# raised panel



## jk pine (Nov 10, 2011)

Hey guys I have a little bit of a problem. The panels in my raised panel doors contract then I can see a little bit of unpainted wood. I'm wandering what I'm doing wrong. I put brads on the inside of the door to keep the panel in place. Any help would be appreciated.
Ps. I'm not really interested in painting the panel before I put it together as that would be to time consuming.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The panel in the door is suppose to float. It is normal and there is nothing you did wrong. If you make a lot of doors it would be best if you get some rubber spacers to put on each side of the panel to absorb the shrinkage evenly. It might just be the wood you used may have been seasoned good enough and if dried better wouldn't have shrunk as much. As far as putting brads in it, only put the brads in the center. Otherwise if panel shrinks some more the wood can split where you put brads in it. I would just paint the raw wood and let it be.


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## 12penny (Nov 21, 2008)

What steve said and....they have to be painted/stained before assembly. No way around it.


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## jk pine (Nov 10, 2011)

Ok thanx for the info


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## Clamps (May 10, 2012)

It isn't necessary to paint/stain the entire panel before assembly either, a quick once-over along the edges is sufficient!


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## mjb (May 9, 2012)

As noted above, the panels need to float in the door. So if you decide to paint the panel before assembly, make sure that it has plenty of time to dry before putting it all together.


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## woodbutcher360 (Jul 1, 2012)

I'm cheap, I just use a dab of glue in the center of the panel dado. Allows the panel to move through the seasons.


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