Paneled doors are a nice feature on any project. They are not that hard to build and can be made on your table saw. There are only four parts to a paneled door assembly: Stiles (Vertical members on sides of doors), Rails (Horizontal members at top and bottom of doors), Muntins (Horizontal members that join panels together and are mainly used on tall doors) and Panels (Panels can be either flat or raised).
In this article, I am going to outline the procedures to build the door for a pine jelly cupboard, but the basic processes will work for any door. It is assembled using tongue and groove joinery. You will need six lineal feet of 1 x 6 pine and 3 square feet of 1/4" thick pine plywood.
Cut your 1 x 6 pine into a piece that is 43" long and two pieces 12" long. Rip these into pieces that are 2-1/2" wide. The next step is to cut the pieces to finished lengths. Remember that both ends of all the pieces must be square. You will need to trim the 43" pieces to 42" and the 12" pieces to 10-1/4" long. You will end up with 4 pieces 2-1/2" x 10-1/4" and 2 pieces 2-1/2" x 42". This is a good time to smooth up all the cut edges of the wood. You want to remove all saw marks.
You will need a sharp, clean saw blade for cutting the grooves. The grooves need to be 1/4" wide and 3/8" deep. Adjust the fence on your table saw until you have a 1/4" between it and the outside of the saw teeth nearest it. Raise your saw blade to where it cuts 3/8" deep. Use scraps of wood for test cuts until you achieve the 3/8" depth of the groove. Next run your scrap through the saw again with the opposite side of it against the fence. If your blade cuts a 1/8" kerf, your groove should be 1/4" wide. If your groove is not 1/4" wide, we will adjust the fence later.
Measure to make sure that your groove is 3/8" deep and 1/4" from the face of the board. If it is, go ahead and cut your groove on all your pieces. The muntin will need a groove cut on both edges. If the groove on your scrap piece ended up 1/4" wide, go ahead and reverse the faces that go against the fence and cut the grooves again. If the grooves were less than 1/4" wide, cut them again with the other side of the boards against the fence. Next slide the fence toward the blade about 1/8" and run your boards through again. This should remove any material that was left in the groove and it should be 1/4" wide.
If the grooves were over 1/4" wide, the procedure is a little different. After you have pushed your boards through the saw once, cut a groove in another piece of scrap and then move your fence until you have 1/2" from the outside of the teeth that are farthest away from the fence to the inside of the fence. Run another piece of scrap through the saw with the same side of it against the fence. Your groove should now be 1/4" wide. Go ahead and cut the grooves on your stock.
To cut the tongues on the rails and muntin you need to make sure that your fence is absolutely perpendicular to your saw blade and that your miter gauge is set to a perfect 90° to the blade. Lower your blade until it will cut 1/4" deep and move your fence until it is 3/8" away from the outside of the saw teeth that are farthest from it. Using your miter gauge, cut a piece of scrap, flip it over and cut it again. If your fence is properly adjusted your kerf should be 3/8" from the end of your rails and muntin. If it is, go ahead and remove the rest of the stock by moving the stock about 1/8" away from the fence and cutting it again. Keep doing this until all the material is removed. Flip the piece over and repeat the procedure.
See if your tongue fits into the groove. They should fit tight, but not require too much force. A good fit is one in which the tongue will keep the rail and stile together when the board is held over your bench with the loose end of the stile pointing toward the bench, but it can be easily removed from the stile. If the tongues fits properly, go ahead and cut the rest of your rails and muntin. Put small marks on the surface of the stiles 21" from the end and mark the muntin 1-1/4" from the edge. The muntin will be in the exact center of the stiles. Dry fit the pieces together and check to see that the door is square and that all surface line up to the same level. There should be no gaps in any of the joints. If the door can not be brought square with reasonable clamping pressure or if there are gaps in any of the joints, recheck the ends of the rails and muntin. One or more of them are either not square or the tongue is not exactly 3/8" from the end.
After the door is dry fitted together, measure the two openings. If your muntin is in the center of the stile, the 2 openings should measure the same. Add 1/2" to the length and width of these openings, and cut your 1/4" plywood panels to this size. The panels will not be glued into the assembly because they need to "float" or move as the door expands and contracts.
Apply glue to all surfaces of the tongues and insert a rail into the end of a stile. Push the muntin into position and then the other rail. The panels should slide freely into their openings. Push the other stile onto this assembly and clamp the assembly together with bar clamps. Check the assembly to make sure it is perfectly square. Excessive clamping pressure can cause warp in the door, so it may be a good idea to clamp the door assembly down flat to your bench or any flat surface that is big enough. Remove any glue run out that you can. Follow the glue manufacturers instructions to determine how long to leave the door clamped.
