Building doors for cabinets and other pieces of furniture can be more complicated that you think. Sure, you are talking about something simple that covers and opening… but, even the most basic door can take many shapes. From a painted piece of MDF on butt hinges to a hand-cut divided light masterpiece inlaid with antique reproduction glass – you can make them as fancy or as plain as you would like.

For the majority of woodworkers, the classic frame and panel door is what’s going to be seen most frequently. Even something as seemingly straightforward as this can involve many different decisions. Do you build the frame with mitered rails and stiles? Haunched through tenons? How about making it look like a frame and panel door by applying molding to a flat panel? The options freeze many beginning woodworkers in their tracks.

However, one of the best options is to build the doors using a cope and stick setup on a shaper or router table. The cutters are either a matched pair of bits (to cut the groove and molding on the inside of the panel and to cut the ‘coped’ joint on the end of the rails that fit into the side stiles). Others allow the woodworker to disassemble and reassemble the bit to cut both profiles. Still others have both profiles on one bit and can be raised or lowered to get the desired results.

The ‘sticking’ bit cuts the profile on the edges and the slot that holds the door’s panel in place. The ‘coping’ part cuts a profile on the ends of the cross members (rails) that perfectly match the stick. They are very easy to use, but they do take some care to get right.

Eagle America’s Retail Store Manager, Miki, pointed out some of the pitfalls woodworkers commonly encounter. “Getting nice 90 degree profiles on the edge of the rails is critical to getting a square door. If you are off by even a little bit, it’s going to be very difficult to get it right.”

That’s one of the reasons why Eagle America and other tool manufacturers offer coping sleds to help cut this critical part of the joint. The sleds slide across the top of the router table and register against a fence or have a runner that slides in a miter slot. Woodworkers can then place the board down and clamp it tight. “It’s critical that the board be secure before trying to rout,” said Miki. “If it moves, you could easily ruin the cut.”

These sleds offer an additional benefit. “Since the board is backed up by the stop, it reduces the likelihood of tear out where the bit exits the cut. Since the bit is cutting into the end grain of the rail, this is a very strong possibility.”

During any woodworking operation, safety is paramount. By using a clamp to hold the word down, woodworkers can keep their hands safely away form the bit and maintain firm control over the sled. “Anything that helps you make cuts more safely enhances the enjoyment of the hobby.”

Does it matter if you cut the cope or stick of the joint first? “Absolutely not,” said Miki. “It’s all a matter of personal preference. However, if you need to make many doors for a project like a set of kitchen cabinets, you might want to run the ‘stick’ part of the joint on the edges of the rails and stiles. You can run dozens of feet of stock this way, then cut what you need to length and cope the ends as you build.”

Eagle’s coping sleds are made with replaceable backing stops that can be replaced if they get dinged up or you use a different bit profile.

Eric, Eagle America’s Product Manager, mentions another important fact about building doors, “Make sure you do not glue the solid wood or plywood panel into place when assembling your doors. Even finished, the wood will want to expand and contract to equalize moisture content. Gluing the panel in place – even by inadvertently having the glue from the frame assembly getting onto the panel, can lead to broken joints in the future.” Eric advised using a product such as door tape or Space Balls to keep the unglued panel from rattling in the frame.

While cope and stick joints are very attractive and easy to cut, some woodworkers feel the joint may not be strong enough for larger, heavier doors. “In that case,” Miki said, “it’s possible to cut a floating tenon to further reinforce the joint. But, for the vast majority of cabinet doors, the cope and stick joint with today’s modern glues will be plenty strong to endure years of use and abuse.”

An attractive joint that makes door making easier? There’s no reason to put off door making now that you know the secrets of the cope and stick joint.

If you have been a long-time reader of Tom’s Workbench, you can remember about a year ago when I demonstrated my first hammer veneer project. Since then, I’ve dabbled in laying large sheets over smaller pieces of substrate, making easy yet eye-catching veneered projects.

Well, for my latest project, I wanted to veneer the top of a circular stand I’m building.  I went to veneersupplies.com and looked at the walnut burl sheets.  While I could have gone for a bigger sheet to cover the entire project in one fell swoop, a less expensive and smaller lot of walnut burl veneer caught my eye.  Never one to pass on a good deal, I placed my order and waited for delivery. I also bought some ash banding to wrap around the outside of the project and some veneer tape to help hold the sheets together while I laid them up. Yes, this was going to be my first attempt at joining veneer sheets to cover a larger area.

After I tore into the package to see the lovely veneer inside, I misted two of the pieces down with Super Soft 2 veneer softener I had purchased during my last veneering attempt.  This makes the veneer very supple and easy to apply. I put them under a corian platen and let them sit overnight.

When I was ready to get to work, I discovered that the veneer edges look straight, but they aren’t really dead straight and need to be trimmed.  I stacked the two sheets on top of each other and used a very sharp Japanese carpenters knife to slice them cleanly.  Once I was satisfied, I turned the blanks 90 degrees and cut them in half, giving me four quarters. I arranged them until they looked pretty.

Then, I identified the ‘good’ side of the veneer (Both sides were gorgeous…), flipped it upside down and taped the ‘bad’ side together using some blue painter’s tape.  I had to make absolutely sure that the seams butt together tightly without overlapping – a very important step to take.

Once I got this all taped together, it was a simple matter to flip it up back to the ‘good’ side and get ready to work with veneer tape.  This is some very interesting stuff – it’s gummed just like a lick-and-stick postage stamp and it’s covered in holes.  While using it to tape up the seams, I discovered two very important things:

1. The condensation on the outside of my cold glass of water was plenty to moisten the tape when the adhesive side is dragged against it, and
2. The row of center holes allows you to see and ensure your seams don’t open up while gluing it down.

It took one long strip one way and one the other, and bingo, I was ready to glue the veneer down. I flipped the assembly back upside down and removed the blue painter’s tape, and all four pieces held together beautifully with the veneer tape.

I made up a batch of hide glue and laid it over the top of the 3/4″ plywood circle I had cut, making sure to spread it out evenly.  Then, I set the taped up piece ‘bad’ side down into the glue.  I used the veneer hammer to push from the center of the assembly outward, forcing air bubbles and excess glue off to the side.  After a while, the veneer gripped tenaciously, exactly where I wanted it.

After I had it pushed into the glue, I flipped the assembly over with the veneer face down on some craft paper on my bench and set a corian platen on top of that, and finally rested my thickness planer on top of that and let it set for two hours.

When I came back, I trimmed the excess veneer from the perimeter and proceeded to sand the edge of the assembly smooth.  I also wrapped some 180 grit sandpaper around a block of wood and sanded the surface. The burl has no grain direction, so I sanded in circles.The result is just stunning, needing a little extra sanding on the outside of the circle to finalize the round shape before I edge band it and to finish sanding the top.

Now that I know the basics of using veneer tape, I’m looking forward to laying up some more intricate designs.