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My old boss in Tulsa said to leave a 1/16 inch gap on every panel glue up, I ignored him for 2 years
When I first started doing cabinet doors back in 2019 my shop lead kept telling me to leave a 1/16 inch gap on every glue up panel so the wood could move. I thought he was just old school and slow, so I kept butting my boards tight and sanding them dead flat. Then last summer I built 6 maple doors for a kitchen in Broken Arrow and by October every single one had a crack down the middle, about $400 in wood and 3 weekends gone. I finally tried his gap trick on the next batch and 8 months later they are still flat as a board. Anyone else here had to eat a costly mistake before believing something your mentor told you? Would love to hear what gap you all run for different species.
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danielmason2d ago
Wait, you butted them tight and sanded flat for two whole years? Maple moves a lot with humidity swings, especially here in Oklahoma where it goes from swamp to desert every season. I run about 1/32 on softer stuff like pine and poplar, but maple and oak get the full 1/16 like your lead said.
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