glazing compound on a non stick sheet, letting in dry and then dropping it or pieces of it into the groove. I think that may have a similar effect. What d'you think.

Rob - I thought that might work and may well try that if the idea above gets short shrift.

Who is having his Navarra delivered Monday

Not jealous at all!


Cheers

Tim

 

[Chris Knight]

Tim,
I am not familiar with the stuff you mention. I should imagine it would work as long as it doesn't harden with age to the point of becoming solid.

I would be tempted to try and slice a few bits from a quality pencil eraser (ie the sort that doesn't go hard) and use them. I have a few that are at least 20 years old and which seem to have the right amount of squashiness.

 

[tim]

Chris

Its the same sealant used to bed double glazing units.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Tim,

Thay all sound good ideas to me. Personally I like to have my panels quite loose, as I finish the panel before assmbling the door. That way any shrinkage reveals polished wood, not bare wood. I guess you do the same.

The trouble with testing a short length is that any deviation from straightness in the rail, style or panel itself (and we all know how much our nice flat panel can change even while we look at it) makes the fit noticeably tighter.

I'm not saying mine are sloppy, but I do err on the side of ease rather than tight.

Cheers
Steve