Making Arched Top Raised Panel Doors

As you ll see with the right tools and equipment the process is actually fairly simple and straightforward.

Making arched top raised panel doors.

Cathedral and arched top doors are the top of the line when it comes to raised panel doors. Bill ewing developed a quick way to cut arched doors using an adjustable jig that allows him to cut raised panel doors of almost any size. The truth is making doors with curved top rails and panels is no more difficult than making any other type of door provided you have the right equipment. There are five major steps to creating a raised panel door.

Cabinets usually need a door or two and deciding on the style of the door can be make or break the appearance of the piece. After ripping the panel to width square the lower end and draw the arch at the top. Then saw the arch and smooth the surface as you did on the top rail. We make solid wood panels 3 16 narrower than the rail length to allow room for expansion aligning the template 3 16 below the top edge of the panel keeps the raised field centered in the door.

It s important to use a guard with all router bits but especially so with raised panel bits photo 8. First you cut the parts for the rails stiles and panels to size. The front door company carries a wide selection of arched and round top wood doors. How to make arched cabinet doors easily.

Below we ll go through the steps involved in making an arched top raised panel door. Bandsaw or jigsaw to within 1 16 of the lines on the top rail and panel using double faced tape secure the templates to each piece aligned with the outlines you drew earlier. But many intermediate woodworkers consider them out of their league. There are lots of different choices and lots of different hardware considerations but one door style that makers come back to time and time again is the frame and panel door and particularly the raised panel door.

Arches and then make two easy to build accurate templates one for the rail and one for the panel. Making a raised panel door safety instructions creating raised panel doors is a fun and rewarding woodworking project. Woodworkers with intermediate skills and some experience using a router table will have no trouble mastering the techniques in a short time.