The Anatomy Of A Cabinet Door
In order to help you make informed decisions, we have put together a small visual guide to the anatomy of our doors.
At times when specific design elements are being discussed, it can become necessary to familiarize one's self with the components and construction of our doors. We have explanations of things all over this website, but we acknowledge that sometimes it's best to just see how things are done!
Above is an unassembled shaker style door that utilizes the 5-piece panel-in-frame construction method. You can see from the picture above what we mean by "5-piece construction" as there are four frame pieces and one panel, and also what we mean by the "panel-in-frame construction" as this door will eventually be permanently assembled so that the panel is contained securely within the four frame pieces.
To the left and right side of the door panel, we have "Stiles" which run vertically from the very top to the very bottom. Above and below the panel we have Rails which do not run the full width of the door but rather are made to fit within the left and right Stiles using tongue and groove construction. Within the frame, we have the panel.
This is a Shaker style door. This door is destined to be painted, and so we have chosen to construct the solid wood frame with Poplar and the panel with 1/4" MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). Poplar machines well and is less likely to tear out and create imperfections, it is also one of the more stable wood choices as it resists warping (twisting, bowing, and cupping.) MDF was chosen for paint grade doors also because of its stability and its fantastic machining quality. It also takes paint smoothly and evenly.
