In this article (and the above video of Will Myers) you’ll learn the process of assembling a frame and panel door. We’ll will guide you through fitting, checking for squareness and flatness, creating & adding a wooden panel, and preparing your frame and panel door for the final assembly. The next video (coming next week) will show how to glue the frame and panel door.

Dry Fitting and Squaring the Frame and Panel Door

After cutting the mortise and tenon door parts, the next essential task in crafting a wooden door is dry fitting. Dry fitting refers to assembling the parts without using wood glue, giving you the chance to check the fit, alignment, and squareness before permanently assembling it. It also gives you a chance to make sure that you have all the right clamps ready to go before you apply any glue. You don’t want to get into a sticky situation!

Checking for Squareness

Squareness in woodworking means ensuring that the components are perpendicular or aligned at 90 degrees. An out-of-square assembly could result in an unbalanced and off-center frame and panel door, that wouldn’t close properly. Less post-assembly tuning is needed for a well-prepared and squared door.

To check for square, use a try square or combination square at the corners of your door frame. If your doors are square, then you’re good to proceed.

Checking for Flatness

In addition to squareness at the corners, flatness of the stiles and rails is key for proper fitting. A slight twist or warp can lead to a poor fit or gaps in the door. This can be tricky to check with tools like straight edges, so sometimes the best method is simply eyeballing it. This involves visually inspecting the horizontal edge to ensure that no uneven twists or warps are present.

Once the squareness and flatness are confirmed, you’re ready to move on to fitting the panel into the door frame.

Fitting the Panel

Now that the door frame is confirmed to be square and flat, the next critical task is fitting the door panel. In this example, Will Myers uses a thin white pine panel, but other species could be used depending on the style of the clock. Or you could make a raised panel for your frame and panel door. You can learn more about making a raised panel for a frame and panel door in my article and video called, “Anatomy of a Shaker Wall Cupboard“.

Or if you want a thin, non raised panel, just watch Will’s video above.

But whichever style of panel you choose, it’s essential to leave room for expansion and contraction. Wood can expand or contract with changes in humidity, so it’s important not to cut the panel too tightly. Leave a small gap inside the frame, especially considering that wood tends to swell in the summer when humidity levels are high. If your panel can move slightly side to side within the frame but still remains secure, that’s ideal.

Ensuring a Secure Fit: Final Adjustments

Once the panel is cut to size, it’s time to test the fit in the frame. If the panel fits snugly, but not too tightly, you’re on the right track. The frame will hold the panel securely, even if the panel itself isn’t perfectly flat, as the door’s structure will help pull it into place. In the above photo you’ll see Will Myers using a clamping jig that he made for assembling and gluing up frame and panel doors.

A little bit of movement within the frame is acceptable because it allows the wood to expand and contract naturally, however, if there is too much movement side to side (from a panel that is sized too small), the panel may come out of the frame, or at least show a gap. So slowly sneak up to a perfect fit using a block plane, trimming the panel a little bit at a time, and then testing.

Gluing and Assembly

Now that the panel and frame are dry fitted and adjusted, it’s time for the final assembly. This involves gluing the mortise and tenon joints to permanently secure  the panel in the frame. We prefer this brand and model of Titebond wood glue for a permanent assembly. If you’d like to try using a historical hide glue, which is reversable with heat, then try one of these brands of hide glue on Amazon. I’ve had luck with Titebond or Old Brown Glue brands. Just don’t buy any wood glue in bigger containers than what you’ll use within a year, because the shelf life is short. Especially for hide glue.

Applying the Glue

When gluing wooden joints, it’s important to use the right amount of glue. Too much glue can cause squeeze-out, leading to messy joints and potentially weakening the bond. It can also make finishing difficult. Too little glue, on the other hand, won’t provide enough strength.

Apply a thin layer of wood glue to the first mortise and tenon joints, making sure to spread it evenly. Once the glue is applied, add the panel and then glue and assemble the remaining mortise and tenon joints.

Then clamp it securely using wood clamps or a glue-up jig, similar to the one that Will Myers used in his video:

Read our wood clamp and wood glue guide article here. I would recommend against wiping away any glue that squeezes out during the clamping process. It’s much easier to wait for the glue to tack up slightly (around 30 minutes) and use an old chisel to carefully scrape the glue off the wood.

Final Checks for squareness

Right after gluing and clamping (before the glue has dried), check the door again for squareness and flatness. You can use a square, or a wood block that has a 90 degree angle.

Once the glue dries, it will be much harder to make adjustments, so this is your last chance to ensure everything is aligned properly. If the door is still square and flat, you’re ready to move on to the next step of your clock-building project. But if it is not square, you can adjust the clamps or wedges to pull it into squareness.

Conclusion

The process of crafting wooden doors, especially for something as intricate as a clock, requires a keen eye for detail and a methodical approach. As demonstrated in Will’s video, every step—from dry fitting and checking for square to carefully cutting and fitting the panel—must be executed with precision to ensure a functional and beautiful frame and panel door, and clock.

About Will Myers

Will Myers is an expert furniture maker from North Carolina, who specializes in building reproduction furniture with historical hand tools. Will is featured in the best-selling DVD “Building the Portable Moravian Workbench with Will Myers” and on the PBS TV show “The Woodwright’s Shop“. He also teaches woodworking classes at various schools, and has been featured in multiple woodworking magazine articles.