Anyone use Space Balls in Raised Panel Door Construction??

[Martin Wasner]

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.

[Leo Graywacz]

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

[Lee Schierer]

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.

[Warren Lake]

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.

[jack duren]

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

[Mike Cutler]

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.

[peter gagliardi]

I have never heard of, or experienced any kind of bleeding from the space balls- been using for probably 20-25 years I think. However, I do almost no staining, and when I do, it is dye based. I also pre-stain and/or pre-finish all my panel edges prior to glue up. That way when it does shrink back a bit I don't get the embarrassing heavy stain concentration on the edges to show, or worse, the unstained light edges.
The 23 ga pins in the top and bottom rails in the center, are a good way to acheive the same net effect.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have never heard of, or experienced any kind of bleeding from the space balls- been using for probably 20-25 years I think. However, I do almost no staining, and when I do, it is dye based. I also pre-stain and/or pre-finish all my panel edges prior to glue up. That way when it does shrink back a bit I don't get the embarrassing heavy stain concentration on the edges to show, or worse, the unstained light edges.
The 23 ga pins in the top and bottom rails in the center, are a good way to acheive the same net effect.

What he said..........