Shopsmith Forums

Do the terms 'stiles' and 'rails' apply only to a door or are they equally applicable to a 'casing' or 'face frame'?

For face frames in shop cabinets, is it more appropriate to use butt or half lap joints or should they be mitered?

Is there a standard or is it strictly a metter of choice.

dusty wrote:Do the terms 'stiles' and 'rails' apply only to a door or are they equally applicable to a 'casing' or 'face frame'?

For face frames in shop cabinets, is it more appropriate to use butt or half lap joints or should they be mitered?

Is there a standard or is it strictly a metter of choice.

I've seen 'rails and stiles' used in all of the above contexts. I would say it's your choice on the shop cabinet face frames. A lot depends on the material used....ply .vs. solid wood and how much time you want to spend on the project.

I don't think I would use a regular miter joint on a face frame. No way to prevent racking, which is a major purpose of a face frame. Half-lap, dowel, pocket screw, mortise & tenon and others have a square-on join that prevents or reduces racking. Just my $0.02.

If it has got to be 'mitered', I would 'half lap miter' it. (or 'quarter lap' it - shallow miter)

Rails. Stiles, Mullions - doors or windows. Doubt it is correct for casing/frames.

I left off Muntins.

Biscuits are a quick and easy way to join the stiles and rails of face frames. Porter Cable face frame biscuits are 30mm wide, so they can be concealed in stiles and rails that are 1 1/2" wide. Or, you can use larger biscuits and simply offset the locations of the slots so they'll be less visible, use wider biscuits, and trim off the excess that is exposed.

JPG40504 wrote:If it has got to be 'mitered', I would 'half lap miter' it. (or 'quarter lap' it - shallow miter)

Rails. Stiles, Mullions - doors or windows. Doubt it is correct for casing/frames.

I left off Muntins.

Yep, you can use them (rails and stiles) on cases/carcass/etc. Any place you use frame and panel construction. Like I did on my pantry project carcass sides and on my TV cabinet (last pic on the post). The stiles support the weight on these 2 projects and the rails provide lateral support.

I think the term 'rail' can be used for pretty much any horizontal piece, and 'stile' for vertical.

I am reacting to a challenge issued by my wife - bless her soul.

In junior high school and freshman year of highschool, I built a small wooden cabinet for her. It was designed and built to house her ice skates (figure skates). To this day, she uses it only now is functions like a 'side table' in which she stores the blood pressure machine and a few other medically related items.

It sits in the family room along side of her chair. A few days ago she challenged be to build another one just like it. She then commented on a possible comparison between the two. Do I remember how I did that and do I believe I can improve on the joints.

I mitered the top to the sides (and I think I used dowels for reinforcement) and I mitered the corners of the face frame. The miters (the joints) are at best a low "C".

I accepted her challenge - deviating very little from the original design. No dowels - biscuits instead. The4 carcass miters are near perfect (a solid "A") in my judgement. Face frame has not been done yet.

I did that yesterday. Today she laid out another challenge. A new TV cabinet for the TV that she watches the most. Lower she says. It's too high - hurts her neck.

Dusty, I appears to me your home is like mine one good project deserves another challenge. Good luck on your new project. When we built the new sewing machine cabinet and its companion I found that assembling the rails and styles for the face with dowels and then attaching them to the cabinet with biscuits was simple and truly impressed with the ease of this system. Jim

dusty wrote:Do the terms 'stiles' and 'rails' apply only to a door or are they equally applicable to a 'casing' or 'face frame'?

For face frames in shop cabinets, is it more appropriate to use butt or half lap joints or should they be mitered?

Is there a standard or is it strictly a matter of choice.

Just gotta comment on this one! Yep! stiles and rails can apply to all kinds of construction - not limited to doors, carcase', panel construction, even fences. Like said - not limited.

Choice of joints - best choice is anything you can think of. Even a bridled miter. Just read an article in Popular woodworking about board construction of boxes, beds, etc. The joinery was nails. Come to think of it, apple and orange crates used to have nail joinery.

Now to mention your lead paragraph into your new assignment.

"In junior high school and freshman year of highschool, I built a small wooden cabinet for her. It was designed and built to house her ice skates (figure skates). To this day, she uses it only now is functions like a 'side table' in which she stores the blood pressure machine and a few other medically related items."

Man! what a outstanding story of a lasting love and what happens to all of us when we are around for a few years. From figure skates to blood pressure cuffs.

By the way - why not show us a photo of that small wooden cabinet that's lasted all this time.

I've switched to pocket screws for all of my face frame construction. It's accurate and fast and very strong. I do use some glue on the joints as well as the screws and the pocket holes are usually hidden once you attach the face frame to the carcass.