Oak cupboard doors

[Roxie]

I have made a cabinet from AMW and the customer wanted solid doors, these are about 12" square and 1/2" thick. I have used three boards to make the doors which are biscuited together with an alternate grain direction. Would it be good practice to rout a groove along the top and bottom edges and insert a strip of oak to prevent warping? I beleive it is called "breadboard"

Regards

John

 

[Argus]

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AMW? American White Oak?


If you have glued all the boards together to make one wide board, it is likely to expand and contract sideways according to the humidity changes in the house and throughout the year. All you can do about this is to make allowances for it to move without doing any damage.

If the boards are quarter sawn (cut radially from the centre of the tree) then you will have minimised any tendency to cup and twist across the width. Through-and-through boards may cup or twist, depending on the drying method.

Adding breadboard ends will strengthen the whole thing across the width, but it is essential not to glue it securely. If you are using fixings, screws or dowels, make sure that the holes are elongated to allow movement from side to side as the door moves.

Hope this helps.


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[AndyT]

Just cutting a groove and inserting a strip of wood into it would not be much help - the insert would be too thin to do any good. "Breadboard ends" are more like a wide tenon (on the joined panel) going into a wide mortice on a cross-piece of matching thickness. Like this:

Do read the useful blog entryfor that picture which explains some of the drawbacks of breadboard ends. Even if they do keep your boards flat, they won't look a good fit as a door, especially if your doors are inside the ends of a cabinet (as opposed to being laid onto the ends, like a box lid).

The best approach to solid wood doors is frame and panel construction; it sounds a bit late for that in your case.
However, at only a foot square they are presumably fairly light weight so you might get away with it if your stock is nice and dry and the finished piece is not in an extremely hot/cold place such as a conservatory or kitchen.

One other alternative that might work (depending on the overall piece) is a couple of simple battens horizontally across the insides of the doors.

 

[hunggaur]

hi i have done breadboard ends in the past and i have found that no matter how seasons the timber is you are working with give it a few months and it will end up being proud or shy as andyt has indicated. whenever i make door now i always make in a panel door with mortice and tenon joints and a floating panel.

hope this helps

jon

 

[Roxie]

Thanks to you all for your quick replies. I half suspected that this would be the case, glad I consulted the learned folk of the Forum before putting router to wood.

Yes AMW is Bedfordian for American White Oak :lol:
John