MDF Door Panels - Glue or not?

[matt]

I'm making some panelled doors using 6mm MDF for the panels (rebated in grooves in Poplar). In the past I've not glued the panels but have experienced some minor movement in the panel which has affected the paint. I'm wondering with this set of doors whether I should glue the panels?

Grateful for opinions and experience.

Thanks

Matt

 

[carlb40]

Real wood - mdf/ply - no glue. Wood will still move. Finish the panels before assembly
All ply/ mdf yes i would glue. Minimal / if any movement.

 

[Mar_mite]

Real wood - mdf/ply - no glue. Wood will still move. Finish the panels before assembly
All ply/ mdf yes i would glue. Minimal / if any movement.

+1

 

[Tierney]

+1

I did a whole set of internal doors with poplar and ply panels - I didn't glue the panels, and probably left 1 or 2mm gap around the panels. Some were sprayed with a water based paint and others with brushed on oil paint. 18 months later and I haven't had any problems.

DT

 

[Peter Sefton]

I would glue the MDF/Ply panels into the grooves, I have made several kitchens with shaker styles doors using this method and never had any issues. One set of kitchen doors were for my parents house they lived there for about fifteen years without any issues. The solid timber stiles tend to expand and contract in the same manner as they do when glued to the tenons they just grow and shrink whist maintaining a solid glue joint. I covered this in an article for F&C a couple of years ago.
http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... rticle.pdf
Cheers Peter

 

[chippy1970]

Real wood - mdf/ply - no glue. Wood will still move. Finish the panels before assembly
All ply/ mdf yes i would glue. Minimal / if any movement.

+1

+1

All in MDF then I glue the panels

Sent from my Hudl HT7S3 using Tapatalk

 

[murdoch]

We make lots of kitchens and always run a light bead of glue in the grooves. As peter says the real wood stiles and rails are still free to expand and contract but the mdf panel shouldn't need to be loose as any movement is so small. Over many years are glued in panel doors have faired much better than when we didn't glue the panel in. If you leave the panel loose we found that the stiles and rails would move on the inside edges and crack the paint whereas a glued in panel forces the stiles and rails to move on the outside edges only.

 

[matt]

We make lots of kitchens and always run a light bead of glue in the grooves. As peter says the real wood stiles and rails are still free to expand and contract but the mdf panel shouldn't need to be loose as any movement is so small. Over many years are glued in panel doors have faired much better than when we didn't glue the panel in. If you leave the panel loose we found that the stiles and rails would move on the inside edges and crack the paint whereas a glued in panel forces the stiles and rails to move on the outside edges only.

This is the conclusion I arrived at before posting.

Thank you all for your thoughts.

 

[Student]

FWIW, I have made two sets of panelling for my daughter's house in France. Both 4.0 metres long, 0.90 metres high, with six stiles and five panels. The frame is made of 90mm x 19mm beech, the panels are 6mm ply and the whole lot glued. They were painted after hanging. After 5 years, there's no sign of movement. As such, as Peter and murdoch have said, I wouldn't have thought you would have a problem with doors