"Brian" wrote:

I'm looking to make new cabinet doors and have a "how to" from
Workbench Magazine. In the Shaker style, the plans call for a 1/4
slot in the middle of 3/4" stock (rails and styles) however the flat
panel they call for is 1/2" thick with a dado all around that's 1/4"
thick.

Why couldn't I just use 1/4" plywood? Does the 1/2" stock somehow
add
strength to the assembled frame or is it just so that the inside of
the panel is pseudo-flush with the inside of the frame? I could
save
a lot of time just using some 1/4" plywood that I already have but I
don't want to affect the integrity of the frame.

It depends.

1) How large are the unsupported panel areas?
1/2" panel (probably 12MM) will eliminate any "drum skin" affect,
especially on large unsupported door panels.

2) Is your existing 1/4" ply actually 1/4" or is it 6MM, in which case
a 1/4" slot will provide a sloppy fit?

3) Tooling.

If you are going to do this job with only a table saw and a dado set,
using 1/2"(12MM) gives you the ability to make custom rabbits to fit
panels into rail & stile slot "dead nuts" so that people looking at
the job years from now will recognize that the work was done by a
"pro".

IMHO, if you want the job to "look good in the shower", find another
use for the 1/4" material.

BTW, a T/S and a dado set provides a lot more flexibility than a rail
& stile cutter set for a router for this application, IMHO.

YMMV.


Lew