Solid-panel doors offer the same combination of strength and charm as their frame-and-panel counterparts. This section features two styles: tongue-and – groove and board-and-batten doors.
Sizing stock for a board-and-batten door is a matter of making the length of the boards equal to the door height; their combined width should equal the door width. Dimensioning stock for a tongue – and-groove door requires making the length of the stiles the same height as the door. The width of the door will be
the length of the rails—without the tenons—added to the width of the stiles.
In building a board-and-batten door, some woodworkers use two horizontal battens instead of the standard Z-shaped pattern; for added strength, the two pieces are recessed in dadoes cut into the back of the door. A more elaborate method is to rout a sliding dovetail across the back and fit the batten snugly into it, securing the support piece of wood with a single screw in the center of the door.
MAKING A TONGUE-AND-GROOVE DOOR
To prepare the rails and stiles you will have to cut a series of grooves, tenons and tongues. Begin by sawing a groove along one edge of each board, except for the bottom rail. Install a Vi-inch-wide dado head on your table saw and set the cutting height at Уг inch. Center a board edge over the blades, then butt the rip fence against the stock; clamp a featherboard to the table for support. To cut each groove, feed the stock into the blades, pressing the board against the fence (far left). Then cut a tenon at the ends of each rail the same way you would for a frame-and-panel door (page 104), but do not make the shoulder cut. Finally, cut a tongue along the nongrooved edge of each rail, except for the top piece. Install and notch an auxiliary fence (page 48). Set the cutting height at Ve, inch, then clamp one featherboard to the fence above the dado head and install a second featherboard on the table. To cut each tongue, use a push stick to feed the rail into the dado head. Turn the board over to complete the cut (near left).
2 Gluing up the door
Fit the parts of the door together, then number each rail to help you reassemble the door for final glue up. If any joint is too tight, use a wood chisel to pare some wood from the edges of the tenon or the groove, as required. Once you are satisfied with the fit, take the pieces apart and spread some glue on the tenons. Reassemble the door and place it on two bar clamps, propping them up with notched wood blocks. Protecting the stock with wood pads, tighten the clamps until glue squeezes from the joints (above). Once the adhesive has dried, remove the excess with a paint scraper.
SHOP TIP
Preventing sanding scratches
Sanding the stiles of a solid- frame door may cause cross-grain scratches on the rails.
An easy solution is to sand the rails first, then apply strips of masking tape to the rails, aligning the edge of the tape with the joints between the rails and stiles. Then sand the stiles.
BUILDING A BOARD-AND-BATTEN DOOR
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Cutting the rabbets
On your table saw install a dado head one-half as wide as the stock thickness. Attach and notch an auxiliary fence (page 48), then set the cutting height—again, one-half the thickness of the boards. To secure the workpiece, clamp two feather – boards and a support board to the table saw as shown. Feed the stock into the blades using a push stick. Then flip the board over and repeat the cut along the other edge (left).
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Support board
Popular features of large cabinets, hutches, and shelving units, glass doors are constructed in much the same way as frame-and-panel doors (page 104). The frame is held together by mor – tise-and-tenon joints; a decorative molding adorns its inner edges. The difference is that on a glass door the molding is not routed into the frame; instead, a rabbet is cut, then a separate glass-stop molding is nailed in place. The advantage of this design is that the molding can easily be pried off should the glass break.
In larger pieces of furniture, the door is often divided by horizontal rails and vertical mullions into several smaller
