Odd, annoyingly-small, kitchen panel - breadboard ends?

[Eric The Viking]

I've been asked by a friends to make a filler panel for their kitchen.

It's roughly 170mm by 600 (standard width), thickness about 20mm, to fill the gap above a microwave oven. They want something to match their panel doors, which are European oak with heavily fielded panels.

I can see a couple of snags with this: 170mm is to narrow to do frame and panel to match the doors above and below, and it's inevitably going to want to move around because of the warm moisture coming from the microwave.

So I'm wondering about breadboarding the ends, so that I get a joint in line with the rails of the door above, and possibly putting two grooves in the central piece, as a nod in the direction of stiles (will have to be narrower than the real door stiles, which are 66mm wide). I'm using some old oak, recycled from furniture, so I've a good expectation it's already moved as much as it's going to, and I'll seal it well.

What does the team think? Will breadboarding it stop it cupping, and am I being silly about the decoration?

Am I worrying too much about a panel nobody will look twice at once it's on the unit?

Nerrvus of Bristle.

 

[AndyT]

It's hard to be sure without seeing it in context but if I were you I would keep the panel plain and concentrate on getting a good match for colour and finish.

But to offer a couple of points as food for thought:

- You could help persuade a plain panel to stay flat by battening across the back. This could use something as simple as screws through oversized holes or slots; or you could go for sliding dovetail battens, as found on old drawing boards.

- If you do do this, it might help to thin the oak down as much as possible, so there is won't pull so hard against the battens' restraint.

- I'm glad you managed to find some suitable wood. A bit of veneered mdf or ply would be more likely to stay flat, but you and I would look at the grain and see that it's not solid wood. If your friends would do the same, then that's not suitable, but I think most people would never see the difference between a solid grain pattern and a peeled one.

- If none of the above really works, how about a piece of stainless or white painted steel to match the oven?

 

[Harbo]

If you hadn't already got the wood, I would have tried to find a matching drawer front which come in 600mm widths?
I think you are worrying too much - what finish are you going to use - that might be the biggest problem for matching things?

Rod

 

[Eric The Viking]

Thanks, chaps.

It's a clear, slightly pink-tinted finish (in daylight), which makes me think it's probably a sprayed acrylic - fairly easily matched. There's a roundover and quirk/rebate on the edges, so I can't use anything veneered, nor MDF. I've got the previous, thinner panel as a guide and obviously I've seen the kitchen and measured up. I've also scraped the finish off the back, and it matches the oak I have fairly well. I can experiment to get a good match.

They're actually quite nice doors. The fielded panels are made up from jointed pieces, but that's normal these days, except in the most expensive kitchens.

My biggest issue is the roundover - it's about 4mm radius and I don't presently have a cutter that small. Before anyone suggests it, I don't think I can freehand it with a block or shoulder plane, as it'll simply be too hard to be consistent (it's going up against spindle tooling, I'd guess).

 

[Steve Maskery]

Eric
You should be able to get a pretty good 4mm roundover with a scratchstock. Easy to make and satisfying to use.
S

 

[Eric The Viking]

That's a good point, Steve!

What do you think about the cross-grain part though? Might it be where my idea of breadboard ends offers some advantage?

E.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes, I think it could.
I'd keep it simple:
Run a shallow sawcut across the middle to simulate a pair of rails. Run several deeper sawcuts across the middle on the reverse face where they are not seen. This will reduce the cupping force. Breadboard the ends. I think that could be a very successful panel. Matching the finish would be my biggest challenge.
S

 

[Eric The Viking]

Thanks. I was intending to play with finishes first, on some scrap, too. No point making the effort and then