The auto parts stores sell tubes of Windshield Gasket Repair silicone. This
stuff is clear and thinner than the silicone that is readily available. Lay
the door face down on the bench and squeeze a small dab of this into the
crack between the panel and rail in several places around the frame. The
small nozzle on the tube should allow you get the silicone into the crack
quite easily as it is intended for sealing between the rubber window gasket
and the glass of a car windshield. Paint thinner on a rag should help you
clean up any excess that you get on the door. Let it dry overnight before
you stand the door up or it may run out of the crack (like I said - it's
thinner than the normally found silicone).

--
Charley


"wklkj" wrote in message
ups.com...
One more post on this huge project (for me).

I'm refacing my kitchen cabinets (28 doors worth). I've made new
doors and face frames out of red oak. It looks fantastic! People on
this message board have already helped me with tons of ideas and
suggestions. The best of all is the suggestion to buy the Kreg pocket
hole system. Wow. I've used about 400 screws already and I can't
imaging doing that much joining if I had to clamp everything and wait
for it to dry. What a great timesaver!

Anyway, here's my question for now:

I've made the cabinet doors out of a solid oak frame and a 1/4" oak
plywood insert. The plywood is a little under a 1/4" and as you've
already guessed, they rattle when I close the doors on the self
closing hinges. It's a terrible noise. Any suggestions on how to fix
this? Here's some things I've tried already:
I tried gluing in the panel during assembly but they seem to break
free of the wood glue. Also, the glue tended to 'seep' out of the
slot on some and created a mess so I stopped using it.
I looked to 'tuck' something soft into the gap but the gap isn't very
wide.
I'm thinking that clear silicone caulk that remains soft may be the
answer but I'm at a loss as to how to go about getting it into the
tiny slot.
Rockler has something I probably should have used but didn't know
about at the time. They're called rubber space balls and I guess you
drop a few into the slots before putting the panel in and they
compress. Oh well. I know you guys will have an easy answer to
this.

Thanks in advance. If anyone wants to see before and after shots,
I'll be happy to provide.

By the way, if anyone's interested, I decided to use the Minwax "Wipe-
on" polyurethane. All I can say is it was much easier to use than
brushing on. As an amature, I think the finished product looks much
better and easier. I know a lot of you guys probably spray the finish
but I don't have the equipment or the space to do it.

Finally, best tools I bought for the project:
Kreg pocket hole system - by far the best $100 I've spent in a long
time.
Porter Cable 1/4" staple (air powered). All I had was a brad nailer
that was punching through all the thin material. The staple gun is
extremely handy for only $100.

I already have a Grizzly table saw and a Dewalt 12" miter saw.

The reason I'm saying all this is because if anyone is thinking of
doing a kitchen refacing project themselves but are a little
nervous...it can be done. The most difficult part is starting. Also,
find a good lumber yard instead of Lowes or Home Depot for your
hardwood.

Thanks again! Now, how do I stop the darn rattling???