# Roman style panel cabinet door



## carver1942 (Oct 28, 2013)

Hello
I am going to make raised panel kitchen cabinet doors, and would like to make my own router templates. Does anyone know how to calculate the radius for a Roman style arch. I believe it is different for each width door. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. 
Regards
Ed


----------



## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Edward
I bought my templates so really unable to help you but here a site that might be to help you

Circular-Based Arches – Part 1: One-Centered and Two-Centered Arches | THISisCarpentry


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Edward

Easy to make your own set set...ask one of your wood workings mates to use one they have for a template ( male & female ) use your band saw to make the male and female in on pass on the band saw...or just buy a set they are not that high in price..

Arched Door Templates and Patterns


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

That's a great resource John. Thanks.


----------



## Fraise (May 19, 2012)

You can make a bow out of a thin strip of wood and a bit of string. Then just adjust it to the size that suits and knot the string. Voila... sn adjustable arc.


----------



## carver1942 (Oct 28, 2013)

Thank you all for the great links, and speedy replies. I got a bit lucky yesterday at a local building supply store. I was talking to a sales person and mentioned I was l having trouble finding the radius of Roman style cabinet doors. Another customer overheard me and piped up, "oh that's easy, the ends of the rail has to be 1" thicker than the top of the arch. No mater the rail length it's always 1", if the rails are 2 1/2", the ends of the rails are 3 1/2 inch". Wow, talk about being in the right place at the right time!! I learned he was a custom remodel-er and often worked with arches. I later went to the local Home Depot and measured some cabinet door on display, and they all had the 1" difference on the arches. I will figure out the radius needed for different rail lengths and make a chart. I will post my results here on the forum soon. Again thanks everyone for the great links and your input in helping me. 
Regards
Ed


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

That's a great tip, Ed.

You were in the right place at the right time (or your informant was).


----------



## carver1942 (Oct 28, 2013)

jw2170 said:


> That's a great tip, Ed.
> 
> You were in the right place at the right time (or your informant was).


Sometimes "Lady Luck" deals ya a good hand. I later learned from the salesperson at that lumber yard, the fellow that gave me the tip is one of the finest craftsman in the area where I live. He does very high end custom remodeling in the luxury homes here. I was surprised as he appeared to only be in his early thirties. I guess when you love what you are doing, you learn quick. I'll be posting a chart soon showing the radius to use for different rail lengths.


----------



## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks. Edward
Great information


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

That makes it really easy to make your own templates. With the formula in John's link you would use the distance between the stiles for the length of the chord, the rise would be 1", and the formula will give you the radius. All you need then is a circle cutting jig. Nice.


----------



## carver1942 (Oct 28, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> That makes it really easy to make your own templates. With the formula in John's link you would use the distance between the stiles for the length of the chord, the rise would be 1", and the formula will give you the radius. All you need then is a circle cutting jig. Nice.


Yes, that's exactly how it's done. Since I'm on a fixed retirement income, making my own templates will be a big help. John's link should be noted by others as it will come in handy for many uses.

This is a list of rail lengths and the radius needed to give the 1" rise;

The 1st number is the rail length in inches, the second number is the radius in inches.
6, 5 R
7, 6 5/8 R
8, 8 1/2 R
9, 10 5/8 R
10, 13 R
11, 15 5/8 R
12, 18 1/2 R
13, 21 5/8 R
14, 25 R
15, 28 5/8 R
16, 32 1/2 R
I will start making my templates tomorrow.


----------



## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Fraise said:


> You can make a bow out of a thin strip of wood and a bit of string. Then just adjust it to the size that suits and knot the string. Voila... sn adjustable arc.


Sort of like that... LOL.

I make my own templates of several designs from hardboard. Easy. My originals were copies of our shop's templates. But I was taught to make my own as part of my apprenticeship. (Years ago...)


*Arched cabinet door templates* (De-Mystified)

Step #1:
First off is to figure out your math. 

A normal raised panel door is 1/2" larger than the opening, all the way around. So a door width is the opening width plus 1". The door height is opening height plus 1". So in this example, it is going to be 17.5" wide and 34" high. (An inset door in a skeleton frame is 3/16" to 1/4" less wide and high than the opening, depending on the wood.) 

- How wide is your stiles? We'll say 2.25" 
- How deep is the groove that the door will fit into? We'll say 3/8"
- You need 1/8" extra for expansion for most woods.

- Your rail length is going to be : <rail length> = <door width> - 2( <stile width> ) + 2( <tooling depth> ) + <expansion factor> = 17.5 - 2(2.25) + 0.75 + 0.125=13.625"... But you are going to be working with templates that have to "attach" with screws so add another 1/2" to each side (1" total), to attach... (The top rail gets trimmed to length after the rail profile is cut.) So 14.625"
-- Decide on your design... Say with a 3" standoff on each side. This makes the radius as <arch radius> = <rail width> - 2( <standoff> ) - <arch adjustment factor> = 14.624 - 2(3) - 1 = 9.625... NOTE: The arch radius is arbitrary. Sometimes the design looks better if the twice the radius is "larger" than the width. That adjustment makes the rail less wide at the ends, which if not, it sometimes looks "bulky" or "too much" to some customers. The rail width at the top of the arch is equal to your bottom rail width. On the otherside of that, where the design is continued beyond a single door, it again adjusted to visually...

Step #2:
- Cut a sheet of paper to that width, 14.125". Fold it in half. 
- Draw it out (half). 
- Cut it out. Unfold the paper.
- Transfer it to a template blank 14.125" wide. Mark where the center was.
- Cut that out with a band saw (or other methods).
- Sand it smooth.
--- That is your arched rail template.

Step #3:
- Transfer the design again to a 13.125" template blank. Mark where the center was. This one does not have to be 1" larger in width, as on the panels, the screws are 1/4" in so will be inside (hidden in) the grooves.
- Add your groove depth to the 1/2 the expansion standoff, which is 3/8" + 1/16" = 7/16"...
- Measure along the outside of the arch curve another 7/16" and draw your new arch on that fresh template blank.
- Cut out with a band saw (or other method).
- Sand the contour smooth...
--- This is you arched panel template. 

You get the idea. They are not that hard to make. Soon you'll have you own collection of different designs. Two other popular is to have the arch across from the inside of the rail to rail (full radius) or... Half the radius in one door, continuing the other half of the radius into the next door... Antoehr variation is instead of having a straight standoff before the arch, that is has a smaller opposing radius from the ends of the arch to each stile.

EDIT--
Using that same technique, you can create templates for any shaped panel (an amoeba shaped blob for example) and for it corresponding it's rails and stiles...


----------

