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Bolection Moulding and Raised Panels

1/12/26       
Gavin Hackeling

Hello, I am trying to understand this diagram depicting the cross sections of doors with raised panels and bolection moulding. If I understand correctly, the rails and stiles are grooved (e.g., 3/4" wide by 1/2" deep for an exterior door). The panels are raised, and the door has bolection moulding. The panels' tongues are too short; another piece of solid wood bridges the gap between the tongue and the rails/stiles' grooves.

Is this summary correct?
Do the lands and panels both float? If so, should I increase the expansion gaps? Should I use space balls between both the grooves and lands and the lands and panels?
Can anyone recommend any resources about this kind of construction?
Thanks!


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1/14/26       #2: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
Tom Gardiner

David Sochar, a frequent contributor to this forum has written a detailed book on door construction. I am surprised he hasn't chimed in yet.

1/14/26       #3: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
BH Davis  Member

Website: http://www.bhdavis.net
 On the right hand drawing the lands do not need to float. On the left hand drawing I'd be inclined to have them loose though....or at least the center component of the 3-part build up.

I'd say you do not need a space ball between the land and the frame as there won't be much movement over that short width of the lands. I'd even be inclined to glue those to the rails and stiles.

Space balls for the running edges, or pinned centers on the butt ends would be appropriate for the raised panels though. And the bolection mouldings should be fixed by glue or nails to the lands and/or rails and stiles.

And quite frankly except for the added complexity of the construction process there is no reason not to mill the lands right into rails and stiles instead of adding them as separate pieces.

BH Davis
1/17/26       #4: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
Joe Calhoon

I usually glue the land in. It is part of the structure. It can be milled in and I sometimes do for smaller mouldings. It can complicate the corner joinery though especially if doing mortise and tenon. I always use same species for the land. The picture is just a shop sample.
I have never done the one on the left but would glue it as well.


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1/17/26       #5: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
Joe Calhoon

Looking closer at your drawing and the detail on the left the land extension ( Thats what I am calling the part that connects to the land extension coming out of the stile) would be a mitered frame installed as a unit. It could be glued in with no allowance for expansion. The solid panel that is connected to it should be floating. In my climate zone I allow 3 or 4mm and use panel buddies instead of space balls. Many other ways to accomplish this.
Now the drawing on the right showing IG in the panel will also have to be a mitered frame that could also be glued in solid.

1/18/26       #6: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
Dave Sochar Member

The drawing posted by Gavin does indeed show how I developed the 'landed' type of door construction. The drawing is taken from my book "Small Shop Construction of Custom Wood Doors".

I will add another drawing, omitting the moldings for simplification. In all cases, the lands are glued in place, giving a solid footing for the bolection moldings - also glued in place. In my world, they do not float. If you search for 5-ply and/or 7-ply panels you may see that as an approach to eliminate panel movement. In fact, a door such as a 2 panel door, can be assembled completely, the lands added while the primary door parts are in the clamps.

A bit of clarification: The panel raise is not 'too short'. Rather I show a variation of a raised panel with stopped, insulated glass. This section could be a mitered frame (a "sashed" panel in our shop) assembled and then raised, or a mortise and tenon frame, again assembled and then raised.
The purpose of the land is to provide a solid foundation for the bolection moldings and panels.
The lands can be machined as part of the rails and stiles if you wish, though that will complicate how they interact at assembly, as Joe C points out.

1/22/26       #7: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
Dave Sochar Member

I realize I omitted the drawing. Nudge me every now and then, I'll wake up.

Click the link below to download the file included with this post.

Woodweb_Door_Section.pdf

2/6/26       #8: Bolection Moulding and Raised Panel ...
Steve Markovick

Reading through this, the key takeaway for me is that the land isn’t a spacer, it’s structural. Gluing it solid makes sense if the goal is giving the bolection moulding something stable to live on. Let the panel do the moving, not the frame. Milling the land into the rails sounds elegant, but I can see why assembly gets tricky fast.


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