Thread: twisted/warped cabinet doors

What was the moisture content of the timber, some times it is a good idea to let the timber acclimatise before machining did you allow enough clearance for the panels to expand, humidity has been hi the last few days in SA and it was pretty hot today especially in a hot shed recipe for disaster.

The hot garage will be a killer. You need to keep the temperature of the doors as consistent as possible to avoid big moisture changes; leave a door open if possible to get airflow in the room and keep them covered with a blanket

I appreciate your reply, it makes sense but I have stored all my cut rails and styles in the shed and am loathe to take a risk using them. The doors will be painted and this is why I was wondering if I should use a different timber.

Sounds right, thanks for your help.

If they're getting painted I would be using clear Radiata Pine and MDF; plywood is much more susceptible to movement, being actual timber rather than sawdust and resin.

I've found Baltic to be fine for making cabinet doors. I feel it might be something to do with the piece you've used. Large section material is cut a certain way and tensions in the wood can be released when it is cut into smaller sections. The thing is: I have cut a fair amount of Baltic in this way and not had an issue. I don't imagine you're gluing the panels in so are your tongues and grooves totally straight? Sorry I can't be more help.

BTW how big are the doors and how many mm are they warping by?

Originally Posted by richi2010

I was keen to make our kitchen drawer fronts and doors. Drawer fronts okay but now on to doors, having major problems with the doors. Baltic pine timber cut to 60mm strips and grooved and ends of rails rebated to fit the grooves. Ply panels fitted to the grooves to make a shaker style door with tongue and groove joints. finished a door last night to find after a day in a hot garage the door is unusable due to the twist.
Any suggestions, I'm thinking I should use a different timber.
Ian

I think the problem may be your joints.

Can I clarify that the 60mm strips are the door styles and the rails are are attached with a 4mm long tongue glued into the groove.
How thick are the "strips" and is the groove in the center of the strip and how big are your doors.

The fix?
If you were looking for an excuse to buy a domino, this is it

Otherwise, replace the "rebate to fit the groove" (which I take to mean a stub tenon at the end of each rail) with a pair of 6 mm dowels.
With the right drilling jig and drill bit, there's no need to cut the existing stub tenons off the rails.

Can I ask (I don't want to sound like I am patronising) when you glued and clamped the door, did you check that the door was sitting "flat" in the clamps? Not knowing your skill level, when making any door/joint and clamping don't use too much force to pull the joint together. If you have problems pulling up a joint,then you may need to shave some timber to get the joint together. Make sure the door is square, using a large square and make sure the door has not got a twist in it. An easy trap to fall into is putting too much strain on a joint which causes the stile to "droop" giving the door a twist