I am under strict orders to have beadboard doors on my new bathroom vanity project. I have the first section's face frame done in Beech (pic below). The doors will be a frame and panel, and I want the panel portion to be in Beech also (I can find only pre-painted beadboard panels here locally, and some knotty pine, and I don't think either will match the stain).
So, I'm thinking of getting a beading bit, ripping 4/4 stock to about 1 1/4" or so, beading one edge of each face, then resawing the stock into two pieces about 3/8" thick. The door frame would have a dado to receive the beaded pieces, but I'm unsure how to allow for wood movement and maintain tight joints between the little beaded "sticks".
Should I also use a ship-lap style joint on each piece and allow them to slide over each other? I've also considered using small foam backer rods in the bottom of the dado or "Space Balls" from Rockler. Any suggestions would be appreciated!