I have a question on wood panel construction. I'm making a tall case clock with side panels as in the image below (letter G on the drawing). Several of you previously advised me to use 1/2-inch thick wood for the panels with a 1/4-inch tongue around the edges to fit into 1/4-inch rabbets in the stiles and rails.
Without writing a long explanation, I'm not following the plans exactly and 3/8-inch thick panels without the tongue (set into a 3/8-inch rabbet) would make things easier.
Here's the question: These panels will be 10 inches wide and 44 inches long. The wood is quarter-sawn white oak. I'll make up the panels from strips 2 1/2 inches to 3 inches wide. I'll cut the strips oversize and then trim out any warpage and run them through the planer to thickness, then flip the strips before glue-up so the grain alternates. Do you think 3/8-inch thickness would work as well as 1/2-inch in such a long (44 inches) panel? THANKS!
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