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Spent a whole Saturday trying to fix a warped cabinet door and got nowhere fast
Ran into this problem last weekend on a kitchen remodel I'm doing over in Oak Park. One of the shaker style doors on the upper cabinets came out of the clamps with a slight twist, maybe 3/16 inch off at one corner. I figured I'd just wet the back side and clamp it flat overnight, no big deal. Well that was at 8am Saturday and by 5pm I had tried wetting it, steaming it, even throwing it on a flat bench with weights. Nothing budged it even a hair. Ended up having to build a whole new door from scratch on Sunday. How long do you guys usually wait before you give up on saving a warped panel?
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josephl6724d ago
Flip that whole idea around and think about moisture content from the wood itself, not the workshop. I've had better luck taking a warped door and leaning it against a wall in a dry heated room for a week before I even touch it with clamps. That twist might not be from your glue up or clamping, it could be the wood equalizing to your shop's humidity. Had a similar headache with a walnut panel last fall, hung it on the wall for five days and it flattened out on its own. Sometimes the best fix is just giving the piece time to breathe.
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valh3225d ago
Hang on, you built a whole new door from scratch in one day? That's wild. I would've been at that warped panel for a week before I gave up. In my experience, some of that MDF core stuff can be a real pain. I've had luck putting a warped door on a flat surface with a damp towel on the convex side and a heat gun on the concave side, but it's not a sure thing. Your mileage may vary, but three tries seems way too fast to throw in the towel on it. I'd probably still be messing with it next Saturday.
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