DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
....
These cabinets are
top-notch and (supposedly) of high quality. Here are some pictures:

I hate to rain on your parade, but these look like pretty shoddy work.
Mitered rails and stiles? On a quality scale of 1 to 10, they look
like about a 2. And that's what I would have said if there WEREN'T
gaping cracks.

Judging by the workmanship, the door panels are probably glued into the
frames. As the humidity changes throughout the year the panel can
expand and, unless it floats within the frame, can force the joints
apart. You can check if the panels are floating by simply sliding them
with your hand. If they are done correctly, you should be able to
slide the panels up/down/left/right a little bit inside the frame.

If the panels ARE floating, you can probably fix this. Depending if
you have any talent or experience with woodworking, you could drill a
hole in the side of the door perpendicular to the mitered joint and
using a screw to pull the pieces back together. There are ways to do
this such that you can disguise the screw hole when you're done.

Sorry. I hope you didn't pay a lot for them.