How to make a panel using a hand router. The process of making paneled doors with your own hands. Tools for making doors

Doors with relief (or volumetric) panels are a distinctive feature of high-quality furniture; Moreover, they are not too difficult to manufacture. If you already have a large, powerful router and a router table, it's also worth purchasing a set of three special cutters designed for this job.

The kit can cost upwards of $100. But if you're planning to re-fabricate or refinish multiple cabinets, or are developing a new project with multiple panel doors, we think it's a smart investment. Of course, instead of buying an expensive cutter, you can make relief panels on a sawing machine, but we believe that cutters save time and provide better quality due to the smoothness of processing and thoroughness of profiling. We prefer the router for horizontal processing of panels, where the workpiece lies flat on the router table. You can save money by purchasing a vertical cutter, which is cheaper and less demanding on the power of the router. However, such a cutter, unlike a horizontal one, will not allow you to make a panel with a curved edge.

This article shows how to make a door for a regular cabinet. The same technique is used to make doors or traditional wall panels. Along the way, several professional secrets are revealed that have nothing to do with cutters, but significantly affect the final result.

Choose your favorite profile

We purchased a set of three cutters from Freud (#97-102), which cost us $145. The set includes a counter-profile cutter for processing the ends of the frame crossbars, a profile cutter for forming tongues and decorative molding on the inner edges of all crossbars and posts, and also a figurine cutter with a diameter of 89 mm, which creates a concave profile at the edges of the panel. The cutters have shanks with a diameter of 12 mm; We do not recommend purchasing such kits with smaller diameter shanks.

Consider photos A, B and C, which shows the shape of the cutters and the profiles of the connection parts resulting from their joint work. On photo D presented is one of the variants of figurine cutters produced by Freud and other manufacturers. Choose the option you like best or the one that matches the panel profile of the furniture already in your home.

Choose the best boards

The quality of the doors depends on the quality of the boards. You need stable wood that dries out a little and does not warp, so it is better to use radial or intermediate cut boards.

Cut a window in a piece of cardboard the same size as the part you want to make. Having chosen a suitable area on the board, outline it with chalk.

When selecting boards from a stack, inspect their open ends. Select those in which the lines of annual rings are located perpendicular to the layers, and not directed from edge to edge, forming wide arcs. The grain on the face of the boards should be straight. On one wide board you can find variations in the texture pattern (photo E). In this case, choose straight-layer sections for the doors with radial annual rings. Don't throw away the remaining pieces of board, but use them to make less visible furniture pieces or for other projects. Having found a suitable board, do not rush to cut it into pieces of the required length. To take your craft to the next level, take one more step: cut each piece individually, choosing the areas with the straightest grain (photo F). Straight-layer frame details visually emphasize the rectangular shape of the door.

Two variations of red oak: the left panel is made of carefully selected straight-grained boards, while the right one looks too ordinary.

For the panel, we also recommend choosing a blank with straight grain, which will give the door a strict architectural appearance. We chose red oak as our most popular species with a distinct grain pattern that allows us to better see the difference between radial and tangential cuts. Compare both options in photo G.

Careful planning and cutting

Overlay doors are usually used in cabinets that do not have front frames. Such doors, as a rule, almost completely hide the front side of the case, and there should be a gap of about 3 mm between adjacent doors.

To make panels, select boards of a similar color and pattern and plan them to a thickness of 13 mm. When you insert the panel into the door, its face will be flush with the front of the frame. Plane the edges of the boards and glue the workpiece with a small allowance. After drying, cut out the panel taking into account a 3 mm gap around the entire perimeter. Rubber shock absorber balls, described in the chapter “Anti-rattle panels,” can be inserted into such a gap. If you decide not to use shock absorbers, you will still need to create a gap that allows the panel to swell freely with seasonal changes in humidity.

Attach a counter-profile cutter (this is a cutter with a bearing between two cutting parts) in the collet of the router installed in the table. Attach a long ruler to the longitudinal fence and move the fence until the ruler touches the cutter bearing (photo N). Now make sure that the fence is installed exactly at right angles to the head of the cross (angular) fence. Press the end of the trim against the longitudinal stop and secure it with a clamp on the corner stop. Move the miter gauge to the opposite end of the rip fence. The cut must be in contact with the longitudinal stop along its entire length.

When set correctly, a smooth strip 1.5 mm wide should be formed at the front edge of the profile, and the fold on the other side will be about 6 mm deep. Change the settings if necessary, and if you're happy with the results, make a setup template that you can save for future projects. Now mill both ends on both crossbars (photo J).

