Oversize Cupboard Doors
Suggestions for trouble-free construction of wide, tall raised-panel cabinet doors. February 17, 2006
Question
I have a client that wants some quite large pantry-like clothing closets, which will require several RP doors about 6' tall with widths close to 30". The job is red oak with stain and CV finish. I am curious how others have addressed the warping issue in a case like this.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor T:
I haven't built any that wide, but I've built flat-panel doors 24" x 72" or so. The thing to do for big doors is to rough cut the frame parts and leave them to mellow for a couple of days before face-jointing. Also, don't do it with one panel. Put a centre rail or two in it. That said, I think 30" is too wide - but what do I know?
From contributor H:
Make them 1 3/8" thick just like any other interior door, just shorter. Heck, buy them already made 6/8 and re-work them down to 6/0.
From contributor D:
I do a furniture piece with a 5 foot 30" opening. Going with two doors, 4/4 with 2 inch stile and rails and rail in the middle. Doing this you are getting some pretty skinny RP's and they look kind of silly without the middle rail. I haven't had any problems at all.
From contributor C:
If you're worried about the stiles warping, laminate them out of two 3/4" thick pieces, let them sit for a few days, them plane them down to 1 3/8", which is a standard thickness for tooling and hardware. This should be a slam-dunk - don't worry.
From contributor P:
I run into this all the time. I tell everyone that I will be using catches on the doors (even though they are hung on euro hinges) and I use whatever size Rare Earth magnets necessary to keep things in line.
