After the rails and stiles have been planed to final thickness and cut to final length and width and they have been oriented and marked for their position in the cabinet door, the rail ends are routed first, face side down as below …
Because the inside surface of the door will fit within the opening in the cabinet with the outside surface of the door overlapping the face of the cabinet, in order for the rails to fit within the stiles once they are routed, I needed to cut a rabbet on the inside back edge of the stiles so the back edge of the rails would fit flush with the stile. (Note: I ran the rabbet the full length, but you could choose to run it down the stile for a length equal to the width of the rail).
After routing the stiles with the corresponding router bit to fit the rails, I assembled the rails and stiles to test the fit … and afterward, I cut a rabbet (you can see my test on the bottom rail) on the back outside edge of the entire door frame so that the door will fit within the opening in the cabinet.
Next, I took the measurements from the dry assembled door frame, to confirm the length and width of the panel. After making about an eighth inch allowance for expansion, the panel was cut to final dimensions and then using the router, starting with the end grain, and taking 3 passes, I routed the panel face so that the edge will fit within the groove in the rails and stiles.
Dry assembled door …
The door assembly is now ready for sanding, staining and then gluing rails to the stiles, with the panel to float freely within the frame. (Note: My wife immediately pointed out that the grain on the panel runs horizontally. For a stained finish with visible grain, it should run vertically. Oh well, lesson learned!)
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