Now work on the inner edges

If you cannot achieve a perfect fit for the counter-profile connection, you may have to adjust the cutters themselves using very thin metal spacers. Spacers allow you to adjust the distance between the profile cutters and the position of the comb on the counter-profile part. Our cutters were pre-set by the manufacturer and had several spare spacers under the nuts at the end of each cutter. If you decide to customize your cutters yourself using shims, write down each step so you can return to factory settings. When you are satisfied with the quality of joining of the parts, process the inner edges of all four frame parts.

It's time to process the panel

Even if the longitudinal stop of the milling table has an adjustable clearance sufficient to accommodate a large cutter, it is better to make an additional pad with a small cutout, the contours of which correspond to the profile of the cutter. A fence with large gaps into which the workpiece can be pulled is potentially dangerous.

To make an overlay, cut out an even piece of board according to the dimensions of the longitudinal stop and draw the silhouette of a cutter on it. Use a band saw or jigsaw to make a cutout and sand it smooth. Attach the trim to the longitudinal stop and make sure that the required clearances are present. Align the fence with the cutter bearing and make a test run (photo N). If the router does not have enough power, move the stop so that the router does not remove material across the entire width of the profile during the first pass. Then align the stop with the bearing again and complete the profile with a second pass.

Check how the edge of the panel is inserted into the tongue of the rack or crossbar - it should fit easily. If it is inserted with force, slightly increase the offset of the cutter, but if it fits into the tongue too freely, lower the cutter a little. Having precisely adjusted the cutter's reach, process the edges of the panel. First rout the profile at the end edges, and then along the edges. Final routing along the grain will remove small chips that occur when working across the grain.

Press the workpiece firmly against the table during each pass so that the profile border at the edges of the panel is straight and the ridge is of uniform thickness.

Tint the panel

Rattling-free panels

Having such a useful tool in your home, you can make many useful and beautiful wooden products yourself. A piece of wood that is completely ordinary at first glance can turn into an elegant shelf. The raw timber will become shaped railings. Instead of plastic factory window sills, you can make wooden ones with a beautifully milled end.
And the possibilities for restoring old furniture are almost limitless.

Any cabinet, bedside table or stool made of solid wood can find a new life in the hands of a craftsman who knows how to work with a hand-held wood router. Using a time-worn product as a blank, it is enough to remove a couple of millimeters of the old layer and give it a new shape. And you will actually receive a new product.

IMPORTANT! When restoring wooden products, especially those coated with varnish or paint, it is necessary to carry out initial sanding. This will save expensive cutters from unnecessary dulling on old paint.

Before buying a router, you need to know how to work on wood with it.

First, let's define the types of work that can be performed with a router.

• Manufacturing of profile products.

Using special cutters, you can independently make a lot of products that were previously bought in building materials stores. Glazing beads, cornices, facing platbands for door frames or window openings, and finally, baseboards. By purchasing untreated timber or board at a low cost, you can turn the workpiece into an independent product in a matter of minutes, saving a lot of money.

• Processing the edges of products. The convenience and capabilities of the router when performing this type of work are undeniable.

By changing edge cutters, you can simply make a straight end, a rounded edge, a shaped or inclined profile. Moreover, your product will be exclusive compared to standard factory products.

• Manufacturing of grooves of any shape.

These can be simple technological developments of a rectangular shape or decorative semicircular patterns.

• Production of elements for paneled doors or imitation of panels on a flat piece of wood.
• Making technological recesses for self-assembly of furniture or installation of doors and windows.

With the help of a hand router, work such as inserting hinges turns into pleasure. Those who have had to do this procedure with a chisel and chisel will appreciate the advantage of a power tool.

• Making tenon joints.

Making paneled doors is becoming very popular. The demand for them is constantly growing, since this type of structure has a number of advantages:

• light door weight;
• relief surface;
• possibility of glazing;
• various front finishes;
• low price compared to a panel door.

Paneled doors consist of a wooden frame and inserts made of different materials. It is this feature that allows you to reduce the weight of the entire structure. The base is assembled from solid wood, laminated timber or MDF. Inserts can be made of the following materials:

1. Fibreboard, MDF or plywood. Panels are made from thin sheets of wood that are fixed inside cutouts in the frame. Inserts can be painted, veneered or laminated.
2. Glass. It adds additional decorativeness to the interior and further facilitates the design. Such doors are often installed to enter the kitchen or living room.
3. Tree. This material is the most reliable and allows you to make different relief panels. The disadvantages are the high price and the difficulty of manufacturing thin sheets of solid wood.

