Raised-Panel Doors

Let's make the molding

For safety reasons, mill the moldings (parts E and F) from a blank of stock, then rip off the molded edge. When the blank gets too small to handle comfortably (about 2" wide), continue with a fresh blank, or use a feather board to hold the blank against the rip fence.

1 Set up your router table as shown in the Machining the Molding drawings at right, and mill one edge of your 3/4" blank. With your tablesaw, rip the molded edge, cove side down, to 5/16" (as shown in the photo below). Use a zero-clearance insert and splitter on your tablesaw to keep the thinly cut molding in close contact with the outfeed end of the fence. Repeat this step until you have enough molding for your doors.

2 Set up your router table as shown in the bottom Machining the Molding drawings above. Make the zero-clearance fence by attaching a piece of stock to your table's fence. With the router running, slowly move the fence into place, just cutting into the wooden fence. Rout the rabbet in parts E and F. To keep the molding firmly against the fence, clamp a feather board or guide block as shown in the photo below.

A tall, narrow pushstick keeps your fingers far away from the blade when ripping thin molding from the blank.

3 Subtract 1/4" from the length of part D. Miter-cut parts E using this length for the "short" dimension. Again, if you?re making several panels of the same size, use a stop block to make consistent cuts. Repeat for parts F, subtracting 1/4" from the width of part D.

4 Glue and clamp parts E and F to part C, covering the edges of part D. We used two spring clamps on each piece of molding, keeping the mitered joints tight. Remember to put a dot of glue in each of the miter joints.