Question
How much humidity does it really take for kiln dried hard maple raised panels to expand and contract in interior cabinet doors? I ask because I always use spaceballs for door making but I’m thinking that at least just for miter doors I can glue the panel to the stile and rail frame to add more strength to the door. I’m a little worried about the panels expanding over time and breaking the frame. I live in South Florida which is exposed to a lot of humidity, but the good thing is that all homes have air conditioning.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor G:
Don't glue solid wood panels, period.
By the way - movement is influenced by species. Hard maple moves more than just about any other species. Finally - be sure the read the Knowledge Base articles on wood movement found at the end of the calculator instructions . Understanding the how and why of wood movement is important stuff for woodworkers. Understanding how ambient humidity affects moisture content (EMC) is something surprisingly few woodworkers are familiar with.
WOODWEB's Wood Shrinkage Calculator
The other is that at some point, cross grain construction is ok. The common rail and stile joint has a 2" piece cross grain glued to the stiles, and all is well. A rail width in excess of 12" may be considered a problem. A solid panel of 2-3-4" width can be glued in place without concern. I would not glue in a 12" wide solid panel.
Panels can be made of a stable material - ply, particle or MDF, veneered and then rimmed with a mitered solid wood 'raise'. This makes a stable panel and can be glued. Of course, ply, MDF, and other stable materials can be glued in place as panels of any width. They will help reinforce those slight tenons that are common in mass produced door tooling. Miter doors generally have less strength in the joint and will also benefit from glued panels when possible.
