Raised Panel Dimensions

[Christopher Kurdziel]

I'm building a tv stand that has raised panels in the sides. The grooves are 1/4" wide and 1/4" deep. The dimensions from the bottom of the groove to the bottom of the other groove is 7 1/4" for width and 10 5/8 for height How do I size my panel to fit in it? I plan on using spaceballs to keep the panel centered. I was going to take an 1/8" off each dimension so would that be ok to make the panel 7 1/8" for width and 10 1/2" for height?

I'm also unsure on how to fit them. I'm going to be making these on the table saw so how thick do I want the edge to be on the panel? Would I want to set my fence to 3/16" so I end up with a 3/16" thick edge that slightly goes into the groove? I'm afraid that it will push the divider over and not allow the other panel to fit.

Here is a picture of the panels

[Wayne Lomman]

1/8" clearance should be okay.

You are correct that you will need to set your saw to less than 1/4". It will take a bit of trial and error to get it right. When it is right the glue up will work fine. Dry fit everything then take it apart and glue it.

The problem you are dealing with is due to having to do the panels on the saw. If you could do them with a spindle moulder or a router, you would be able to have a profile that has a flat area that goes into the groove and fitting is much neater and simpler. Cheers

[Robert Engel]

Depends on how wide the panel is. A rule of thumb is 1/8" per 12" of width.

An easy way to dimension the panel is measure is use 2 thin sticks & place each end in the bottom of the groove, then clamp together and measure.
For the width just use the tenon to tenon distance on your rails.

There are several ways to make raised panels by machine. There are many videos available on YouTube. The method I like (which I've never used) cut shallow grooves on the faces to form a 90º edge, then cut the bevel to the edge. Or simply cut the bevel and fine tune the face lip with a shoulder plane. Either way, you can choose to either dial in to the exact dimension needed to fit correctly or cut them heavy and and fine tune with a handplane.

BTW, its quite easy (and rewarding) to make bevelled panels with hand planes.

[Christopher Kurdziel]

Wow, I was not thinking when I posted this. I do have a tenon going into a mortise for the center. In that case, the panel will not move it. Thanks for the input so far. I'll glue up an extra panel or find scrap to get the fit just right. Then cut all the good panels.