Make Cabinet Doors

Changing the look of your kitchen can be as simple as finding out how to make cabinet doors. You can change the cabinet doors in your kitchen for a fresh new look that will cost you a fraction of the amount for new cabinets. These instructions are for frame and panel cabinet doors.

These doors include an exterior frame routed to hold a ¼ inch panel in the center. This style is fairly easy to make, but has a richer look than simple slab doors.

Materials Needed

* Hardwood in your desired variety – ¾ inch and ¼ inch plywood with hardwood surface
* Table saw
* Mitre box, mitre square
* Router on a router table
* Electric drill/screwdriver
* Corner fasteners
* Wood glue
* Stain and polyurethane finish

Step 1 - Choose Your Materials

The quality of the cabinet doors will depend on the wood that you choose to make them out of. Different types of wood will have different grain patterns. Choose a wood you like with as straight a grain as possible.

If you don’t have a planer and jointer, you will need to look for wood that is already surfaced on 4 sides (S4S), or you will need to ask if the lumberyard where you are buying your materials can finish wood for you.

Step 2 – Rip the Frame Pieces

The vertical sides of the frame are called stiles and the horizontal are called rails. You should rip your ¾ inch finished lumber to a 2 inch width for the frames, or whatever width you prefer. The 2 inch width leaves a noticeable frame and adds style to the doors, but without using too much wood.

Step 3 – Measure the Door Sizes

You’ll need to make the frames the size you want the finished doors. Sketch the kitchen and make note on the sketch of the size you’ll need each cabinet door. Write the measurement of each door beside its opening in the sketch.

Remember to leave 1/2 inch overlap on each side of the door. Therefore, when you measure the length of the stiles, add one inch (1/2 for each side) to the length of the stiles. Do the same for the rails.

Step 4 – Cut Frame Pieces to Length

Use the mitre square to square the boards. Set up the table saw to length and cut all the boards of the same length in succession to avoid resetting the saw each time.

Cut all the stiles first, then cut all the rails.

Step 5 – Make Router Cuts

On each of the rail pieces, you will use a coping bit on the router and a coping sled to make a coping cut on both ends of each rail. Do not use a coping cut on the stiles.

After all the rails are cut, use a stick bit to make a groove for the rails to attach to the stiles and create an attractive decorative cut along one of the edges of the stiles and the rails. Run the four pieces from each door through at the same time so the cut is on the inside edges.

Use the blocks to make sure the groove is in the right place for the tongue cut in the rails by the coping bit.

Step 6 - Cut Panel

Using the 1/4 inch plywood, cut the center panel for each door. Measure in 3 ¼ inch from the exterior size of the door to find the size for the interior panel.

Step 7 – Assemble the Doors

Use glue on the end of each rail. Insert into the stick bit groove. Hold in place with clamps. Insert the inner panel, but do not glue. Assemble the remaining stile and rail, using wood glue in each joint.

Step 8 – Finish

Using stain and polyurethane gloss, finish the doors to the color and gloss desired.