Sawdust on the Floor

When we converted our garage area to living space, we did all of the normal things that a project like that entails. There was one thing that presented a problem, or as a motivational speaker would say, an opportunity. Our builder had installed our circuit breaker panel in the garage and when it was in the unfinished garage, it was in an ideal location. However, since we were finishing off the garage, the circuit breaker panel really didn’t do anything to help our decorating scheme. To an electrician, it may be a work of art, but not to my wife. So we came up with the following method the hide the circuit breaker panel.

What makes this an even more interesting project is the comment we have received from many who have been in our home.
Everyone assumes that there’s a dartboard behind those doors!
After hearing this , I considered adding another panel like this that would actually conceal a dart board, but soon forgot about that when I considered how many holes I would have to fix when errant darts missed the dart board.

Since the circuit breaker panel was located within 48“ of a corner, we decided to built out the wall from the corner to just past the breaker panel. The built out wall was made from conventional framing lumber, and was covered with sheet rock. We also took an opportunity to install added insulation in the built out area. I also added framing so that I could insert the face frame and doors, that cover the breaker panel.

This area also houses other electrical control panels so I made the panel large enough to cover all of the boxes. I figured that for day to day operation, simply opening the doors would provide sufficient room, however I built the entire panel so that it could be easily be removed when needed. The opening in the sheet rock was 27” by 27”

I started building this project by making the face frame. It is made of 4/4 oak, the face frame is 31” long and 31” tall. Both the rails and stiles are 2” wide. I used Kreg Pocket screw technology to connect the rails and stiles together. To make the panel removable, I installed an additional board perpendicular to the rails and stiles. These were connected to back of the face frame with Kreg Pocket screws, I offset these boards ½” back from the inside edges of the rails and stiles. When the panel was complete, I used 3” sheet rock screws to attach the panel to the framing lumber. The applied molding actually extends beyond the frame of the panel, and helps conceal the rough edges of the sheetrock.

The doors were the interesting part of this project. The rails and stiles are connected using what is known as cope and stick joinery. To cut the joinery, I used a set of router bits like those shown on the right. These bits are very big, and can not be used with a hand router, no matter the size of the router. I choose to use my shaper table equipped with the bits.

This is a multiple step process; the first step is to dress all of the stock for the rails and stiles. I used a combination of my jointer and the thickness planer to ensure that all of the stock was flat, square and all the same dimensional size. As I normally will do, I cut the rails and stiles longer then their final lengths. I also made extra pieces of each, in case I somehow screwed up one piece. Gee, that never happens, does it?

I started by cutting the joint along the inside edge of all of the stock. The hard part of process is to adjust the router bit to the proper height. It took several iterative steps to get the correct value. Once I found this value, I wanted to register or record the setting. The easiest method was to make a template out of UHMW plastic. To ensure good results when you cut this joint, be sure to use hold downs on your router or shaper table to keep the stock from raising up, also use feather boards to keep the stock against the fence.

Once all of the inside joints are cut, its time to cut the mating joint, which is where to fun begins. First step is to insert to opposing router bit into the shaper, and adjust it for the correct height. Since this is basically a negative of the first joint we cut, I used the same jig I made above to make the “initial” adjustments. Keep in mind that we are cutting this joint on the ends of the rails, which are only 1 3/4” wide. It would be extremely dangerous to try to move these thin pieces of stock across the spinning router bit, so it is recommended that you use some type of support to hold the stock while you route the end. A lot of woodworkers will use the miter gauge from your table saw for this purpose, which is better than free hand, but not the ideal method of holding the stock.

A better way is to use a shaper jig. This tool will ride in the miter gauge slot of your shaper. The shaper jig has the same shoulder as your common miter gauge, and the angle is adjusted like the miter gauge. But this is where similarity ends. The shaper jig has two hold downs, one is for your stock and the second is for a backer piece of wood. The backer piece is very vital to making clean well fitting joints. As your stock leaves the back end of the router bit, tear out is a very real possibility. So we always install a backer piece of scrap wood behind the stock.

Because your stock will sit on top of the shaper jig, instead of directly on top of the table, you have to take this into account when you adjust the height of the shaper/router bit. Your backup piece will quickly become torn up, so replace it frequently, otherwise it becomes useless.

It is very important to cut the ends of the rails square before you start cutting the end joints, otherwise your doors will not be square when you assemble them. The other issue is how to size them correctly. You can not simply take the width of the doors, subtract the width of the stiles, and cut the rails to that length. My set actually will cut into the length 3/8” on each pass, so I have to add ¾” to the length of the rails. You will need to check your router bit set for the amount of wood removed from the ends on each pass and adjust the length of your rails accordingly.

When the joints in the rails and stiles are cut correctly, the joints will fit together and form a very strong joint. But the key word here is correctly. If either set up is off just a little bit, then the joints will not sit flat. So it is very important to do a trial fit before you cut all of your stock.

The next step is to make the raised panel doors, and then trim out the panel, but that’s enough for today. Tomorrow is soon enough for that, besides it’s time for supper.

Related posts:

1. Woodworking Project – Arched Top Mirror Part 3
2. Woodworking Project – Quilt Hanger
3. Woodworking Project – Arched Top Mirror Part 2
4. Woodworking Project- DVD Stand