Mount a test piece in the workholder
face side up with the end against the
fence and a backing piece (spelch
block) of the same thickness behind
it to prevent breakout. Before
starting the router, check that the
guard and cutter are secure.
Start the router and run the edge of a
test piece across the cutter.
Assemble the joint and check that the
front and rear faces are flush, if not,
adjust the cutter height and cut a new
test piece.
Check that the joint is a good sliding
fit. If not, partially disassemble the
cutter and remove or add one of the
shims. Reassemble and cut a new test
piece and check the fit.
Making the Panel
Switch on and pass the rail end
across the cutter keeping the
workpiece flat to the table. Turn the
wood around and repeat the cut on
the other end.
Panels can either be cut from sheet
material or made up from solid timber.
The width of the panel will be the
same dimension as the rail length,
including the tenon length at each end.
The length will be equal to the full
height of the door, minus the width of
the top and bottom rails, plus twice
the tenon length.
In both cases, deduct 2mm to allow for
clearance and on solid timber panels,
deduct a further 2mm across the
width (i.e. across the grain) to allow
for movement.
Cutting the Edge Profile
With the router collet held by the
spindle lock, use a spanner to loosen
the nut and remove the cutters and
bearing from the arbor.
Reassemble the cutter fitting the
moulding cutter first, followed by
shims and the grooving cutter. Fit
the other shim and guide bearing
before fitting the steel
washer and nut. Check
that the nut is tightened
firmly, but avoid turning
the arbor in the collet.
Cutting Flat Panels
Use sheet material 4mm to 6mm thick.
With material over 4mm, a rebate will
need to be cut around the edge on the
rear face to leave a finished thickness
of 4mm.
As a decorative feature, a wide
moulded rebate is generally used to
form a ‘raised field’. The thickness at the
edge of the panel will need to be a
fraction less than 4mm to form a sliding
fit in the groove.
Grooved depth
9.5mm
Gap for expansion of panel
Panel Raising Cutters
There are two designs of
panel raising cutters for
this purpose - horizontal
or vertical, both types are
best suited to use in a
router table. The mould
should be cut in a series of 3 to 4
passes adjusting the cutter for each
pass until the full depth is reached on
the final one.
Glued panel finished to
consistent thickness
Using the scribed end, lay the rail
face down on the table and adjust
the height of the cutter to align the
grooving cutter against the tenon and
the moulding profile cutter against
the quirk.
Autumn 1999
Solid panels are generally made up of
two or more boards glued edge to
edge. For normal purposes use timber
planed to a finished thickness of 12 to
15mm. Glue the edges together,
alternating the grain direction on each.
When dry, plane and sand the faces flat
and cut the panel to size. The edge
will now need to be rebated to fit into
the panel groove.
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