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For
centuries, the bead detail has been used by craftsmen to
decorate fine pieces of furniture. The delicate lines and
carefully rounded edge add a subtle elegance to even the
most utilitarian cabinets. Originated in the "Old World",
the design quickly caught on and has always been found on
traditional American furniture as well.
A cabinet with a
beaded face frame immediately conveys a high level of quality
and craftsmanship. Precisely machined joints and accurately
fitted inset doors and drawers elevate even the simplest,
single door design and distinctly set it apart from common
overlay-door cabinets. Architects, Designers and Consumers
have rediscovered this style and consequently, demand for
beaded face-frame cabinets is on the rise.
Up until now, the
small to midsize custom cabinet shop owner has had few options
when producing beaded face-frame cabinets, all of which
have distinct disadvantages and draw-backs. The most common
approach is the construction of face frames with square
stock and to apply separate bead moulding The major disadvantage
is the time required to produce a completed frame. The square
stock is ripped, squared and planed, then cut to length
and assembled. Then the separate, small bead moulding needs
to be ripped, planed and the edge rounded. This moulding
is then miter-cut and fitted one by one into each opening,
then glued and often fastened with brad nails. Afterwards,
the nail holes are filled and sanded.
Aside from the time
consumption, other problems include mismatched grain and
color on stain grade cabinets and mismatched miter joints
due to inconsistent bead moulding. Another big concern is
the potential for glue-joint separation between the square
stock and the bead moulding.
Even small splits
are especially obvious on painted cabinets and often require
on-site touch-up and repair. The problem is amplified by
door hinges mounted onto the beaded edge, which add stress
exerted onto the glue joint. An unsatisfied customer or
a call-back damages not only the cabinet shops reputation,
but also its bottom line!
Clearly, the best
way to produce beaded face frames is to start with beaded
moulding. All of the above mentioned disadvantages such
as hand fitting, color matching or glue joint separation
are eliminated from the start.
Methods to use beaded
moulding include the use of a cross-cut sled on a tilting
arbor table saw, a special cutter head used in a radial
arm saw or the use of large, multi-head milling machine.
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