# Forcing Undersize Panels to Front of Coped Frame



## Curmudgeon10 (Nov 12, 2014)

I couldn't think of a better title for this; sorry. I've made some cabinet doors using my rail and stile router bits, which produce a 1/4 inch mortise to accept a panel, either raised or flat. Always in the past I've used raised panels, and starting with 3/4" inch stock, still need to mill down the edges of the panels slightly for a proper fit in the mortise. Now I'm using "1/4" inch birch plywood for flat panels, the 1/4 in quotes because the stuff I bought is barely 3/16" thick, so the panels REALLY float in the doors. I seem to recall seeing or reading a hack for this problem that consisted of inserting pieces of rubber (??) on the back side of the panels to force them to sit flat against the front of the door.

Anyone know of this or another method?


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Clear silicone, mask frame and panel with masking tape, run a bead of silicone, wipe excess with a rag dampened with windex, move to clean spots on rag frequently, carefully remove tape.


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## Curmudgeon10 (Nov 12, 2014)

Might work if my panels were perfectly flat, but three of the four have a slight bow.


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## Terry Q (Jul 28, 2016)

Since you are using plywood you can glue the panels in. When I ran into that problem a while back I just wedged some brad nails into the gap until the glue dried, then pulled out the brads. Nothing special about brads, just were handy at the time and the right thickness. 


In woodworking there is always more then one way to accomplish something.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I normally use a thin sliver of wood I put in with glue after the finishing work is done.


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## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

I've tightened up loose panels with pieces of caulking backer rod...they're soft and flexible and spongy....push them in with a thin screw driver or putty knife. A brad or pin driven at an angle can also be used.


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## Curmudgeon10 (Nov 12, 2014)

Thanks. That's what I'll do.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Terry Q said:


> Since you are using plywood you can glue the panels in. When I ran into that problem a while back I just wedged some brad nails into the gap until the glue dried, then pulled out the brads. Nothing special about brads, just were handy at the time and the right thickness.
> 
> 
> In woodworking there is always more then one way to accomplish something.


I have done the same thing. Only I have used screw drivers as wedges to hold the panel until the glue dries.

George


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

i slide tooth picks in the gap on the back side, so the panel is flush in the front, then apply finish to the front side. the finish will hold the panel there so the picks can be removed and you can finish the back side. if there is a stubborn corner, you can slide the tooth pick in the back side and snip it off and leave it.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

You might look into window spline: it's the rubber strip used to keep window screens in place in their frames. I used it with muslin to make some room dividers, and it works pretty well. It'd be even better for a floating panel, since it's compressible as the wood moves over time.


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