Since the frame bears all the loads, it must be made of well-dried wood or MDF. It consists of 5 elements or more. The frame is made of 4 parts, and the number of remaining crossbars will depend on the number of panels. All parts are connected using tongue-and-groove fastening. If necessary, the inserts are fixed using glazing beads or overlays. This method of fastening allows you to quickly replace a damaged element or change the design of the door.

Preparation of tools and selection of material

You can start making panel doors with your own hands only if you have the necessary tools and equipment. Since all the elements will have to be turned with a hand router, you need to purchase suitable attachments. For manufacturing you will need the following tools:

• pencil, tape measure and square;
• sandpaper;
• wood hacksaw;
• a circular saw;
• milling cutter;
• level;
• drill;
• screwdriver, chisel and knife.

Additionally you need to purchase:

• wood glue or PVA;
• small nails without heads;
• door fittings (hinges, handles, locks, etc.);
• materials for finishing the door (varnishes, paints, etc.).

To make a reliable and high-quality paneled door, you need to choose the right materials for manufacturing. The frame is most often made from pine bars. The design will be easy to process, light weight and low price. The disadvantages are the short service life of this type of wood and the need for de-resining the material.

Larch can be a quality replacement. This material is as accessible as pine, but is more durable and strong. They also use for the box:

• hornbeam;
• birch;
• maple;
• oak, etc.

You can combine different species or choose MDF. The main condition is strength, resistance to changes in the external environment and microclimate. Therefore, MDF must be laminated or veneered.

Inserts are often made of plywood, fiberboard or glass. If decorative carving is planned, then wood is used. It all depends on the skills of the master.

Manufacturing process

First, you need to create a drawing that will show all the dimensions and design features of the paneled door. It should be taken into account that the frame should be 4-6 mm smaller than the loot. When all the dimensions are known, they begin to create a wooden box.

Measure and cut 2 vertical posts and 2 horizontal ones. Also the required number of middleware. To form a perfectly even cut, use a circular saw or a sizing machine. If it is not possible to use these tools, then you can use a hacksaw and chisel. It is necessary to achieve an even cut so that the frame elements fit snugly against each other. Check this with a building level or square.

To fasten the parts together, grooves and tenons are made in the required places. They must match in size. The groove is made first, since the tenon is easier to fit. To do this, holes are drilled to the selected depth with a drill or on a drilling machine. The walls are cleaned with a chisel. To maintain a 90° wall angle, use a block. It is attached along the chiselling line.

If you have a router, you can make grooves quickly and efficiently. First, a template is made. Take a sheet of plywood and install restrictive slats. 2 are fixed along the router, 2 – across, taking into account the lengths of the groove and the device. Then a beam is placed under the plywood, in which a hole must be made, and everything is secured. The fixation should be such that nothing moves out of place under the influence of the milling machine. Set the milling depth taking into account the thickness of the template and make a groove.

To make a tenon, the block is secured in a vice and the required number of cuts are made. Next, it is adjusted to fit the groove using a chisel. It should fit easily and tightly into the hole, but not fall out. The fastening points are additionally coated with wood glue or PVA.

The production of the panel begins when all the frame elements are ready. If the inserts are made from chipboard or plywood, they are cut according to the specified dimensions. In places where panels are installed in the frame, chamfers are made. Inserts can be made not only from solid wood, but also from pieces. They are connected to each other by a tongue-and-groove fastening. And for fastening with a chamfer, it is necessary to make cuts.

If you plan to make glass inserts, it is decorated before installation. The glass is secured with glazing beads, because they allow you to quickly replace the panel in case of damage.

Finishing is necessary not only for decoration purposes, but also to preserve wood, extend its service life and increase strength. Natural wood must be treated with antiseptic preparations and then covered with stain and varnish. This will protect the material from exposure to the external environment. It is better to use water-based acrylic varnishes. Unlike alkyds, they change the color of the wood to a lesser extent.

Doors can be painted, covered with veneer, film or laminate. For glass inserts that you plan to decorate with your own hands, it is better to use thermopolished glass. You can paint it, stick a film on it, or create any decoration.

Paneled doors are made not only in factory production. If you have basic carpentry skills and the necessary tools, you can make it yourself.

Purchasing a hand router is a good opportunity to do many useful things around the house, improve its interior and exterior, and carry out repair and construction work. However, in order for a hand router to turn into a useful and effective device, it must be equipped with the appropriate tools - such as cutters for lining or paneling, for working on stone, metal and other materials. You can easily find and purchase such products on the modern market, but before making a choice, you should understand what such cutters are and what parameters they are characterized by.

Making lining with a manual milling cutter is a task that is quite feasible at home

Types of tools for equipping a hand router

When choosing a tool to equip your hand router with, you must first decide what tasks you are going to solve with its help. In addition, you should take into account the characteristics of the material that will be processed (wood cutters, for example, are made of a softer material than stone cutters).

