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Thread: Anyone use Space Balls in Raised Panel Door Construction??

  1. #16
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    N Illinois
    Posts
    4,602
    Yes, always in raised panel....Very helpful....Good use of small $
    Jerry

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    Yes, but I often cut them in half depending on how much slop I ended up with in the panels.
    You might need to hunt around a bit, but they do have different diameter balls available.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
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    6,394
    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    Yes, but I often cut them in half depending on how much slop I ended up with in the panels.
    Me too.

    I put a drop of medium or thick CA glue in the bottom of the groove to hold them in place for assembly.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    I live in NH
    Posts
    104
    looks like the space balls are gona be in use in my shop too ty guys.

  5. Hello ... New member here and new to woodworking. I'm 70 and a little senile, but that's not going to stop me. I've read as much as I could to find about floating raised panel spacing and dimensioning, and still don't get it -- about the 3/16" spacing. I'm thinking of using the 1/4" spaceballs or panel buddies. Now, i have cope and stick with grooves that are 1/2" deep by 1/4" wide. The panel opening is 6"; that makes the "full inside" width between grooves 7". The stiles and frames are of white oak, and the panels are solid brazilian canary wood. After some reading, I'm assuming/understand I should have 1/4" spacing off each side of the groove, so that makes my panel width at 6-1/2". But that gives me panel engagement of only 1/4" on each side. If I use the 1/4" panel buddies (to which I am leaning) or 1/4" spaceballs, that would give me theoretically "no compression." I understand the balls or buddies are not exactly dimensioned. At this theoretical "no compression" panel size, how wide should I make the panels, in order to get proper holding pressure, yet not too much compression so as to break glue joints: 6-5/8" or 6-3/4" or other size? Thanks for your help.

  6. #21
    Is there any reason not to use appropriately sized backer rod in a pinch, if you don't space balls on hand? Compressible, closed cell foam is really all it is. Seems like it would serve the same purpose.

  7. #22
    We use a lot of them as well. Have any of you heard of or had issues with staining? I remember a thread on a commercial forum where a few people had problems with the rubber/balls causing a stain that bled up into the panel edge. I chalked it up to perhaps some manufacturing issue with the brand/source of rubber spacers that were used but it always pops into my head when Im sticking them in.

    To the OP you can search youtube and find videos of insertion machines that dont use balls but cut pieces off large rolls and a guy just stands there all day inserting rubber spacers into sticking grooves.

    Most commodity commercial cabinetry now (lowes/home depot), the sticking is completely pre-finished, the panels are completely pre-finished, and the door is assembled and clamped. Looks horrible, poor quality, but its the way of the world.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Canton, MI
    Posts
    529
    I've had a problem in the past with them bleeding through into the finish. Not good. It hasn't happened every time, so I think some batches may be worse than others. I use the cylindrical versions now, I forgot the brand, that promise not to bleed through. Oh, and when you spill them, you don't have to look as far...don't ask.

    If you use too many of them, whichever brand, it can be a nightmare compressing them during glue-up.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Long Beach CA
    Posts
    47
    The balls are usually a little oversized so when compressed in your groove it should increase the size even more

  10. #25
    We get staining from the space balls. Maple and white oak seem to get it the worst. We don't do much natural, so the oil based stain washes out the oil from the space balls.

    We use 1/4" balls, and make the panel a 1/4" less than the opening. As in, a 12" rail gets a 11-3/4" wide panel. Reading this makes me wonder if we should do 3/8" less than the opening. Once in a while we'll get doors that don't go together nicely, and squishing them less would probably reduce the oil getting squeezed out.

  11. #26
    I use 23ga pins on either end(grain) of the panel. Shoot them through the backside of the door with 5/8" pins.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKean, PA
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    You can also make your own spacers from a tube of 100% silicone caulk. Just squirt out a 1/4" diameter bead several inches long on a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Let it cure and then cut it into short lengths.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  13. #28
    I use quarter inch white naughahyde padding from upholstery places just cut the width I want. I pin in the center or could just use glue the foam would probably keep it centered. on the bottom rail i use 1/8" pieces of wood then the foam on top. bit more time than space balls, works better compresses nicely.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    odessa, missouri
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    If the $20 or so isn't a problem I would buy. They do make different ones these days....http://www.cshardware.com/hardware/h...l-spacers.html https://www.amazon.com/Space-Balls-B...ds=space+balls
    Last edited by jack duren; 11-26-2017 at 7:59 AM.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,927
    Christopher

    In the limited use I've had with them, spaceballs, I too thought they took up too much room and left too little panel material in the groove.
    When I searched the Internet about it, the spacing, I found that some folks cut them in half and used them that way. I don't think that's really practical for a person running a shop for a living, but for a guy in his garage, it worked for me.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

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