# Style and Rail Problems



## sawduststeve (Jan 11, 2009)

I am making raised panel drawer fronts for a bed that I am building for my daughter. The problem that I am having is that the styles sometimes don't fit the rail. For some reason the end cuts do not seem to run level all the way across the board. I am using 1 3/4" pine for the rails. I run the rail cutter in my router which is mounted in my saw table. The style cutter is in my 3 Hp. woodtek shaper. Any ideas are welcome! Thanks Steve


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## Vin55 (Dec 18, 2008)

sawduststeve said:


> I am making raised panel drawer fronts for a bed that I am building for my daughter. The problem that I am having is that the styles sometimes don't fit the rail. For some reason the end cuts do not seem to run level all the way across the board. I am using 1 3/4" pine for the rails. I run the rail cutter in my router which is mounted in my saw table. The style cutter is in my 3 Hp. woodtek shaper. Any ideas are welcome! Thanks Steve


 Why aren't your running both of them in the shaper? :confused1:


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Steve,
First off, make sure all your endcuts on your styles and rails are square. Check them to make sure. Then, when you go to shape the ends of the rails, either clamp them to a miter guage if your shaper has a slot for one and use a back up piece of wood behing it so you don't get any tearout on the trailing end. Shape the ends first, then shape the sides. If everything is square to start, and you are careful when running them through the shaper, they should come out right. Do you have any pics you can post?
Mike Hawkins


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## Vin55 (Dec 18, 2008)

firehawkmph said:


> Steve,
> First off, make sure all your endcuts on your styles and rails are square. Check them to make sure. Then, when you go to shape the ends of the rails, either *clamp them to a miter guage if your shaper has a slot for one and use a back up piece of wood *behing it so you don't get any tearout on the trailing end. Shape the ends first, then shape the sides. If everything is square to start, and you are careful when running them through the shaper, they should come out right. Do you have any pics you can post?
> Mike Hawkins


:thumbsup: That's the way I do it also. The ends of the rails fit perfect everytime.


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## sawduststeve (Jan 11, 2009)

The reason that I run one bit in router and the other in the shaper is because I don't have to change bits back and forth. Also the shaper has a miter gauge with a backboard that I use as was mentioned. So are you saying that I should cut the end cuts before I cut the rail cuts? The problem with that is with narrow doors the pieces for the end are real short and they have to be clamped to the miter gauge to offer any safety at all. I will try to take some picture tonight and post. Thanks


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Yes Steve,
cut the short cut across the width of your horizontal pieces, (I get the names mixed up). You are cutting across the end grain and it has a tendency to tear out on the trailing end. I use a scrap of wood behind the good piece to help eliminate this. If you do get a little tearout, when you do the long cut, it ususally takes care of it.
Mike Hawkins


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## char (Mar 24, 2009)

Hi Steve, sorry to hear about your problem, I bought a jig two years ago that makes perfect stiles and rails everytime. (its done with a handheld router) You may want to contact John at [email protected]. I'm not sure if he is still selling them but it is the best jig I have. I heard he is writing a book on handheld routers.


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## Lefthanded (Mar 21, 2009)

Steve,

Rails are horizontal, Stiles are vertical. You "Cope & stick" these pieces to fit. The rail is cut to length and the ends are "coped" with the router or shaper ( Rail bit - the one that will produce the tounge ) then all pieces are run thru using the stile bit( inside profile which has the grove in it ) The rails on drawers are typically narrower then the stiles (1 1/2 rails, 2 3/8"stiles give or take!) A nice look however, is to just use the inside profile bit (stile) on all your pieces and miter the corners to make yor drawer faces. use corner clamps if you got them or pin nail. If you use just clamps you'll need 4 per drawer. Clamp all around. 

Suggestion: use pieces more then twice as wide as the final size. cope the ends, run the profile on the outer edges, then rip to with that you need. That will get two rails per drawer. Bob 
 
​​​​​


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## edp (May 25, 2007)

*Stiles stand and Rails are like rungs*

So much for the Dale Carnegie approach to naming. Always, did I just say always? Always cut the ends of the rails first. This is a cope cut, across the grain and so, it should be performed with a backing board to prevent tear out as your cutter exits the wood. Use a wide enough backing board and it can hold you square without the miter guage. Make sure your fence is not keeping your board from going in as far as the guide bearing will allow. Shallow cope cuts = no fit. After the cope cuts are completed, all boards get introduced to the mating cutter which makes rip cuts in line with the grain. It is advisable to make this type of cut in 2 or 3 passes resetting the fence after each session to avoid splintering the wood in line with the grain. Again, make sure your final cut is performed with the stock against the guide bearing on the bit. Shallow rip cuts = no fit.

Ed


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

If I understand you correctly in your explaination, it sounds to me like you are not passing the endgrain through perpendicular to the bit and that may be why your ends are not lining up correctly. You have to make sure you are perpendicular so that the two line up correctly when you join them into the final piece. I built all my kitchen cabinets as raised panels. It takes a while but a set of bits should line up correctly.

I made up a set of rail and stiles that I cut perfectly to what I wanted and then marked them and set them aside to use as a guide when I setup for the next set of cuts. It is like a jig to set the bit at the right height so the cuts were exactly the same on all the doors.


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