On the modern market, as mentioned above, there are many different cutters designed to equip hand-held power tools. If we talk about the most popular types, we should highlight:

• cutters for lining;
• cutters for panels;
• tools for performing stone work;
• spiral cutters designed for woodworking.

Milling cutters for making lining

Lining, which today is actively used to perform both internal and external finishing work, is a high-quality processed board, on one of the sides of which there is a tongue and groove, and on the other. To make such a finishing material, you need a lining cutter, the task of which is to form grooves and tongues on the side surface of the wooden board.

Milling cutters for making lining are thus divided into two main types depending on which element they form - tongue or groove. Each of these types of cutters for lining, some models of which can also be installed on a manual router, differs both in size and design.

The cutters used for the manufacture of lining also differ in the type of their shank, which can have a diameter of 8 and 12 mm. This allows them to be used to equip equipment of various capacities. A typical cutter for making lining contains the following elements in its design:

• two discs with cutting knives;
• bearing located between the cutting discs;
• an axis on which all structural elements are fixed using a fastening nut.

The cutting part of such cutters, which can be sharpened independently up to four times, is made mainly of VK8 steel alloy. For the manufacture of lining with a manual milling cutter, both universal and specially designed cutters for equipping manual electrical equipment can be used.

The geometric parameters of the lining must comply with the requirements of the relevant regulatory documents, in particular DIN 68126 (Eurolining) and GOST 8242-88 (domestic products). In this regard, the tool used for the manufacture of such products must meet certain requirements both in terms of its dimensions and the configuration of the cutting part.

Tools for stone work

Tools for hand milling, intended for working on stone, are distinguished by the variety of their design. The choice depends not only on what kind of stone needs to be processed, but also on the nature of the upcoming technological operation. Thus, depending on the design, there are radius, profile and overrunning cutters for working on stone, as well as for performing inlay work.

Depending on the material used to make the cutting part, cutters for stone work can be:

• equipped with carbide plates that are soldered onto the cutting part;
• with carbide elements fixed on the cutting part mechanically;
• with diamond coating.

The most effective for stone processing are cutters made using diamond chips. They can be produced by sintering such crumbs or by galvanizing them onto the working surface. More wear-resistant are tools obtained by sintering, the working part of which consists of several layers of diamond chips. The wear resistance of such cutters is explained by the fact that when grinding off the top layer of their working part, the next layer is exposed, the diamond grains of which have not yet been worn out.

Cutters for stone work, on the working surface of which a diamond layer is applied by galvanic method, are less susceptible to deformation and allow processing with higher precision.

Figurine cutters

Using cutters for paneling (or figurine), thin planks of a certain configuration are made, which are used to frame various decorative elements. Panels are most often used for the manufacture of decorative frames, as well as for the design of furniture facades. A paneled element used exclusively for decorative purposes can be cut along the contour of the product. Using milling cutters for panels, it is possible to produce products that simultaneously perform two functions: they act as a decorative element and fix the connected elements together using the “tenon and groove” principle.

On the modern market, various cutters for infill are offered, which involve the production of such a decorative element in one or several passes. When making a panel in several passes, at each stage of the technological process, a layer of material is removed for which the tool used is designed. As a rule, in such cases, not one paneling tool is used, but a whole set of them.

Panel cutters can work in vertical and horizontal planes. Vertical cutters for infill are used to process baseboards and the edges of cornices, which involves processing to a greater depth. Horizontal cutters for infill are distinguished by a larger diameter of the cutting part. They are used to process furniture facades, shelves and door panels. Although cutters of this type can improve processing productivity, they are significantly inferior to vertical cutters in terms of cutting depth. It should be noted that almost no production can do without panel-type cutters.

Spiral cutters

Spiral cutters are also actively used in furniture production. In appearance and design they are very similar to drills. Like spiral drills, their working part contains grooves, with the help of which chips of waste material are removed from the processing zone. Spiral cutters are divided into the following categories:

• with a downward cut;
• with an upward cut;
• combining both mentioned types.

The main areas of application of spiral-type cutters, which are presented in a wide range on the modern market, are:

• cutting of material;
• formation of elements of various configurations on the surface of solid wood products;
• creating grooves and recesses of various configurations on the surface of wood products.

Elegant wooden paneled structures are a decoration for any home, especially if they are made soundly, with high quality, and with love. If you work well with wood, and you have a hand router and a lot of patience, then it will be quite possible to implement plans for producing a non-industrial version of a paneled structure at home with your own hands. In the photo you can see an approximate process technology.

Properly assembled structures are made up of special wooden planks, called panels, and a good-quality frame that forms the basis of the structure. One is inserted into the other according to the tenon-groove principle. In principle, structures of this type can be made from any materials, but wood is the most rewarding.

A paneled door is not the easiest option to make yourself. It would be much easier to take a monolithic shield. This is purely a matter of the owner's taste. If you feel strong enough to do such intricate work, then prepare your workplace accordingly. All necessary cutters should always be at hand.

In addition to a hand router (cutter diameter 12 mm, machine parameters, especially the collet, must correspond to this), when manufacturing a paneled structure you will need:

• two end mills for the production of strapping;
• The fig bevel of a high-quality panel is made with a special cutter;
• cutter connecting elements along its axis;

The following materials are also required:

1. Strapping bars. Approximate thickness - 19mm, length - 57mm. For each doorway these characteristics are calculated separately.
2. Furniture board. The basis of the whole idea. Its thickness is standard - 16 mm.
3. Wooden blocks are in abundance. This is necessary for a “margin of safety”. Mistakes happen to everyone.
4. Varnish. This element is optional. Perhaps you will varnish at another time.
5. Glue. Required material.

When making a paneled structure at home, there is a little trick: it is not necessary that all structural elements must be made of solid wood. For internal parts hidden under the skin, you can use chipboard.

Manufacturing stages

1. Strapping bars. A very important part is cutting the profile along the axis. A test cut is specially performed in order to ensure the quality and accuracy of the connection between the profile blocks and the counter-profile blocks.

Each of the bars is laid face down. Next, the longitudinal profiles are milled on all sides using a hand router, and the counter-profiles are milled with a special counter-profile cutter from the end part. You can watch this process in more detail in the video. To add individuality to the work, the front part can be processed on a milling machine.

1. Shield splicing. The number of panels in a paneled structure is thought out in advance. How they should be located and how much space they should take up. Will there be slabs, a fan-shaped window, etc. at the top?

Once the decision has been made, they proceed to the manufacture of individual panels. The thickness of each element, naturally, should be less than the thickness of the bars. In order to process the edges of the finished product, a hand router is centered on the thickness of the part and I process each surface separately. In this case, some need to be processed in a face down position, others - up. This will depend on which side of the structure the panel will be located on. When joining elements, their thickness is of paramount importance, since it is an indicator of how accurately the panel will sit in the desired groove. Good execution of each element is the key to success. There is no need to rush; if there is any uncertainty about the parameters, you should refer to the rough workpiece.

The milled tenon should fit into the groove of the strapping easily, without pressure. It would be a good idea to verify this using a rough part. With the above parameters of the edged bars, the tenon should have a size of about 8 mm.

When processing the edge of the panel, an edge called figaree is obtained. It is recommended to use a hand router to make two or three approaches, removing not very significant layers of wood, checking the groove each time. During factory production, at this stage, a selection of cylindrical scants with a special corrugated surface is made, which speeds up the process. This cannot be boasted at home, so the process of cutting grooves and tenons will take some time and must be perfected to the smallest detail.

1. Gluing and varnishing. The last steps: inserting all the panels into the required grooves of the bars, gluing the parts together and varnishing. It is important not to overdo it here. It is not necessary to grind paneled structures with this manufacturing technology.

Installation of panel doors

To install a paneled structure in a doorway, it is necessary to make a frame. If you have mastered the door, then making a box with your own hands will not be difficult for you. The box consists of four bars, pairs of the same length: two racks, the upper and lower bars of the box. It is made in accordance with the parameters of the doorway. It is more logical to make it with the same tongue-and-groove connection as the door itself.

When making a box, it is necessary to think over the overall design of the lower threshold and the upper part of the box. All decorative elements also need to be thought out in advance. Their manufacture at a later stage is a big risk, since after installation of the structure they may be damaged.

So, after the box is assembled, hinges are attached to the paneled panel structure (after all, every handyman has a drill and self-tapping screws hidden under the hollow). Wedges are driven into the grooves of the already manufactured and assembled structure for greater fixation.

Install in the right place the lock of the cylinder lock, the lock of the mortise lock with a escutcheon (usually both types of locks are used, but here everything is at your discretion). You can limit yourself to only a mortise lock. Next, the hinges of the structure are attached to the box and moved to the side. If the paneled door doesn't fall, it's a victory. If the weight of the structure is too large, then you need to change the hinges, make them more massive and durable.

At home, making and installing a paneled door is not as difficult as it seems. It is important to have a hand router on hand, bars of the required thickness and not be afraid to experiment with grooves. Always use a rough blank for trial work.